FROM NEEDS ANALYSIS TO ENGLISH FOR OCCUPATIONAL PURPOSES: THE NEEDS OF SPORTS SCIENCE STUDENTS

The increasing demand for more prolific and tangible evidence of success and achievements in both scientific and professional areas has pushed institutions to apply many strategic reforms (e.g. new curricula designs, international projects, exchange programs, etc.). As a consequence, English Language Teaching (ELT) has developed and diversified significantly in the past two decades particularly in the area of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), highlighting the increasing needs of teaching the terminology and jargon of learners’ specific fields and/or professions (Saragih, 2014). Therefore, with the aim of increasing institutional visibility at an international level, universities have focused their attention on implementing English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). EOP is a learner-centred approach whose main features are: special attention to learners’ needs; inclusion of content-related material and activities; and the use of innovative teaching methodology. The analysis of students’ needs is a cornerstone of any EOP course, as it provides specialists with essential information for developing tailor-made curricula. As suggested by many studies, analysis of needs of professionals, academics, and most importantly students in a same field, is a crucial step towards designing the curriculum, since it determines all course components. The aim of this study was to analyse students’ needs regarding English courses at the Faculty of Sports Organization (FOD) of Nuevo León, Mexico. The sample was composed by 242 students from FOD. According to the model proposed by Miyake and Tremarco (2005) and Saragih (2014), a questionnaire was created ad hoc for analyzing the needs of specific context of the Faculty of Sports Organization. A Likert-type scale from (1) total disagreement to (4) total agreement was used. The interviews were composed by open-ended questions asking participants about their opinion on impact of EOP on their profession, topics and contents that should be studied in an EOP course and favorite learning strategies and tools. The results from our study demonstrate the need for changing the current English curricula at FOD. Current pedagogical and methodological strategies used in the English classes at FOD are not sufficient to achieve general English proficiency.

Students consider speaking and listening as the most important skills for both their academic career and future profession. At the same time, these two skills are referred to as the most difficult ones, and thus the main attention should be focused on them. These skills require a more students-centred approach in order to be developed.

When developing an EOP course in the sports field, general English level of the target population should be taken into account. Although is it stated that a certain English level is required before applying an EOP program, we suggest to introduce EOP starting from the elementary level. Based on the result of the study, this may have a positive effect on students’ attitude/motivation and participation in the English classes, which represent the main current issue at FOD. As regards to the teaching strategies and methodology in EOP classes, it is necessary for GE teachers to be trained in the area of EOP for Sports Science. Thus, a cooperation of ESP/EOP specialists, sports professionals, and GE teachers is recommended in order to successfully implement any EOP course.