Sports and athletics belong to all cultures; at the same time aspects of them are typical of U.S. culture. As a theme they can be used as a springboard for a "transcultural dialogue" in the language acquisition process. A review of literature shows that very little has been written about developing language skills and cultural understanding through the correlation of athletics with the English as a second language (ESL) classroom. The notional/functional syllabus and the "threshold level" approach are studied for their appropriateness in integrating athletics and ESL class activities. The principal concern of the study is to present the topic of sports and athletics superimposed upon the following considerations in a situational application of a functional approach to language teaching: language functions; general notions; specific notions; setting; social, sexual, and psychological roles; style and register; stress and intonation; grammar; vocabulary; paralinguistic features; and cultural factors. Examples of class activities based on basketball, baseball, tennis, and track/jogging are provided for each category. The appendices provide definitions of the first ten categories used, a listing of selected language-functions, and a listing of idioms related to sports. (AMH)