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.

Michaela Baur, a trained secondary teacher for English and Physical Education, worked as a football coach for children and youth. She studied English and American Studies at the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg. This work is her PhD thesis conducted at the University of Zurich. Michaela works as a freelance translator and ESP language tutor.