Back to English in sports on the occasion of the Pan

American Games

Prof. Sergio Font Milián, PhD.

Topics in the next few lessons• New lesson – Narrating a sports event• Opening speeches• Talking about an athlete’s sports career • Talking about baseball• Events in some sports disciplines• Events in some other Olympic sports and in the

Paralympic Games• Getting ready to fly • New lesson - Summary

Highlights of lessons 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 11

Passive voice with present perfect

subject + have/has + been + past participle

• Communication has been made much easier.• The game has been rained out. • The competitor has been disqualified.• The players have been introduced.• Most athletes have been tested for alcohol.• An announcement has been made.

Communicative contexts

• Talking about winning and losing in sports.• Talking about a training routine.• Talking about the schedule of a

sports event.• Describing a sports facility.• Narrating a sports event.

Communicative contexts

• Talking about records.• Talking about an athlete’s sports

career.• Talking about physical exercise.• Talking about an athlete’s daily

routine.

Communicative contexts

• Asking for and giving general information about sports in the Olympic Program.• Talking about the rules which govern

certain sports disciplines. • Talking about injuries or lesions.• Talking about sports for the disabled.

Some typical warm-up exercises

• Rope jumping

She jumps the rope to get warmed up.

• Situps

She does four series of situps at the start of her training sessions every morning to tune up her abdomen.

• pushups

Doing pushups helps her build her arm muscles.

• Bending down

Bending down helps your body keep flexible and fit.

• Chinups

He does chinups to make his arms stronger.

The Athletes Oathwas first taken at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp by a

fencer/water polo player

“In the name of all the competitors I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.”

2012 – London, Great Britain

The Pan American Games

• are held every four years.• were first held in Buenos Aires in 1951.• gather together athletes from 41 countries. • have been hosted by Cuba only once.• are held in the year just before the Olympic

Games.• are sanctioned by PASO, the Pan American

Sports Organization.

The Guadalajara 2011Pan American Games

The 2011 Pan Am Games

The 16th Pan American Gameswill be hosted by beautiful Guadalajara. Athletes from 41countries will compete in 40sports disciplines. The United States, Mexico,Brazil, Cuba and Canada will field the largest teams.

The Games will be openedon October 14th and will be closed on October 30th. Argentina will be the first team to march, while Mexico, the host country,will close the parade of teams in the opening ceremony. Mexico’s flag bearer will be Juan René Serrano, an archer who has won several medals in world class events.

archery, athletics, badminton,baseball, basketball, beachvolleyball, bowling, boxing, canoeing, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, judo, modern pentathlon,roller skating, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball,swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis,taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, water polo,weightlifting and wrestling, among others.

Sports with the highest number of medal events

• Athletics: 47 events• Swimming:34 events• Wrestling: 18 events• Cycling: 18 events• Shooting: 15 events• Weightlifting: 15 events

We need peace, we need tolerance, we need brotherhood.

Athletes from the 41 countries, show us that sport unites, by overriding national, political, religious and language barriers.