TOWARDS AN ESP FRAMEWORK FOR SPORTS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN UZBEKISTAN: A NEEDS ANALYSIS APPROACH

Abstract

The study investigates the English language needs of sports management students in Uzbekistan to establish a foundation for designing an effective English for Specific Purposes (ESP) framework. As the global sports industry continues to expand, professionals are increasingly required to communicate fluently in English for international collaboration, event organization, and cross-cultural management. However, current English instruction in Uzbek universities remains largely general and insufficiently aligned with the communicative and professional requirements of sports management. A mixed-methods approach was applied, combining survey, classroom observation, and document analysis to ensure data triangulation. The results revealed that most students recognize English as essential for their future careers, especially for negotiation, oral communication, and professional correspondence. The study concludes that developing a specialized ESP course integrating communicative and content-based learning is vital to bridge the gap between linguistic knowledge and professional practice. The proposed framework can enhance students’ professional competence and prepare them for effective participation in global sports management.