English 90 Beginner: 10-Week Programme

Love Football. Learn English.

For millions of learners, football is already a language, one they speak with genuine confidence. English 90 Beginner gives them the English to go with it.

A 10-week live cohort course for beginner English learners who love football. Two live lessons a week with Mark Bailey, in a group of no more than twelve, teaching practical everyday English through football situations and everyday life.

Next cohort

• 15 September to 26 November 2026
• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 17:30-18:30 JST
• 20 live lessons on Zoom
• Maximum 12 learners
• Beginner level (CEFR A1)

The English 90 Method

Every lesson follows three stages:

• Engage with football-based content and real-life situations
• Learn the grammar, vocabulary and communication patterns it contains
• Produce your own language through speaking and writing activities

Every unit begins with a familiar football context and ends with language you can use anywhere. Describe your favourite player to learn adjectives and comparisons. Plan a trip to a game to practise telling the time. Talk about a result to describe past experiences.

What you will be able to do

• Introduce yourself and hold simple conversations
• Talk about your daily life, habits and work
• Tell the time, make plans and handle everyday situations
• Talk about teams, players, matches and results
• Give your opinion and make predictions

What the course includes

• 20 live one-hour lessons with Mark Bailey over 10 weeks
• A cohort of no more than 12 learners, all at the same level
• Recordings of every session for review
• A weekly microlesson and community practice prompt
• Full access to the HATRIQA course platform for 120 days from the course start
• Progress activities and digital badges
• HATRIQA English 90 Certificate on completion

Course materials

The textbook and workbook contain more than 150 pages of exercises, illustrations and communication tasks. Three Jamie Johnson graded readers are introduced at Weeks 2, 5 and 8, building reading fluency through football stories.

• English 90 Beginner Textbook
• English 90 Beginner Workbook
• Jamie Johnson graded readers: Born to Play, Ready to Score, The Boy from Brazil
• English Language Learner Notebook

The printed materials are required and purchased separately through Amazon, approximately 13,850 yen at the time of publication (textbook 3,950 yen, workbook 2,750 yen, three readers at 1,250 yen each, notebook approximately 3,400 yen). Amazon sets these prices, so the final cost may vary.

Is this course right for you?

English 90 Beginner is structured to CEFR A1. You should already know a few basic English words and phrases and be able to read simple ones, even if you have never felt confident speaking. If you studied English at school but have barely used it since, this is a good place to begin again.

You do not need to play football or work in the game. Sessions are conducted in English to maximise learning, but Mark speaks Japanese and can clarify important points when needed.

Your instructor

Mark Bailey is a lecturer at the UCL Institute of Education and co-creator of the HATRIQA curriculum. He holds a master's degree in Applied Linguistics, is Cambridge CELTA and DELTA qualified, and has authored or edited more than ten English language books. He lived in Osaka for six years, speaks Japanese, and consults to Liverpool FC International Football Schools in Tokyo.

The HATRIQA curriculum was written by experienced English language teachers and education specialists, including staff from the UCL Institute of Education. HATRIQA took part in EDUCATE, UCL's research incubator, and is a graduate of the UCL Innovation & Enterprise programme.

One cohort. Twelve places. Enrolment closes when all places have been filled.

Built around football. Designed for life.