Communicative Techniques in Forign Language Learning in the Field of Sport

Abstract

This article presents ideas and models for English language learning, using elements of two communicative learning methods for the specific purposes of sport practice. It is part of a pedagogical experiment, carried out with students from the National Sport Academy “V.Levski”, Sofia, organized into an experimental group (34) and a control group (34). The aim of the experiment was to study the influence of interactive techniques applied in the specialized English language course for sport terminology. The experimental course work involved using elements of different interactive learning methods to teach sport terminology to the experimental group of students for about 30-40 minutes of every academic class of 90 minutes. Initial and final tests of the basic language skills and knowledge of sports terminology were carried out with the experimental and control group of students, in order to establish their language competences before and after the experimental course. The results from the tests were processed with statistical methods – variation analysis and Student’s t-test (dependent and independent samples). The results from the initial and final tests of the two groups have shown that students from the experimental group have improved their language skills, their confidence in using the language and their knowledge of sports terms to a greater extent than the control group. Applying interactive techniques in language learning for the needs of sport specialists leads to better results in their language acquisition.