SCHOOL pupils from Leigh are being invited to take part in a multilingual poetry competition backed by champion boxer Amir Khan.

Mother Tongue Other Tongue aims to encourage children who don’t speak English at home to celebrate their mother tongue, while at the same time providing an exciting opportunity for native English speakers to learn a second language.

The competition, which is run by Manchester Metropolitan University and Routes Into Languages, takes the form of a series of regional competitions, which will be split into two parts.

Mother Tongue will see children who do not have English as a first language write about what a lullaby, poem or song in their native language means to them, while as part of Other Tongue pupils will create an original poem in a second language that they are learning at school.

The competitions will be open to school pupils aged eight to 18 from England, Scotland and Wales. Regions within each country will run their own versions of the project, which will be launched throughout the year, with a major national celebration to be held in June.

Amir Khan said: “I would have loved to have entered a competition like this, because it would have given me the chance to learn a little bit more about my mother tongue.

“Speaking another language, some people might feel shy about it but they shouldn’t – they should have confidence and be able to talk about what other languages they speak. I think it’s definitely going to boost everyone’s confidence by having this competition.”

Entries are now open, and schools can find out more from mmu.ac.uk/mtot.