Teaching English through Sports films

Abstract

The purpose of my Portfolio is to utilize movies relating to athletics for university students studying in sports-related fields. According to Yuksei and Tanriverdi (2009) films cans serve as a valuable teaching tool in the EFL classroom setting since they can appeal to learners’ interests as well as cater to various visual and auditory learning styles, which can, in effect, increase motivation. The target students of my Portfolio are university students whose majors are in sports related industries as well as recreation and leisure studies. These students are required to take general English credit courses in order to graduate, and they are intermediate-mid according to ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Their motivation is usually low since many will likely have few opportunities to use English outside the language classroom; therefore, the main goal of this Textbook is to teach English through sports-related movies with the intention of piquing. According to Nation and Macalister, learners can become more motivated and value learning when they are interested and excited about learning (2010). The aim of this book is to balance learning about the English language as well as exposing students to various cultural aspects in order to encourage them to enjoy language learning. Ten movies have been selected, and each chapter of the Textbook is organized around the respective engaging storylines (some of which are based on true stories). Some of the movies featured are: Cool Runnings (Bobsledding); Rocky (Boxing); Ice Princess (Figure Skating); Remember the Titans (Football); Money Ball (Baseball); Miracle (Ice Hockey); Bend it like Beckham (Soccer); Tin Cup (Golf); Billy Elliot (Dancing). It is my intention to foster a joy of learning English in this course by using movie clips that will interest and inspire students. Each chapter of the book will focus on sports-related expressions and vocabulary used in each particular sport. The Sample Chapter is Ice Princess. The story is about an American girl who longs to become a graceful champion figure skater. In this character, students could potentially relate since they may associate with Yuna Kim, who is known as the “Figure Skating Queen” in South Korea. In this way the textbook aims to catch the interest of the learners and increase their motivation.