www.ccsenet.org/ells English Language and Literature Studies Vol. 1, No. 2; December 2011 ISSN 1925-4768 E- ISSN 1925-4776 14 English for B. Sc. Students of Physical Education in Iran: A Study of Perception of English Needs and Effectiveness of ESP Textbooks Mohammad Reza Hashemi Associate Professor, English Department, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Postal address: Ferdowsi University Campus, Azadi Square, Mashhad-Iran E-mail: smrhir@gmail.com Amir Rashid Lamir Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Sports and Physical Education Postal address: Ferdowsi University Campus, Azadi Square, Mashhad-Iran E-mail: amir.rashidlamir@gmail.com Farideh Rezaee Namjoo (Corresponding author) B.Sc. in Physical Education, MA in TEFL, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Postal address: No. 28, Kolahdooz 38, Kolahdooz Blv, Mashhad-Iran Tel: 98-5117-265158 E-mail: fr.namjoo@yahoo.com Received: August 12, 2011 Accepted: September 7, 2011 Published: December 1, 2011 doi:10.5539/ells.v1n2p14 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ells.v1n2p14 Abstract EAP/ESP plays an important role in countries where English is used mainly for academic purposes. However, EAP/ESP programs have been developed without conducting a systematic needs analysis from both the students’ and instructors’ perspective. The purpose of the present study is to shed more light on the perception that Iranian undergraduate students and the faculty of Physical Education have of the English language needs of the students and the shortcomings of the commonly used textbook in EAP/ESP courses at universities. A total number of 112 students of P.E (47 male and 65 female) participated in the needs analysis procedure of the present study. They ranged from 21 to 27 years of age and were all undergraduates studying at the Physical Education Faculty, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Four P.E. faculty members, all holding Ph.D. were also interviewed. Results of the present study indicate that English is perceived as important by Iranian P. E. students and the faculty, and show discrepancy between the perceptions of the learners and instructors. The study has implications for curriculum design and instructional delivery of ESP/EAP courses for undergraduate P.E. students. Keywords: English for Academic Purposes, English for Specific Purposes, Needs analysis, EAP/ESP textbook 1. Introduction English language is part of educational curriculum from the second year of junior high school in Iran utilizing mostly a grammar-translation method that, according to Richards and Rodgers (2002), requires quantitative repetitions and substitutions to master grammatical structures that are taught deductively. Little attention is paid to the oral form of the language limited to the presentation of phonetic symbols and the different skills the students require. Apparently these courses are not effective enough and the students who leave the public school system in Iran suffer poor English language proficiency. English is a required course for the university students in Iran which emphasises reading literature. All B.A and B.Sc. students, except English majors, pass a course of three credits in general English, which according to Ghonsooly and Pishghadam (2007), do not seem to be o much useful and interesting for students, and a two-credit ESP course. Unfortunately, many of the students relying only on English courses presented at the universities, are not well-prepared for the specific English courses in their field of study and do not develop the ability to communicate