English for Foreign Premier League Football Players

Foreign players who play in the English Premier League need to learn English as quickly as possible in order to get in contact with their fellow players, to understand their coaches and physiotherapists or organise their lives outside their clubs. This work tries to show what linguistic needs foreign academy and senior 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. The main focus is on adolescent players because language courses are organised in football academies on a regular basis. The work looks at English for specific purposes (ESP) courses in general, analyses individual learners’ differences, gives a summary of theories of second language acquisition and provides a possible theoretical prerequisite for a teaching and learning resource for foreign football players in the Premier League.