Jeong Chanyang (International Graduate School of English, Seoul) in Lecture
Theatre 3

at The MATSDA/University of Liverpool Conference: Authenticity and Materials
Development for Language Learning, June 2016

This project aims to meet the need by developing English for Specific
Purposes (ESP) materials for sports professionals with low English speaking
proficiency. In Korea, the majority of L2 materials have been developed for
students with academic goals, however, little has concerned for student
athletes, who have relatively less time and opportunities to develop their L2
speaking proficiency. It results in under-achievement in L2 learning, thus
demotivating learners. Needs analysis was conducted in order to identify the
needs for developing such skills through supplementary class. The material
adopted a learning-centered course design framework by Hutchinson and Waters
(2000), which is solely based on learners’ needs and their own reason for
learning. After piloting with athletes from a Korean middle school, learning
exit point was set: to learn three key sentences from a dialogue as native-like
as possible, for the learners wanted to achieve a solid outcome in a short time.
The ESP supplementary material is comprised of 12 units with different topics
(self-introduction, meeting new coach, dorm life, watching sports games, field
trip, sportsmanship, shopping, training, reporting injuries, weight control,
competition) and each unit has 6 steps (warm up, vocabulary pool, conversation
filed, pronunciation court, review track, snack time). Based on piloting and
class observation, collaborative games, modified back-chaining, shadowing, and
recording activities are adopted, regarding students’ needs and learning styles
and promoting effective vocabulary learning (Kang, 2015, p.94). All situations
in each dialogue are presented in a sports situation, where the target students
are likely to face every day. Also, the material provides learners with
pronunciation tips to promote accuracy of the target expressions, which will be
recorded as a final step. Learners are expected to make a speaking portfolio to
build up autonomy as well as the feeling of success. Further research is needed
to find out whether the material is able to help learners’ speaking
proficiency.