Diss Final 22/08/2011
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Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2011 Linguistic needs, tutoring options and support mechanisms : a framework of an ESP course for foreign football players in the English Premier League Baur, Michaela Abstract: From its beginnings, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been struggling to find its position within the field of applied linguistics. ESP constantly had to defend itself against the accusation that there is nothing specific about it and that it is just another way of teaching General English.The most common ESP courses are Business English courses or courses for technicians. Similarly, foreign football players who are signed with clubs in the English Premier League need a specialised English course. They need to be able to get in contact with their fellow players, to understand their coaches and physiotherapists or organise their lives outside their clubs. Players of different nationalities within one team are a challenge for any English football club. In order for them to perform at their best, they need to learn English as quickly as possible. Football clubs do not only need to invest in their senior players. Given the unbelievably high transfer sums that not all clubs can afford to pay, youth players have become more and more important as they are the future of any club. This thesis tries to demonstrate what linguistic needs foreign football players in the English Premier League have, what tutoring options and support mechanisms could improve the existing language courses and that, without English, players cannot reach their full potential or satisfaction – be it in the club, in private or in both areas of life. It should ultimately provide the theoretical prerequisite for a teaching and learning resource for foreign football players. Abstract (Deutsch) Seit Beginn an kämpft English for Specific Purposes (ESP) um seinen Platz in der Angewandten Linguistik. ESP musste sich permanent gegen die Anschuldigung wehren, nichts Spezifisches zu sein und sich nicht von allgemeinem Englisch abzugrenzen. Die häufigsten ESP Kurse sind Kurse für Wirtschaftsenglisch oder Englisch für Techniker. Doch auch ausländische Fußballspieler, die in der Englischen Premier League spielen, benötigen spezialisiertes Englisch. Sie müssen mit ihren Mitspielern kommunizieren können, ihre Trainer und Physiotherapeuten verstehen oder ihr Leben außerhalb des Fußballclubs organisieren. Spieler unterschiedlicher Nationalitäten stellen für jeden englischen Club eine Herausforderung dar. Um als Spieler sein volles Potential abrufen zu können, muss man so rasch wie möglich Englisch lernen. Fußballclubs investieren aber nicht nur in die Spieler der ersten Mannschaft. Angesichts der sehr hohen Transfersummen, die nicht jeder Club aufbringen kann, werden Nachwuchsspieler immer wichtiger. Schließlich sind sie die Zukunft jedes Clubs. Diese Dissertation versucht aufzuzeigen, welche sprachlichen Bedürfnisse ausländische Fußballspieler in der Englischen Premier League haben, welche Unterrichtsmöglichkeiten und Unterstützungsmechanismen die bestehenden Sprachkurse verbessern könnten und dass die Spieler ohne Englischkenntnisse ihr volles Potential – weder im Spiel noch im Privatleben – ausschöpfen können. Darüber hinaus könnte diese Arbeit die theoretische Basis für eine Lehr- und Lernressource für ausländische Fußballer darstellen. Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-164042 Dissertation Published Version Originally published at: Baur, Michaela. Linguistic needs, tutoring options and support mechanisms : a framework of an ESP course for foreign football players in the English Premier League. 2011, University of Zurich, Faculty of Arts. 2 Linguistic needs, tutoring options and support mechanisms: A framework of an ESP course for foreign football players in the English Premier League Thesis presented to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Zürich for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Michaela Baur of Austria Accepted in the spring semester 2011 on the recommendation of Professor Dr. Daniel Schreier and Professor Dr. Andreas Jucker Zürich, 2011 For my late grandfather Herbert who always believed in me Acknowledgements I want to thank my supervisors Professor Dr. Daniel Schreier and Professor Andreas H. Jucker for their support and feedback. I am immensely grateful for the support, help and hospitality of Rick L. and the education and welfare officers of the football academies I could visit. Thanks go to Gerhard F. and all the former Austrian football players who supported my work as well as to Markus A. who, as a press officer of an Austrian football club, interviewed a player on my behalf. I am very grateful for the help and insights of language tutor Sean W. and all his colleagues at the various football academies. Special thanks go to my parents for their long-lasting support. My husband, Dietmar, whose passion for football is by far lesser than mine, deserves special thanks. His constant support and invaluable help and feedback meant this thesis became a reality. List of abbreviations ASE Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence BTEC Business And Technology Education Council CA Contrastive Analysis CLT Communicative Language Teaching EA Error Analysis EAP English for Academic Purposes EFL English as a foreign language EOP English for Occupational Purposes ESL English as a second language ESP English for Specific Purposes EST English for Science and Technology EU European Union FA Football Association FD Field dependence FI Field independence FIFA Fédération Internationale de Football Association GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education GE General Purpose English GPE General Purpose English IL Interlanguage IT Information Technology L1 First language or mother tongue L2 Second language LAD Language Acquisition Device LSP Languages for Specific Purposes MDH Markedness Differential Hypothesis NA Needs Analysis NVQ National Vocational Qualification SLA Second language acquisition SP-LT Special-purpose language teaching TL Target language TPR Total Physical Response UEFA Union of European Football Associations UG Universal Grammar List of tables Table 1: Criteria and characteristics that define ESP language teaching ........... 15 Table 2: Strengths and weaknesses of ESP literature according to Basturkmen (2002:29)...................................................................................................... 19 Table 3: The expansion of ESP publications from 1972 till 1984 according to Swales (1985: xiv)........................................................................................ 19 Table 4: Syllabus frameworks for general English courses according to Richards (2001:153-165) ............................................................................................ 34 Table 5: Age differences in second language learning abilities .......................... 47 Table 6: Learning styles ...................................................................................... 57 Table 7 Personality traits according to Saville-Troike (2006:89)......................... 61 Table 8: English players in the Premier League – A comparison between the seasons 1993 and 2006/2007.................................................................... 122 Table 9: The Arsenal team – season 2008 ....................................................... 123 Table 10: Under 18 league – season 2009/2010 .............................................. 125 Table 11: Overview of most important features of language curses at analysed football academies ..................................................................................... 231 Table of Contents Acknowledgements List of abbreviations List of tables 1 General Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 Structure ................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Personal experience ............................................................................... 10 2 English for specific purposes (ESP).......................................................... 13 2.1 ESP course design ................................................................................. 20 2.1.1 ESP needs analysis ......................................................................... 24 2.1.2 ESP Goals and objectives................................................................ 27 2.1.3 The syllabus ..................................................................................... 29 2.1.4 Teaching methods............................................................................ 34 2.1.5 The ESP tutor................................................................................... 38 2.1.6 ESP materials................................................................................... 40 2.1.7 ESP testing and assessment ........................................................... 44 3 Individual Learners’ Differences ................................................................ 46 3.1 Age and second language acquisition .................................................... 46 3.1.1 Adults as language learners............................................................. 49 3.1.2 Adolescent language learners.......................................................... 50 3.2 Aptitude..................................................................................................