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Applying the adult education framework to ESP curriculum

development: An integrative model

Article  in  English for Specific Purposes · December 2003

DOI: 10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00008-X

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 English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211
www.elsevier.com/locate/esp

Applying the adult education framework to ESP

curriculum development: an integrative model1
N.C. Sifakis*
Project Implementation Unit, Hellenic Open University, 6, Patriarchou Ioakeim Street,
106 74 Kolonaki, Greece

Abstract
The paper brings together recent work in English for specific purposes/languages for spe-
cific purposes (ESP/LSP) and adult education and puts forward an integrative model for ESP
curriculum design. It outlines a set of characteristics that identify the ESP learner within the
general adult learning framework. Taking current theories on the adult learner profile as a
starting point, it then focuses on a model that associates adult education principles with
effective ESP learning. This model has two sides. One side requires the adult learner’s ESP
teacher to come to terms with adulthood-oriented considerations (i.e. issues unique to adult
learning), such as ‘mess-management’, motivation and adult learning cycles. The other side
involves both a number of ELT-methodology-specific communicative strategies that are
indispensable in the ESP class, such as self-directed learning techniques, as well as enhancing
the role of the ESP teacher as counsellor. Some implications for the construction of CALL
programmes are discussed and the paper ends with the suggestion that all approaches to
teaching learners in the ESP framework can benefit from the successful handling of both
aspects of the earlier model. # 2003 The American University. Published by Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

This paper aims at integrating work in adult education within the teaching of
English for specific purposes. By ‘adult education’ (AE) I mean the international
interdisciplinary study of adults as learners and/or trainees of all types and in all
environments (J. Rogers, 1989; A. Rogers, 1996). By ‘English for specific purposes’

* Tel.: +30-1-072-21-942; fax: +30-1-072-21-303.

E-mail address: nicossif@hol.gr (N.C. Sifakis).
1
I am greatly indebted to four anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on an earlier
version of this article. Any remaining mistakes or inconsistencies are entirely the author’s responsibility.

0889-4906/03/$22.00 # 2003 The American University. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
PII: S0889-4906(02)00008-X
196 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

(ESP), I refer to the wide area that concentrates on all aspects of the specific-purpose
teaching of English and encompasses the academic (EAP) and vocational/ occupa-
tional (EOP) frameworks (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998). The same perspective is
presumed here to apply to the teaching of any language for specific purposes (LSP—
Widdowson, 1983, p. 1). This approach springs from a characteristic affinity of
many facets of AE with many facets of ESP, and, in this article, is presented as
having two sides. First, it considers the notion of ‘adulthood’ as a feature of all ESP
learners and secondly, it interprets all ESP situations in terms of adult learning
specifications. The investigation of both of these can be extremely useful in ESP
curriculum design. This article, therefore, has a strictly speaking ‘theoretical’ or
‘prescriptive’ character—essentially, it is a ‘glimpse’ at ESP from the associated but
slightly different perspective of adult education. It aims at making ESP course
designers and researchers aware of the AE perspective, which, in many ways, is very
similar to the ESP one and, in this way, the article responds to the wider need for the
drawing of parallels between different scientific disciplines and fields of study.
It is important to add a caveat here. While ESP and AE share, as we will see,
similar theoretical constructs (e.g. a concern for learner autonomy and motivation,
self-confidence, self-directed learning, etc.), ESP is predominantly considered to be
an approach (in the sense that Richards and Rodgers, 1986, gave to the term) to the
teaching of the English language (cf. Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998; Hutchinson &
Waters, 1987), which makes it relevant to practically all age-groups (except, perhaps,
younger learners) and, arguably, all target situations (as the necessities-needs-wants
curricular orientation of Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, seems to imply). AE, on the
other hand, concentrates on the teaching of subjects that involve either manual skills
(e.g. pottery) or knowledge-transfer (e.g. history) to a particular group of learners,
namely, adults. In this article, I will not be challenging the ‘ESP-as-an-approach’
perspective—on the contrary, I will be focusing on elements from AE that can be
fruitfully implemented in all forms of ESP course design. In doing so, it will be useful
to divide our discussion into two parts. First, I will show that ESP and AE share
characteristic features and attempt to draw the profile of the typical ESP learner in
AE terms (Sections 2 and 3). Then, I will draw some conclusions towards a set of AE-
based issues that can be considered in ESP curriculum design (Section 4).
In particular, to achieve the first objective (i.e. the investigation of the ESP learner
profile in AE terms), it is necessary to outline a set of characteristics that identify the
ESP learner within the general adult learning framework. This is accomplished by
concretely defining, and necessarily distinguishing between, the terms ‘adult’ and
‘adulthood’, drawing from the AE perspective (Section 2.1), and claiming that all
ESP learners (even non-adults) share ‘adulthood’-oriented characteristics (Section
2.2). The distinction between ‘adults’ and ‘adulthood’ and the emphasis on the latter
is important, since these two terms are widely, but also rather loosely, used either
directly or indirectly in the ESP literature (see Section 2.2). I will also be looking at
different forms of adult education and relating them to different ESP situations
(Section 3) and I will further elaborate on three key characteristics of adult learners
that are central in ESP curriculum design (Section 4), namely, the notion of the ESP
‘student participant’ (Section 4.1), the distinctly different functions of language
 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211 197

learning and general adult learning (Section 4.2) and the notion of a ‘learning con-
tract’ between student, teacher and sponsoring body (if any) as a central considera-
tion in adult (and therefore ESP) learning (Section 4.3).
The result of such an approach is a proposal for an integrative model for effective
ESP curriculum design, the basic principles of which are outlined in Section 5. The
model is designed so as to address an adulthood-oriented consideration of ESP
teaching methodology. This would necessitate the consideration of, among other
elements already identified as ESP-oriented (for a review see Dudley-Evans & St
John, 1998, pp. 2–5), the following factors:

 an adulthood-oriented analysis of all ESP learners (not necessarily just

adults) (Section 5.1); and
 a characterisation of the ESP teacher as counsellor (Section 5.2).

It is important to remember that the ESP domain is characterised by a wide

diversity—different learners, different classes, different needs, different syllabi, dif-
ferent teachers. While it is crucial not to lose sight of this diversity, this paper adopts
the ESP-as-an-approach rationale (see earlier) and, with that in mind, aims to (1)
identify adulthood-oriented elements in the profile of all ESP learners, (2) interpret
methodological practices already adopted by ESP teachers as AE-oriented and (3)
suggest new practices along the same lines. It should be stressed that this is in no
way claims to be either an orientation of all aspects pertaining to the ESP learner or
a ‘complete’ coverage of all the possible links between ESP and AE. It should be
seen, as the title suggests, as an orientation of ESP in terms of adulthood and a
proposal for an AE-oriented perspective in ESP curriculum design.

2. ESP and the notion of adulthood

I will begin by defining adults and adulthood and distinguishing between them in
AE terms (Section 2.1). Then, in Section 2.2, I will consider the role of adults and
adulthood in the ESP literature. I will show that the term ‘adults’ is used, in most
cases, as an age-reference variable, whereas professional, educational and compe-
tence characteristics of ESP learners are usually the primary focus of attention in
needs analysis and curriculum design projects. I will further concentrate on the
notion of ‘adulthood’ as a more appropriate characterisation of some of the most
important features of the ESP learner profile.

2.1. ‘Adults’ and ‘adulthood’

A review of the AE literature shows that, while there does not seem to be a con-
sensus regarding the definition of an adult, different perspectives posit different age-
related, social, professional and educational characteristics. For the purposes of this
paper, however, it will suffice to interpret adulthood in terms of the following three
characteristics:
198 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

1. as a stage in the life cycle of the individual;

2. as a certain form of societal status (acceptance by the society in which they
live); and
3. as a collection of ideals and values (the notion of ‘adulthood’).

These characteristics are also reflected in the work of Habermas (1978), who
interpreted adulthood in terms of:

(a) The personal growth and full development of adults, also regarded as matur-
ity—this characteristic is not just a state an individual is at, but also an ideal and
a goal;
(b) A greater sense of perspective and an ability to make judgements (about
themselves and others) based on accumulated experience—adults are usually
serious in what they undertake and want to be taken seriously;
(c) An inherent autonomy, which renders them responsible decision makers,
whose motivation (or degree of voluntary participation and personal invol-
vement) is a central prerequisite as far as learning is concerned.

As regards learning, adulthood relates to learner self-respect, a respect for others

(i.e. teacher and fellow learners) from all aspects (i.e. physical, emotional, social,
cultural, intellectual, political), and a sense of discipline in the learning process itself.
These characteristics are unrelated to individual learners’ strategies for learning (but
see Section 4.1), but can be implemented by teachers and course designers in dealing
with issues such as, for example, learner anxiety and loss of self-confidence in a
subject or linguistic and communicative competence (cf. the humanistic tradition of
Moskowitz, 1978; for a more recent perspective see Arnold, 1999).
In light of the aforementioned, it becomes clear that adulthood is not a binary
feature (that a learner has or does not have) but is best seen as a continuum with
many sub-features, along which a learner’s profile can be mapped. In what follows, I
prefer to use this term in the wider context given earlier and posit that it is appro-
priate for all ESP learners, not necessarily adult ones. In this light, it will be useful to
first draw the social and educational profile of adult learners from the point of view
of adulthood and then focus on the ESP learner.
In the AE context (cf. Knowles, 1990, pp. 194–195), adults’ primary social role is
defined with reference to their occupational specification and their interactions with
people (of different ages) operating in the same and/or other professional environ-
ments. Adults are claimed to be primarily workers and secondarily learners, acquir-
ing knowledge mainly from experience rather than books and the media (although
the opposite can also be the case—see below). This is contrasted with pre-adults’ (or
adolescents’) primary role as learners, who are usually supervised by parents and
teachers and whose daily environment is constrained within the formal education
system (school, university, etc.). In certain ESP cases, however, adults may be
motivated primarily as learners rather than as workers and prioritise education as
an integral element of their professional development. While pre-adults’ impetus
for learning is, more often than not, fully directed (i.e. to fulfil their social role as
 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211 199

learners), adult learners are usually self- or sponsor-directed—this implies that their
learning performance is proportional to the levels of motivation and sense of self-
fulfilment that they get from the learning situation. For adult learners, what con-
stitutes a barrier for learning may stem from a relative lack of skills (e.g. numer-
ical, writing, critical thinking), theoretical base, time, or may be due to
vulnerability (as a result of their being cut off from educational practices for a very
long time).
It would be interesting to see how the general profile of adult learners just drawn
can be integrated within the ESP context. As we will see, these characteristics are
evidently valid when considering ESP learners’ needs and a concomitant teaching
methodology. Such issues are often taken for granted by needs analysts and ESP
teachers, more so in the earlier days of English for science and technology (EST) and
less so in the learning- and learner-centred approaches of the 1980s and 1990s (cf.
Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). I will examine them and their function in more detail
in Section 4. Let us now consider how the terms ‘adults’ and ‘adulthood’ can be
implemented within ESP.

2.2. ‘Adults’ and ‘adulthood’ in ESP

Reference to adults and adulthood, as they have been defined above, is very fre-
quently made, in one way or another, in both the ESP and the more general-purpose
(EGP) literature (see below). While it is difficult to estimate the frequency of such
references, it is easier to investigate their function in ESP and EGP. In essence, there
seem to be two sorts of references to adults and adulthood-oriented considerations
in the ESP framework—direct ones and indirect ones. We will consider each in turn.

2.3. Indirect references (and some examples)

In considering the ESP/EGP distinction vis-à-vis the issue of adults, there is what
one could call a paradox. This paradox lies in that, while in the EGP framework it is
possible to concentrate on adults as a separate learning group that merits special
attention (this is the case, for example, with adult groups of immigrants—cf. McKay
and Tom, 1999; Perdue, 1993), just as it is possible to concentrate on other age-
groups (e.g. young learners), this does not seem to be the case with the ESP frame-
work, where adult learners are not considered any more ‘special’ than other age-
groups (e.g. adolescents). A quick look at the ESP literature will show that there are
hardly any books or articles devoted exclusively to adult ESP learners. Rather, the
element of ‘adulthood’ is considered to be one of the many variables that should be
considered in designing a particular ESP course. Still, and while ‘adulthood’ is certainly
granted a role in ESP, its characteristics tend to be exclusively age-related.
It could be argued that Widdowson’s theoretical distinction between EGP and
ESP in terms of ‘education’ and ‘training’ (Widdowson, 1983) was carried out in
ways reflecting the AE perspective in distinguishing between adults and pre-adults
(see Section 2.1). However, Widdowson did not concentrate on attributing this dis-
tinction to AE but on drawing the dividing line between ESP and EGP—a line
200 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

which can sometimes be quite hazy (cf. the specificity continuum of Dudley-Evans
and St John, 1998, pp. 8–10).
Another indirect reference to the adult learner profile, but now in the EGP
domain, was made by Abbot, who characterised most secondary-school learners as
belonging in a situation where no obvious learning objective is envisaged—what he
termed ‘teaching English for no obvious reason’, or TENOR (Abbot, 1981). A
comparison with the typical ESP learner can be of interest. According to Abbot,
TENOR learners are, in the main, school-based (and therefore adolescents), whose
motivation levels are low or vague and learning needs difficult to define. By contrast,
ESP learners generally operate in a post-school environment, their needs are essen-
tially definable, and motivation levels central for the success of the learning pro-
gramme (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998, p. 10). As far as curricular design is
concerned, while TENOR situations are broadly specified and the range of language
skills at best balanced, ESP syllabus design is ‘restricted’ (and defined by virtue of
learners’ needs—cf. Waters, 1977) and range of skills selected for their relevance to
the course and the learners’ needs. It is for these reasons (and the fact that ESP
classes are small and flexible) that ESP course design is usually innovative, while
TENOR syllabus design is essentially conservative.
It is possible to interpret TENOR and ESP situations in terms not only of lan-
guage specificity and needs/skills analyses, but also in terms of adulthood-oriented
considerations. On the basis of the definitions given earlier and the more specific
characterisations of this section, TENOR situations generally involve pre-adults (or
learners who would not be characterised by adulthood-related considerations),
whereas ESP (and some EGP) situations involve adults (or learners who could be
characterised by adulthood-related considerations).
It should be stressed here that, despite its wide diversity, the international history
of ESP has seen numerous accounts of actual ESP situations involving learners and
issues that can be characterised in terms of adulthood-oriented considerations. Such
considerations can be related to a genuine concern for learner motivation and par-
ticipation that is central in all ESP situations. It should be stressed, though, that the
adulthood-oriented perspective is not explicitly mentioned or directly acknowledged.
ESP accounts tend to concentrate more on defining other important issues such as,
for example, the range of study skills (Jordan, 1997), the level of subject specificity
and language competence (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998), or the range of learning-
oriented and vocational needs that arise in each particular case (Robinson, 1991).
While most EOP accounts are clearly adult-related, they tend to be predominantly
language- and vocation-oriented (cf. the pre-experienced—low-experienced—job-
experienced continuum; see Ellis and Johnson, 1994). Also, it could be argued that
most accounts in the rapidly developing area of Business English (BE) almost
exclusively concern adults (Johnson, 1993). Johns (1997) suggests that the learner’s
identity as a professional can help their application of their explicit knowledge to
their writing, and the same is suggested by Sengupta (1999) as regards reading.
While university-based BE teaching differs with respect to learners’ motivation and
assessment, the methodology prioritises learners’ adulthood characteristics (e.g.,
maturity and independent learning). One-to-one ESP classes (Wilberg, 1987) focus
 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211 201

on a deeper understanding of the learner’s personality and needs (Dudley-Evans &

St John 1998, pp. 202–203; Ellis & Johnson, 1994, pp. 188–190).
Earlier ESP accounts (cf. Swales, 1985) indirectly raise adulthood-related con-
siderations in the way that they handle methodology in various parts of the world.
Thus, Higgins (1967), in his account of an ESP situation in Northern Thailand,
memorably describes how ESP learners had been used to not being taken seriously
as learners of English (Swales, 1985, p. 31). In Latin America, the description of
Chilean science students (in Ewer & Hughes-Davies, 1971–1972) singled out ‘back-
ward’ learners of languages as ‘those with the greatest promise as scientists and
technologists’ (Swales, 1985, p. 49) and taught ‘instructional English’ by placing
students in authentic professional situations (ibid., p. 52). The same is claimed to be
the case with the communicative approach launched with the Nucleus series (Bates &
Dudley-Evans, 1976), which originated in north west Iran (Swales, 1985, pp. 90–91).
Motivation of adult students and a concern for authenticity is at the heart of the
box-kites lesson taught in Kuwait by Herbolich (1979). Similarly, the team-taught
courses in the UK described in Johns and Dudley-Evans (1980) grew out of a con-
cern for ‘the total educational environment of the student’ (Swales, 1985, p. 138).
Finally, the ‘sociorhetorical’ aspect of discourse communities (Swales, 1990, p. 24)
and their ethnographic rites de passage (ibid., p. 218; cf. Widdowson, 1998) also
draw a picture of learners with the colours of adulthood.
Such ‘indirect’ accounts can be attributed to the situational, or bottom-up,
approach generally undertaken (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998) and essentially
have very few preconceptions about adults and adulthood-oriented considerations.
These considerations, though, can be claimed to be one of the primary concerns of
the ‘educational responsibility’ (Swales, 1985, p. 188) of each ESP situation.

2.4. Direct references

What direct references to adults exist are usually found in definitions of ESP. They
too have, unsurprisingly, very little to say about adulthood-oriented issues. Com-
pare the following three definitions (italics added):

We are dealing, then, with a person who is an expert in his own field and who can
perform his various duties adequately in his mother tongue. (Kerr, 1977)

At one level learners can be young and still at high school level, [. . .] there are
also job-experienced learners studying in universities and colleges in the UK. (Ellis
and Johnson, 1994)

ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution
or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be used for learners at
secondary school level. (Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998)

Similar definitions of ESP learners abound (e.g. Johnson & Johnson, 1998, p. 105;
Robinson, 1991, p. 4). What the earlier excerpts show is that ESP learners are
202 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

usually considered primarily in terms of features such as their educational and pro-
fessional situation and level of competence in the mother and foreign tongues
(Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998; Robinson, 1991) and only in a secondary sense in
terms of age. Yet, as we have seen, these primary characteristics are all generally
considered in the AE framework to be characteristics of adults. This means that, if
we posit that the term ‘adults’ is strictly age-related whereas the term ‘adulthood’
also characterises the way a learner approaches a learning situation (cf. Section 2.1),
then we could envisage a latent connection between ESP and AE whose examination
could greatly benefit ESP.
In essence, therefore, it becomes evident from this section that, despite the great
diversity of many ESP situations (a tiny fraction of which was reviewed here), an ESP
‘approach’ to the teaching of language (and any other approach that meets the char-
acteristics of adulthood laid out above) can be seen as a predominantly ‘adulthood-
oriented’ approach—which also explains why there are no exclusively adult-oriented
accounts in ESP.
In the next section I will consider how the ESP learner, now characterised with the
feature of adulthood, can operate within the wider realm of AE.

3. The adult education framework and ESP

I showed above how adulthood-oriented considerations can be integrated in

characterising the ESP learner. I also showed that these are issues that are (directly
or indirectly) referred to in ESP but have not been adequately exploited. In this
section, I consider the various educational/training types that adults (i.e. learners
characterised with the feature of adulthood) are engaged in, and attempt to pinpoint
further links between ESP and AE by considering the role of the ESP learner and the
ESP teaching/learning environment from the AE perspective.
In the wider adult educational framework, there is a fundamental distinction
between initial and post-initial education, with adult learners being regarded as
‘belonging’ to the latter stage. Initial education concerns the basic education of
younger learners. Post-initial education:

(a) ‘spans non-vocational, vocational, general, formal and non-formal studies as

well as education with a collective social purpose’ (OECD, 1977);
(b) is ‘organised and sustained instruction designed to communicate a combina-
tion of knowledge, skills and understanding valuable for all the activities of
life’ (UNESCO, 1975);
(c) constitutes ‘full personal development and participation in balanced and
independent social, economic and cultural development’ (UNESCO, 1976).

In light of these distinctions, ESP teaching/learning situations can be considered

to be part of post-initial education, since they presuppose, in most cases, some basic
linguistic competence in the target language (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998, chap.
1) and, in certain cases, an engagement with the subject to be taught (that can range
 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211 203

from theoretical to experiential; see Robinson, 1991, pp. 3–4) and a concomitant
motivation to learn (cf. Section 2.2.1). Of course, ESP situations are not restricted to
instructional settings (as pointed out earlier), but can incorporate other modes, such
as self-access study, group activities, project work, etc. In AE terms, the ESP
domain can be characterised as an organised and sustained teaching/learning situa-
tion that is carried out in a formal or non-formal vocational (i.e. strictly speaking
EOP) or non-vocational (i.e. strictly speaking EAP) environment.
Such an environment can generally be identified in terms of four distinct AE types
(Rogers, 1996), three of which are relatable to different forms of ESP:

(a) Lifelong learning—According to this type, education is regarded as being

built into the very process of living (‘we learn as we grow older’); this may at
first seem to contradict the situational and short-termed character of most
ESP courses, but holds true for some ESP situations, where recurrent training
of professionals brings in their knowledge gleaned from experience. This
sometimes renders the situation more ‘specific’ (ESAP, ESBP) and the role of
the ESP tutor more difficult.
(b) Non-formal education—This type incorporates all out-of-school education for
any group of any age and is characterised as ‘more life-related than the tra-
ditional school curriculum’ (Rogers, 1996). In ESP terms, this would involve
practical teaching situations such as one-to-one tuition (Wilberg, 1987) or
some Business English cases.
(c) Continuing education—This type refers to adults returning to the formal
educational system of schools and colleges and defines ‘professional and
vocationally oriented training programmes at an advanced level for adults
who have already received a good deal of education’ (Rogers, 1996, p. 30). In
terms of ESP, this characterises a wide variety of EAP situations.
(d) Recurrent education—This type embraces schooling and refers to older-aged
participants (cf. the University of the Third Age).

These types leave out university or college education, which, in view of our earlier
definition of ‘adult’ and ‘adulthood’, should also be considered as being both adult-
and ESP oriented: in terms of AE, it can be seen as a level of continuing education and,
in terms of ESP, it involves most academic, or EAP, situations. It can be seen that ESP
training shares many features with at least the first three types. The earlier AE orienta-
tion can serve the multi-faceted character of most EAP and EOP programmes rather
well.

4. Adult learning characteristics and ESP curriculum design

In the previous section I discussed issues that permeate the wider area of adult
learning and education and reviewed some further links between ESP and AE. In
this section (and bearing in mind the vast diversity of ESP teaching and situations), I
will consider a number of adult learning-oriented characteristics that stem directly
204 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

from the earlier issues and reflect on their relevance to ESP curriculum design. These
characteristics are:

 the notion of the ESP learner as ‘student participant’ and his/her awareness
of his/her learning role;
 the special learning characterisations of language learning vis-à-vis general
adult learning; and
 the necessity of explicitly establishing a ‘learning contract’ in all ESP situa-
tions (which also implies an appreciation of the special relationship between
the ESP participant, the ESP subject and the ESP tutor).

4.1. The notion of the ESP ‘student participant’

Notwithstanding whether students pay for their own lessons or are sponsored, the
adult student/participant is, in most cases:

 voluntarily involved in learning;

 conscious of the learning process as a necessary step towards their personal
and/or academic/vocational fulfilment; and
 to a considerable degree, conscious of and reflective on their own learning
preferences and difficulties.

In the context of these considerations, the ESP learner is best described as an

actively involved member of the learning process, able to make decisions and
responsible, to a large extent, for the teaching methodology implemented (Hutch-
inson & Waters, 1987). In this way, and following adult learning terminology
(Rogers, 1996), we are essentially dealing with a participant in the ESP teaching/
learning process. Apart from the well-established language and skills-oriented needs,
the learning-oriented considerations that are germane to the notion of the ESP
‘student–participant’ involve a host of other ‘needs’. I will consider two such needs
here—those involving an appreciation of the learners’ social identity as students/
participants and those springing from their role as ‘reflective learners’.
Starting from the latter, there is a conviction in both the ESP and the AE litera-
tures that learners come to the classroom with certain preconceptions about what
learning will be like and what it will involve (cf. Higgins, 1967). These preconcep-
tions can be widely different depending on the learners’ previous learning, their
experiences regarding learning background (e.g. rule memorisation) and their social
identity as students/participants of the particular classroom. In certain cases, these
preconceptions will extend to strong beliefs concerning ESP-related matters, such as
the learning load or the subject specificity required. It is important for the course
designer to be aware of these views, since they may, in certain cases, be beneficial to
learning, but in some others they may not (Rutherford, 1989, cited in Ellis, 1994, p.
34). In the latter possibility, it might be necessary either for the course design to
adapt to these preconceptions or for the learners to engage in substantial unlearning
 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211 205

(Rogers, 1996, pp. 209–210). By ‘unlearning’, in AE, we mean those beliefs, skills or
pieces of knowledge of adult learners that have been acquired by habit and may be
incorrect or undesired and could prove harmful to the learning process (for an AE
perspective cf. Mezirow, 1991, chap. 5; for a language acquisition account of
unlearning, see Ellis, 1994, p. 299).
In any case, viewing ESP learners as adults (in the sense outlined earlier) implies
moving further from the established data-collection rationale of most needs analysis
projects. It necessitates encouraging them to reflect critically on their past experience
and their views and opinions regarding language learning. From such learner
reflection ESP course design can only gain.
Another issue that arises regards the new social roles ESP learners acquire as stu-
dent-participants of a particular teaching/learning situation. Of course, these roles
are not unique to adult classes—they are always present in every learning situation
and their investigation has led to placing increasing importance on matters such as
learner interdependence, collaboration and autonomy (cf. Benson, 2001). Never-
theless, such issues should be of particular concern to ESP curriculum designers
because they can provide valuable information concerning the learners’ social iden-
tity in the ESP classroom, namely, their behaviour towards other learners and the
tutor. Adult learners’ social roles can be influenced, for example, by the time-gap
between the learners’ initial and post-initial education—in the AE literature there
are examples or case studies of adult learners entering a particular post-initial
learning environment for the first time, having left initial education a very long time
before (cf. Mezirow, 1991; Rogers, 1989, 1996). In essence, the more course design-
ers know about their learners’ social identities as students/participants, the more
they can help formulate the ESP class in a way that would reflect and make the best
of these identities.
Another need that arises from the student/participant perspective involves an
appreciation of the ‘needs’/‘wants’ inherent in adult learners’ occupations. These
specifications are well-catered for in the ESP/EOP tradition and incorporate learn-
ing or other vocationally-related needs. In any case, it is important for both the ESP
learner and the ESP curriculum designer to be aware of the role of the former as an
adult student/participant in the ESP classroom.

4.2. Language learning vis-à-vis general adult learning

As far as the language needs considerations of ESP students/participants are

concerned, a distinction must be made of those aspects that characterise adult lear-
ners’ relationship with the different levels of learning. Such a distinction can be
mapped along the following continuum:

(a) general learning—acquiring knowledge and/or skills that are unrelated to

language;
(b) learning a language—acquiring knowledge and/or skills that are related to
using a language for general communicative purposes (in the English language
teaching context, this is relatable to EGP situations referred to earlier); and
206 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

(c) learning in ESP situations—acquiring knowledge and/or skills that are related
to using a language under certain circumstances and for ESP.

This continuum accounts for the widely different learning/training situations adult
learners are engaged in, and is consistent with ESP theorising (e.g. the ESP/EGP
training/education distinction of Widdowson, 1983) and the suggested adult educa-
tional typology laid out above (cf. Section 3). Essentially, the continuum involves a
consideration of the following issues that relate to ESP and AE matters and essentially
associate the interest of AE for the teaching/transfer of manual skills and knowledge to
adults with the interest of ESP for the teaching of language for specific purposes:

 Knowledge vs. skill: ESP learning involves both acquiring new and/or spe-
cialised knowledge (especially in EAP situations) and becoming trained in
certain language/communicative skills (e.g. Business English).
 Competence in EGP: adult learners’ knowledge of and ability in using Eng-
lish for general communicative purposes is gauged and the teaching syllabus
planned accordingly.
 Vocational competence (EOP situations mainly): strictly related to the lear-
ner’s ability to handle certain professional tasks and especially necessary for
shaping the syllabus accordingly.
 Subject-specificity: closely tied with vocational and EGP competence, the
degree of learners’ ability in handling subject-specific information has to be
gauged for maximum results regarding their in-class participation.
 Compulsory/voluntary nature of learning: similarly, adult learners may be, in
the majority, demotivated (or negatively motivated) when forced by their
company to attend English lessons (cf. Rogers, 1996); consequently, the ESP
teacher’s function in appropriately structuring lessons is crucial.
 Cultural characteristics: such specifications serve to ‘strengthen’ adults’ sense
of identity and can also be used to enhance motivation in both EGP and ESP
situations (this is especially important in Business English communication—
cf. Gimenez, 2001).
 Beliefs about language learning: adult ESP learners’ beliefs about learning a
foreign/second language have to be clarified at the outset, so that their
awareness is raised regarding different aspects of the ESP situation (e.g. the
difference between EGP/ESP, their favourite learning strategies, etc.).

4.3. Establishing a learning contract—appreciating the relationship between ESP-

teacher and ESP-student/participant

The notion of ‘learning contract’ is a key issue in AE (cf. Rogers, 1996). It specifies
a particular form of educational encounter negotiated between:

(a) The organiser, sponsor or providing agency, who provide assumptions not
only about the degree of subject-specificity and purpose of the programme,
but also specify eligibility requirements of student participants.
 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211 207

(b) The teacher, who provides initial expectations of the programme, bringing in
exterior experience from similar programmes and is essentially responsible
for ‘translating’ the sponsor’s aims into tangible teaching material and inte-
grating the specified objectives with student participants’ abilities;
(c) The student participants, who provide, and are critically reflective on, their
own existing knowledge as well as anticipations about the course and whose
previous experience and adulthood-oriented considerations are a deciding
factor for the programme’s ‘success’.

Different ESP programmes have different orientations (e.g. development of com-

municative abilities, enrichment of subject-specific knowledge, improvement of
technical or professional qualifications). While such orientations delineate the ESP
‘territory’, it is expected that an explicit learning contract agreed between the three
parties earlier will set forth:

 A proper co-operation between the ESP ‘teacher’ and the ESP ‘student/parti-
cipant’ (to be shown on the negotiated syllabus and adult learners’ motivation
levels).
 That the learning process forms a complete cycle: learners should be left with a
feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction that they have learnt something worthwhile.
 That the learning process is sequential and cumulative, built on adult learners’
existing knowledge and expectations.
 That the learning process is voluntary and purposeful: the ESP learner has to
be made fully aware of the methodological principles and the learning objec-
tives underlying the actual teaching process; active involvement of the student
participant in the planning process enhances motivation and commitment
(Herzberg, 1972).

5. An integrative model for effective ESP learning

In the previous sections I reviewed how the adult characteristics portrayed in Sec-
tion 2.3 can be mapped onto an ESP framework. I will now introduce a methodolo-
gically relevant model for all adult-based (and, therefore, ESP) language learning.
The model can be used in course design, needs analysis and evaluation, materials
selection and individual lesson planning, as well as the design of computer-assisted
learning programmes (depending on the specification of each ESP situation), and is
two-sided. One side relates to the adulthood-related characterisations of the ESP
learner laid out earlier, while the other side involves the dual role of the ESP teacher,
i.e. that of teacher and that of counsellor.

5.1. Side one—adulthood-oriented considerations

Adulthood-related characterisations of ESP situations can best be implemented by

deploying customised needs analysis data-collection techniques (i.e. questionnaires,
208 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

interviews, etc.) aimed at gathering information from the learners about issues that
are characteristic of adult learning. These questions can be formulated around the
following areas of interest to establish the student participant’s adulthood profile
and should be part of the overall needs analysis/course planning project:

 Personal vocational experience (in those ESP situations where it is applicable

or needed) and ability/willingness to reflect on it (Mezirow, 1981). Are lear-
ners/participants happy with their profession? To what extent do they feel it
worthwhile to study English as a means of enhancing their professional sta-
tus? To what extent are they capable (or indeed willing) of critically reflecting
on their experience?
 General learning theory: What are learners’ positions on (and previous
experience from) learning in general? To what extent are they dependent on
the teacher? Do they take the initiative or do they leave it to the teacher? Do
they believe in a set sequence of learning or do they consider learning to be
externally set? Do they consider learning as a one-off experience or as a con-
tinuous process? To what extent are they interested in learning how to learn?
 Personal language learning experience and beliefs regarding it. By means of
what teaching methods did the student participant learn English up to now?
What has been the amount of personal involvement in syllabus and daily
lesson planning?
 Learning strategies: The extent to which student participants’ learning stra-
tegies are teacher-centred, subject-centred or learner-centred will determine
the extent to which behavioural, cognitive or humanist approaches to teach-
ing/learning will be combined (Rogers, 1996).
 Decision-making abilities: To what extent can learners’/participants’ critical
reflection on vocational experience lead to active experimentation and, ulti-
mately, action (Kolb, 1984, also cf. Rogers, 1996: pp. 107–110)? What is their
competence (and previous experience) in problem-management (or ‘mess
management’, cf. Ackoff, 1978)?

It should be stressed, of course, that these considerations are additional to the

multitude of issues demanded in every needs analysis project and can help draw the
ESP learner’s profile in adulthood-oriented terms.

5.2. Side two—ESP teacher roles

While the first side involves a collection and subsequent analysis and appreciation
of the adult ESP learners’ beliefs, this side involves an upholding, on the part of the
ESP teacher, of two distinct, but parallel roles: that of teacher and that of counsel-
lor. Successful combination of these roles is essential for the planning of ESP classes
that enhance adults’ function as learner/participants.
On the one hand, the ESP teacher is responsible for promoting, whenever possible,
methodology-specific communicative strategies that enhance the learners’ adult-
hood-oriented considerations. This would involve the integration of self-directed
 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211 209

learning techniques (Dickinson & Wenden, 1995; Hammond & Collins, 1991) with
task-based activities that enhance the learners’ problem-solving skills and ability to
reflect on previous experience.
On the other hand, ESP teachers act as advisors, or counsellors to their adult
learners. Counselling, according to the Encyclopeadia Britannica, is ‘the process of
helping an individual discover and develop his educational, vocational, and psy-
chological potentialities and thereby to achieve an optimal level of personal happi-
ness and social usefulness’. The counsellor’s function is finding ways to both
appreciate and enhance learners’ learning and studying needs (Underhill, 1998) as
well as increasing the scope of adult learners’ exploratory behaviour by offering
psychological assistance where necessary (Ellis & Johnson, 1994, p. 190). Such
counsel may have to do with a host of different situations, ranging from helping
learners adjust to the new learning situation to boosting their self-confidence in
micro-skill-oriented issues to helping them with unexpected personal crises (e.g.
death in the family, divorce, accidents, etc). While counselling is especially applic-
able in small ESP classes, large classes can also benefit from it if the ESP teacher
draws the learners’ attention to it, highlights its importance at the beginning of
classes and prompts them to consult him/her when need arises. However, as Loza-
nov (1979) and others have stressed, teacher counselling has a strictly speaking
pedagogic function and should never be equated with (and therefore can never
replace) professional therapy.
The ESP teaching process can benefit from a teacher who treats learners as adults
and has the following ‘qualities of a competent therapist’: ‘a good person, intelligent,
creative, sincere, energetic, warm towards others, responsible and of sound judge-
ment’ (Wheeler, 2000, p. 66). In the first stage of learning, teachers/counsellors must
establish themselves with the student as being attractive, trustworthy and expert,
whereas ‘personal attributes such as warmth and positive regard, cultivating hope,
being non-judgemental and accepting’ (Wheeler, 2000, p. 66–67) are also considered
important. The therapist’s character and interpersonal style are also essential
aspects, as are acceptance, emotional stability, open-mindedness, commitment, gen-
uineness, flexibility, interest in people, confidence, sensitivity and fairness (Pope,
1996, cited in Wheeler, 2000, p. 67). Finally, it is important for the learner to
appreciate from the outset that the teacher is able to communicate and is non-com-
petitive, uncomplicated, a good listener and openly reflective on his/her own practice
(especially important in very specific ESP situations—cf. Wilberg, 1987).

6. Conclusion

This article surveyed the ESP learner’s profile in the light of adulthood- and adult
learning-oriented considerations. It was suggested that adult learners’ greater sense
of perspective and ability to make judgements (about themselves and others) based
on accumulated experience, combined with their inherent autonomy and need for
establishing clear goals, can be fruitfully implemented in ESP teaching/learning
situations. This can be achieved by making the ESP learner an active participant,
210 N.C. Sifakis / English for Specific Purposes 22 (2003) 195–211

not only in the actual learning process, but also in the syllabus and lesson planning
stage. The integrative model suggested earlier further analyses these considerations
and combines them with the role of the ESP teachers as both teacher and counsellor.

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Nicos Sifakis holds a BA in Computational Linguistics and a PhD in Linguistics and Phonetics from the
University of Essex, where he taught linguistics, speech science and phonetics for EFL for 4 years. He
currently tutors in the M. Ed. in TESOL program of the Hellenic Open University and coordinates the
TESOL Greece ESP/EAP SIG. He has written a Study Guide on ESP for the HOU. His research interests
include speech-related issues, English as an international language, adult education and cultural issues in
teacher education.

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