Personal Growth through Critical Incidents in Sports: Exploring alternatives in HE Language Learning
Personal Growth through Critical Incidents in Sports: Exploring alternatives in HE Language Learning

Summary/Abstract: Social encounters provide opportunities to learn social norms, adopt proper behaviors, and build knowledge and skills. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a key role in socialization for the young within and beyond them. Students interact with their classmates and teachers in school, meet new colleagues at work, build and strengthen friendships in their free time, which enriches their chances for personal growth. Sport is one such pursuit that facilitates interaction. This text explores sport’s potential to develop HEI students’ foreign language and professional skills contributing to their personal growth. This study is part of a project conducted at a private university specializing in economic, management and business administration between 2016 and 2022 with Master’s degree students studying Business English. The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was used to collect data in the form of written narratives analyzing varied memorable moments from the students’ interactions in English experienced during the course of their lives locally or abroad. 238 student analyses of CIs from diverse social situations and settings were collected and examined using a thematic analysis. Corresponding categories of the most significant agents of socialization creating valuable foreign language learning opportunities were identified. Of these, 6 % covered CIs from the context of sports. The data show that engaging in sporting activities not only contributes to students’ personal growth but also helps them build a professional skill set, including foreign language skills, crucial for succeeding in their academic and professional paths. Relevant recommendations for integrating sports in the HEIs programs, teaching, international cooperation and variety of extracurricular activities are provided.

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