How Sports Can Help You to Improve Your English Skills

There are many ways of improving your English skills. Among them, is the idea of using your love of sports to learn new words and phrases. How could this work and what benefits might it bring you?   

You Will Learn While Having Fun

It is easier to learn new skills while doing something that you enjoy. This is because it is easier to get motivated and to carry on learning for longer periods of time. You won’t give up or get bored if you enjoy the subject as well as the language.  

For example, if you love watching soccer then watching a Champion’s League’s game in English give you 90 minutes of learning that won’t feel like a lesson at all. In the same way, if you are taking your bets into the Super Bowl 2020 or into this year’s Olympics, that will give you more good opportunities to listen to native speakers commentating. 

If there are no upcoming events that interest you, why not look on YouTube for a few classic games from the past? You could watch the top plays in Super Bowl history or catch up some of the most thrilling moments in NBA. Among the exciting commentary, you are sure to catch some new words. 

You could also watch a sports podcast or just catch up on the latest news. When the subject matter genuinely interests you, it is easy to find different approaches that make it far more enjoyable from start to finish.

Getting Surrounded By English Is Possible

Immersive learning is one of the very best ways of learning a language. For many English students, this means travelling to a country where English is widely spoken and surrounding themselves with the language. You need to already understand the basics to get the most out of this experience.

How does sport fit in with this method? One way is that you can go to a stadium to listen to the comments and chants from the fans. You might not understand it all at first, but by the end of the game things should be clearer.

Another option is to go to a sports bar to watch some action. This is the same idea as going to a stadium but it should be easier, as there will be fewer people around for you to listen to. You just relax with some food and drink while you soak up the atmosphere and improve your English.         

You Can Speak to Other Fans

One of the great things about learning from the sports world is that there are millions of other like-minded sports fans all across the globe. Using the internet, it is easy to get in touch with some of them and practice your English at the same time. 

You could look at a global sport like soccer. There are many online fans forums that you could join or just read. International fans are welcomed, partly because they can provide useful information on players and teams from their own country.

If you choose a traditionally American sport like football, baseball, or basketball you will tend to find that the forums are dominated by native speakers. So, you might feel more comfortable just reading other people’s comments at first. However, you should start to make your comments as soon as you feel ready for it.  

Mix It with Other Ways of Learning

There is no need to rely purely on sports to carry on learning English. This is an ideal method for combining with more formal studies. By picking up new words from sports fans and learning the grammatical rules too, you will soon feel as though you are moving in the right direction.