Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education 32 (2023) 100416

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Hospitality, Leisure,

Sport & Tourism Education
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhlste

Instagram as a learning tool to improve technical vocabulary for

sports science students
María-José Gómez-Ortiz a, *, Elena Domínguez Romero b, Jelena Bobkina c
a
Applied Linguistics Department, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Science (INEF), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
b
Department of English Language & Linguistic, Complutense University of Filologia A, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
c
Applied Linguistics Department, ETSI Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The present paper shares a learning and teaching experience built on a project-based method­
Instagram ology using Instagram accounts to improve technical vocabulary in the ESP classroom. Partici­
Sports science vocabulary pants were 75 undergraduate sports science students who attended our English for Professional
Higher education
and Academic Communication ESP course at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain) and
English for specific purposes
Project-based learning
participated in the project during the spring semester of 2022. To achieve our objective, the
participants were divided into 16 self-arranged groups, each expected to develop a fitness project
based on Instagram accounts. At the end of the experience, participants were invited to complete
an ad hoc designed questionnaire giving their opinion about the use of Instagram accounts as a
learning tool to acquire specific vocabulary in the field of sports science. The learners reported
high positive perceptions towards using Instagram to develop technical vocabulary. This paper
recommends observing quality standards when integrating Instagram content into English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) courses.

1. Introduction

ESP teaching and learning has evolved significantly in the past decade of emerging technologies. Moreover, the recent COVID-19
crisis has exposed the challenges for digital technology in education, enabling us to find new answers on what and how students learn,
as well as where and when they do so (Escamilla-Fajardo, Alguacil, & López-Carril, 2021; Potra et al., 2021). In this sense, the inclusion
of social media, such as Instagram, in teaching and learning processes is becoming an increasingly important practice, given the many
possibilities it offers to transform learners into constructive participants who actively contribute to their learning experience
(Al-Rahmi & Zeki, 2017; Balakrishnan & Gan, 2016).
Launched in 2010 as a social media that enables the sharing of multimodal content, Instagram has become the fastest growing
social media among millennials and members of Gen Z (Bishop, 2020). The latest Instagram statistics (Dixon, 2022) show that with
roughly one billion monthly active users, over two thirds of Instagram users are aged 34 and younger, which suggests the importance of
this social media in the future (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Therefore, the introduction of Instagram as a teaching-learning tool in the
university could be suitable due to age of the students.

* Corresponding author. Applied Linguistics Department, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Science (INEF), Universidad Politécnica de
Madrid, Calle Martín Fierro, 7, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
E-mail addresses: maria.gomez.ortiz@upm.es (M.-J. Gómez-Ortiz), elenadominguez@filol.ucm.es (E. Domínguez Romero), jelena.bobkina@upm.
es (J. Bobkina).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2022.100416
Received 21 July 2022; Received in revised form 7 December 2022; Accepted 30 December 2022
Available online 8 January 2023
1473-8376/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
M.-J. Gómez-Ortiz et al. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education 32 (2023) 100416

Regarding language teaching, an increasing number of scholars have indicated the benefits of using Instagram for language in­
struction (Erarslan, 2019; Sari & Wahyudin, 2019) as it offers a plethora of contextualised visual data that can provide aid in language
classrooms. In particular, several studies have investigated the possibilities of exploiting Instagram’s key multimodal affordance to
enhance classroom participation of learners (Arceneaux & Dinu, 2018; Purnama, 2017). Similarly, some researchers have focused on
the use of Instagram to improve students’ linguistic skills, such as speaking (Handayani, 2017; Çakmak, 2020) and writing (Pur­
wandari, 2017; Soviyah & Etikaningsih, 2018). However, to the best of our knowledge, very few studies have focused on using this
social media in the ESP classroom, particularly with sports science undergraduate students. In addition, little is known about how
Instagram can be incorporated into the project-based learning methodology for teaching professional vocabulary.
Instagram has become an important platform in the sports industry as the emergence of social media has profoundly impacted the
availability and consumption of sports (Anagnostopoulos et al., 2018; Doyle et al., 2022). Instagram profiles dedicated to fitness
(hereinafter Instagram fitness accounts) have also developed remarkably. Their use by sports performers, organisations, researchers,
and influencers is proof of this (Janssen et al., 2022). These professional accounts are being followed by a considerable number of
people who practice sport as a hobby or profession, as the multimodal information they produce (text, videos, photographs, info­
graphic information, and sports inspirational quotes) is used to engage their audience and motivate sports performers. Besides, this
multimodal content can be used as innovative and creative teaching material in ESP language classes (Bobkina et al., 2020;
Gómez-Ortiz et al., 2019, pp. 407–418). In light of the above, the present pedagogical article shares a learning and teaching experience
using Instagram fitness accounts to enhance students’ acquisition of technical vocabulary and to provide them with skills that can be
positive for their futures improving their professional profile and career through technology-based professional development (Habets
et al., 2021; López-Carril et al., 2021, 2022; Luo et al., 2020). Our ultimate goal is to unveil our students’ opinions regarding the use of
Instagram in the ESP classroom.

2. Using instagram for developing fitness projects in the ESP classroom: implementation procedures and student feedback

The experience involved 75 sports science undergraduate students who attended our “English for Professional and Academic
Communication” ESP course at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain) during the spring semester of 2022. Their levels of
English language proficiency ranged from post-intermediate to advanced, as a B2-level certificate1 is a compulsory requirement to
register in the course. At the end of the semester, students are expected to master specific vocabulary for effective sports coaching.
To achieve the objective, the students were divided into 16 self-organised groups, each expected to develop fitness projects using
professional fitness Instagram accounts. Toward the end of the experience, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire
designed ad hoc giving their opinion regarding the use of professional fitness Instagram accounts as a learning tool to acquire specific
vocabulary in the field of sports science.

2.1. Using instagram for developing a fitness project in the ESP classroom: implementation

Sports science students need to develop competencies in assessing individuals’ physical condition and prescribing health-oriented
physical exercises to address their prospective clients’ needs. However, for undergraduate students, designing a successful fitness
project (henceforth, FP) for a particular person or specific group of people implies mastering a broad specific vocabulary of different
sports-related sciences (e.g., sports medicine, exercise physiology, sports psychology, sports nutrition, traumatology related to sports,
rehabilitation or adapted physical activities, anatomy, biomechanics, biochemistry and biokinetics). Therefore, teaching the ESP
vocabulary that sports science students need implies a significant pedagogical challenge (Bobkina et al., 2021).
To address this challenge, we developed a learning and teaching experience that integrates the project-based learning methodology
(PBL) into ESP classes based on the use of professional fitness Instagram accounts. The choice of methodology was motivated by the
fact that the PBL is the methodology that is centred on learners and allows them to get involved in their learning through collaborative
and active work practicing the soft skills they need to use beyond university (Tuyen & Tien, 2021). In this way, the students were
motivated to acquire specific vocabulary effectively.
Before starting the project work, the students were informed about the characteristics of the project to be developed, as well as the
major methodological steps to follow to accomplish the tasks. The whole procedure for completing the project included the five steps
outlined in Fig. 1.
First, the students formed self-selected teams to work collaboratively. They were encouraged to have productive conversations,
provide mutual insight, distribute the workload evenly, and work together.
Second, students searched for fitness professional Instagram accounts based on the main technical areas of their interest, analysed
them, and reflected on their content following the criteria provided by the teacher (see Table 1). Students presented their research and
voted for the best professional accounts.
Third, the students examined the information offered in the accounts to understand and select the major concepts. They were
encouraged to co-construct specific glossaries, share their ideas, and reach a consensus on field-specific terms. The main technical
areas and central concepts identified comprised anatomy, medicine, physiology, rehabilitation, nutrition, exercise instruction, psy­
chology, gym equipment, and sports. Working collaboratively, the students gained a deeper understanding of the specific terms

1
B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages-CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001, 2020).

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Search for fitness Explora�on of

professional selected accounts Fitness project Fitness project
Teams' forma�on
Instagram through glossary elabora�on assessment
accounts construc�on

Fig. 1. Implementation of professional Instagram accounts for elaborating fitness projects.

Table 1
Sample activity 1. Justifying the choice of the Instagram professional account.
Account Topics covered Usefulness Ideas for improvement

@Ylmsportscience Muscle This account deals with aerobic and anatomical This account comprises a large amount of data and text to
morphology processes, nutrition, health care, and development and read and get information from, but we believe it needs to
improvement of the body, among other vital aspects. balance photos and text to become more visual and
attractive, yet we like it.
Resistance All of these publications have a solid theoretical basis and More scientific videos would be appreciated.
training have been well developed in all of the posts.
Sleep hygiene We reckon this is a fantastic account because of the
variety of information provided and the astounding visual
content.
Body One can learn about body movement optimisation.
composition
Caloric intake
Emotional
intelligence

through discussion. They worked on word connection and reflected on the main concepts more deeply. In addition, they selected
technical terms and other supporting expressions that help explain the central concepts and classified them into their technical area,
forming glossaries and sharing them in the Moodle forum (Table 2). The ultimate aim was to shift from rote memorisation towards
more meaningful learning using specific vocabulary in authentic professional contexts while practicing grammar and integrating
listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
Once students had studied the glossaries and practiced the vocabulary, they participated in the search, observation, and docu­
mentation of various potential clients of the FP. Students were asked to analyse the clients’ five Ws (who, what, when, where, and why)
to plan a detailed workout programme that was best suited to them (Fig. 2).
Finally, they developed and shared accurate and correct FPs (Fig. 3) based on the clients’ specific needs and uploaded a recorded
oral presentation to YouTube sharing its link on Instagram.
Fourth, working in teams, students were asked to evaluate their work using the two-part checklist developed for this purpose
(Table 3). The first part of the checklist focused on evaluating the quality of a FP, and the second part dealt with students’ ability to
communicate in English.
Finally, the students answered an ad hoc designed questionnaire.

2.2. Using instagram for developing a FP in the ESP classroom: student feedback

Once the implementation with the designed activities was concluded, and in order to analyse the students’ attitude towards the use
of Instagram in the ESP classroom, they were requested to shape the design of the questionnaire as active participants in the experience
process. The questionnaire comprised three open-ended questions about the use of professional Instagram accounts to develop
technical vocabulary in ESP classes and professional communication skills in ESP classes (Table 4). Then, the students completed the
questionnaire in the Moodle platform.
Regarding the first question dealing with students’ perception of significant challenges met when using professional Instagram as a
learning tool for their project development, students recognised that the major challenge was using professional Instagram in English.

Table 2
Sample activity 2. Creating a glossary for the concept Names of exercises, a subarea of the Exercise instruction area.
Instructions for (1) Write sport terms in English, (2) their translation into Spanish, (3) a sentence that contains the term in its context and add (4) any other
the student important information
A student’s sample

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Client Profile
Name Antonio Gender Male Age 40 Weight 72,5 kg
Resting 70 bpm Maximum 180 bpm Height 1,69 m IMC 26
heart rate heart rate
% of fat 24% Pathologies None. Injuries Acromioclavicular subluxation
in grade 2 (2 years ago).
Occupation CEO of a hotel company. Physical effort required No.
Physical exercise No, 3 years ago, he trained with a personal trainer with good results. Since then, he
currently has put on a lot of weight and now he wants to get back in good physical shape.
Availability 4 days per week. Availability of gym No.
Available material Dumbbells and elastic bands.
Experience Almost 1 year of training in a gym with a personal trainer, but not on a continuous
basis.
General goal Weight loss.
Specific goal Go from 24% (average of fat) to 22%.
Smart goal Lose 3 kg of weight in 1 month.
Healthy daily habit Antonio goes to work walking or using public transport. He needs to increase the
total daily number of steps each week and avoid using the elevator.
Factors of interest Antonio is currently very motivated, as he has a new girlfriend.
Observations Due to his work, he is constantly travelling all over the world, so in the weeks he is
out of Spain, he will not have any material available. A specific bodyweight routine
is provided to him when he is out.
Fig. 2. Sample activity 3. Analysing clients’ five Ws for a detailed workout programme.

Fig. 3. Sample activity 3. Creating a tailored fitness project based on a client’s specific needs.

Students also commented on the difficulties in using technical vocabulary that could hinder their understanding of field concepts and
carrying out course activities.
“I thought we would probably be struggling with all the technical vocabulary, maybe it would be better if you provided us with a list of
specific terms in advance.” (P9).
“I was overwhelmed by the huge amount of vocabulary that we had to learn and practice in a real context.” (P43).

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Table 3
Assessment checklist for evaluating students’ fitness projects.
Part 1: Check the professional content of the fitness project
Check how active your client is by asking him/her questions about daily activities. How active are you? Ask your client to think through his/her typical day and
discover how vigorous he/she is:
- No activity at all (lying down)
- Minimal activity (sitting down, driving)
- Light activity (moving around a bit)
- Vigorous activity (running, cycling, most sports)
Does your client do a total of 30 or more minutes of vigorous activity each day?
Does your client suffer from any injury or illness? What type of illness or injury is it?
Find out what is your client day’s eating pattern.
Find out which benefits he/she would most like to gain from becoming more active
Find out if he/she is concerned with:
- Looks and figure
- General health and well-being
- Relaxation and social life
Find out what type of exercise your client needs considering the previous information from your client. Suggest some options.
Consider the activities your client can afford to take up. Ask these types of questions:
- Does he/she need to buy equipment or hire it?
- Does he/she need to pay to use the sports facilities?
- How many lessons does he/she need?
- Does he/she need to commute to the sports facilities? How much does it cost?
Consider whether your client can fit the activity easily into his/her way of life.
Part 2: Check the communication quality of the fitness project
Good use of specific vocabulary related to injuries or illness and anatomy
Good use of nutrition vocabulary
Good use of different sports and activities
Good pronunciation
Good intonation
Good use of non-verbal language
Good communication with meaningful content
Good use of grammar
Overall, good communication skills

Table 4
Questionnaire about using professional Instagram accounts in ESP classes.
What was your major challenge when using professional Instagram as a learning resource for vocabulary acquisition?
How does professional Instagram help in designing a fitness project?
How do you feel about using professional Instagram as part of your ESP classes?

When answering a second question regarding the usefulness of professional Instagram in designing a FP, the students answered that
professional Instagram had helped them enormously in designing a FP, particularly in terms of professional identification with other
coaches to assess and organise training. The selected accounts had very attractive multimodal material based on research that could be
used for profiling with authentic goal strategies.
“I really enjoyed seeing the dynamic content of sports sciences applied to real clients.” (P18).
“The professional accounts have specific content that we have studied previously in content specific subjects, but this is better than
learning from books. I consider the content trustworthy and therefore no less reliable.” (P31).
Regarding the use of Instagram to learn technical terms in English, the students reported having had a very positive experience
acquiring new vocabulary and communicating in English through Instagram.
“Now I feel much more confident and able to establish links between a professional community to which I wish to belong. I think
Instagram allows me to create a professional identity and be creative in communication.” (P67).
“These activities have helped me to increase my self-confidence and motivation because studying English has always been difficult for me.
I have learned many words without struggling.” (P23).

3. Potential problems of this experience

Although this is an easy-to-implement educational practice, some problematic issues may arise. Mercader (2020) suggests that
technophobia and absence of planification, among others, could be barriers to using digital technologies in university education. In our
case, this was not a problem, as all of our students were experienced in the use of technologies. Nevertheless, this issue could be rather

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problematic for those practitioners who are not digitally literate enough. Regarding planification, one problem identified during the
implementation of the experience was that students were too focused on surfing the web for topics that interested them professionally
on Instagram. Sometimes, the class had to stop to get them to refocus on the activities. For this reason, the activities and the time
allotted for their completion must be accurately designed.
Moreover, the use of social media may pose a number of ethical dilemmas for teachers, often requiring the understanding that
students and teachers have life worlds outside of school that affect how they engage and disengage with each other and with social
media (Laas et al., 2022). To avoid ethical issues (e.g., cyberbullying or cyberstalking), some authors suggest signing an agreement
document related to the use of data (Krutka et al., 2020). At the beginning of the course, we warned our students about some ethical
issues related to the use of social media, such as avoid recording or sharing the work of other students without permission. However, it
would have been advisable to ask them to sign an agreement document related to the use of data (Krutka et al., 2020).
Finally, it is worth mentioning that this experience allowed the students to actively participate in the classroom. However, teachers
should ensure the class follows specific basic parameters when adapting professional Instagram content to their ESP classes. In this
vein, we suggest that seven quality standards be followed when integrating professional Instagram content into ESP classes (Table 5).
These quality parameters are based on Dudley-Evans and St John’s suggestions to select material that stimulates and motivates,
matches students’ learning objectives, and supports that learning (1998, p. 174).

4. Final reflections

Today’s global and plurilingual society demands a new profile of an ESP student capable of working in international and inter­
disciplinary working groups using English as a lingua franca (Nagy, 2016). Students must be communicatively competent and express
themselves appropriately to become professionally literate. This implies mastering specific vocabulary and using it in authentic,
professional contexts (Gómez-Ortiz, 2021, pp. 111–124). The current paper, in a Spanish context of sports science students, shows that
using a PBL methodology based on professional Instagram accounts helps them gain deep subject-specific knowledge and develop the
skills necessary to thrive in an ever-changing world (Tuyen & Tien, 2021).
On this basis, the present paper outlines the possibilities that Instagram accounts offer to foster professional vocabulary acquisition
following a PBL methodology in the context of sports science. Through this experience, we ensured that our ESP students mastered
field-specific terms while developing their ability to construct meaning and think critically, which are life skills they will need beyond
the school walls. Additionally, by using social media resources, students could experience technology-based professional development
(Habets et al., 2021; López-Carril et al., 2022; Luo et al., 2020). The feedback received by the student body suggests that Instagram
could be used successfully to improve students’ acquisition of specific vocabulary in ESP contexts. This feedback aligns with previous
research stating the benefits of Instagram as a learning tool to enhance students’ communication skills, both written (Purwandari,
2017; Soviyah & Etikaningsih, 2018) and oral (Handayani, 2017; Çakmak, 2020).
Furthermore, our results suggest the benefits of using Instagram as an engaging tool to redefine the language classroom, enabling
students to generate their ideas using contextually relevant content information (Al-Ali, 2014). These results are significant because of
the increasing role of Instagram in the sport industry leading to increased consumption of sport on social media (Anagnostopoulos
et al., 2018; Doyle et al., 2022; Janssen et al., 2022).
However, this paper has its limitations, generalisability being the main one, with sports science undergraduate participants
restricted to a cohort of 75. Positive results must be considered in light of the nature of this small course sample of the Spanish
educational context. Each learning environment is unique. More research is needed to examine the use of the PBL methodology based
on professional Instagram accounts with students of other degrees and specialties and to analyse the effectiveness of the experience
with a research design including a pre-test and a post-test with a control group.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, the students assessed the experience positively. They highlighted the feeling of belonging to an international pro­
fessional community through social media, the need to use these visually attractive media with a scientific basis, and the opportunity to

Table 5
Quality standards for integrating professional Instagram content into ESP classes.
1 Students’ needs
2 High-quality content
3 Structure of the content
4 Multimodal content
5 Correction, coherence, and cohesion
6 Interaction
7 Design, development, implementation,
and assessment
Select content according to the field-specific students’ abilities and interests.
Select only content posted by renowned organisations or professionals matching the technical level of the target
audience and offering permanent updating of specialised information.
Make an inventory of the content to allow the teacher to reorganise it, update it, and complement it with other
class activities. Once the content has been classified, it will be possible to adapt it to different levels and needs.
Try to select the information contained in texts, images, and videos so that students can practice reading and
listening skills while acquiring specific vocabulary.
Make sure the content is expressed with correction and varied grammatical structures, that it does not contain
spelling errors, and that it expresses clear and logically related ideas.
Make sure the content favours interaction so that students develop critical thinking by asking questions,
exchanging ideas, and generating debates that favour reflection.
Put yourself in the students’ place and reflect on the learning experiences implemented and the tools for
autonomous, active, and flexible work provided.

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communicate in English through emotionally engaging content and visual resources. In summary, the ESP Instagram technology
brought benefits to students, including the ability to use technical English in a specific domain, work collaboratively, and develop
workplace-related skills, self-responsibility, and motivation.

Declarations of interest

None.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

CRediT author statement

María-José Gómez-Ortiz: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,Writing- Original draft preparation.

Elena Domínguez: Conceptualization, Supervision, Reviewing and Editing, Investigation.
Jelena Bobkina: Conceptualization, Supervision, Investigation, Writing- Reviewing and Editing.

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María-José Gómez-Ortiz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics for Science and Technology at the Technical University of Madrid. She
currently works in discourse analysis and innovative teaching and learning research.

Elena Domínguez Romero is senior lecturer of English Language and Linguistics at the Complutense University of Madrid. Her recent research interests include Evi­
dentiality and Modality in media discourse as well as Applied Linguistics and innovative teaching.

Jelena Bobkina is an Associate Professor Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain. Her research interests and publications
relate to the field of language teaching and applied linguistics.