Agrupació Jugadors FC Barcelona, who needs no introduction, contacted us back in 2016 to see if we could provide tailored language training to help in the professional development of their members. Needless to say, we were only too happy to help out!

Our relationship is built on trust and good communication as we analysis their needs and adapt courses accordingly to provide different types of training from “blended learning” to specialized courses such as ”English for Football Coaches”.

Over the years, the Agrupació has entrusted us to provide all of the language training for their members and backroom staff.

“Day One” November 2016

Simon Philip McDonald, founder of Watch and Talk Method

Back in September 2016, I received a phone call from Agrupació Jugadors FC Barcelona explaining that they had seen the Watch and Talk Method website and were interested in speaking to me to learn more about our English courses and alternative methodology. On our first meeting, they explained that they were looking for a language school that could provide tailored training to some of their ex-footballers and other members to help in their personal and professional development. Needless to say, I was delighted to receive such an opportunity especially as my business was quite new at that time.

After the successful first few courses, it was clear to me that Agrupació Jugadors FC Barcelona closely follows its motto of “More than a club” as it goes the extra mile for its members and that they wanted to express that in the English courses too as some of its members had some specific needs and they wanted to serve them. 

One of the reasons why we have developed such a good relationship over the years is because those at Agrupació Jugadors FC Barcelona have always been open to fresh approaches and methodologies so when we sat down together to talk about new ideas and concepts, they were willing to try alternative approaches to the “classic” methodology.

We developed…

To help the students express themselves as they wish (rather than how the classic textbooks dictate) and to gain valuable confidence, we adopt and adapt a task-based learning approach. Task-based learning gives students the language and structure they need for certain situations which they can use in real life. For example, the students practice making and changing a hotel booking for a business trip or giving visiting clients a “company tour”. 

Learn more about task-based learning here:
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/a-task-based-approach

For the students who needed more flexibility and autonomy, we created a “blended learning” course so students could study at any time during the week without compromising their personal and professional commitments. The weekly classes with the teacher help keep the students focused and motivated and give the students time to put the theory into practice, which is indispensable in language learning and at the heart of our beliefs. 

Thanks to regular student feedback, we were able to further improve this course by adding one-on-one tutorial sessions to address individual’s needs and deal with any problems that arose. 

The format was a success and we will be continuing with it in this new 2020/21 academic year.

In 2018, the Agrupació wanted to help further still for a different, very niché group of members – football coaches. They take care of its members before, during and after their careers so it made sense to help ex-players in their professional development and achieve their goals of becoming football coaches. Whether you are coaching in China, the United States or Qatar, English is essential. 

To enable them to provide such specific training, I hunted down and recruited an experienced English teacher who was also a UEFA and England Football Association qualified coach and together we developed a highly personalised English training programme that would allow the future coaches to develop their language skills and knowledge in the football field.

Even with the “normal” courses, we wanted to provide a high degree of personalisation for the  Agrupaciò and their members. For example, we adapted material to explore the economics of TV rights on football, the impact of the growth in global markets, which proved to be a very stimulating and enjoyable class but also incredibly useful for the students as it gave them the lexical they needed to express their own opinions on the subject, which is another one of our core beliefs.

We took a similar approach to presentations and public speaking to give students all the tools they needed and valuable practice time before they went away to deliver their presentations. 

Like almost all of the businesses on the planet, the arrival of Covid19 meant that we had to adapt. It was important for Agrupació Jugadors FC Barcelona to continue to provide language training to their members and because we at Watch and Talk Method have been making training material in digital format for many years (long before the arrival of Covid), it was a relatively quick and easy transition.

One of the positives to come out of this crisis is that students who wouldn’t normally be able to attend an English course due to problems getting to the stadium or needing to take care of young children at home, for example, now have access to online learning as these barriers have been removed.

Like almost all of the businesses on the planet, the arrival of Covid19 meant that we had to adapt. It was important for Agrupació Jugadors FC Barcelona to continue to provide language training to their members and because we at Watch and Talk Method have been making training material in digital format for many years (long before the arrival of Covid), it was a relatively quick and easy transition.

One of the positives to come out of this crisis is that students who wouldn’t normally be able to attend an English course due to problems getting to the stadium or needing to take care of young children at home, for example, now have access to online learning as these barriers have been removed.