ESP (English for Specific Purposes)

Meaning

Origin Development

marvin j. ocenar
Presentor

Role of ESP Teacher

Definition . . ..

What is ESP?
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a learner-centered approach to teaching English as an additional language which focuses on developing English communication skills in a specific discipline, such as accounting, agrology, education, engineering, IT technology, and academic learning.

Definition . . ..

What is ESP?
-is a sphere of teaching English language including Business English, Technical English, Scientific English, English for medical professionals, English for waiters, English for tourism, English for Art Purposes, etc. e.g. Aviation English pilots, controllers civil aviation (for radio communication) - It is also called as an avatar of language for specific purposes.

Definition . . ..

What is ESP?
- it refers to the teaching of a specific genre of mostly technical English for students with specific goals, careers or fields of study. - e.g. English for Academic Purposes English for Business & Management Hotel & Catering English

Characteristics of ESP . . .

Characteristics of ESP (Dudley-Evans, 1997)

Absolute
1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners( Maslow's Hierarchy of needs) 1. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves. 1. ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.

Variable
1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines 2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of General English 3. 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 for learners at secondary school level 4. ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students. 5. Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems

Origin of ESP . . .

Origin of ESP . . .
The demands of a Brave New World, post WW2

A revolution in linguistics
A focus on the learner

Origin of ESP . . .

The demands of a Brave New World, post WW2

- Expansion of science, technology, and economics. - Historical reasons led to the dominance of English in science and business. - A new generation of learners of English, learning, not just to be cultured, or well educated, but learners who needed English, and knew why they needed it. - Teachers of English became more accountable, subject to the needs, wishes, and demands of whoever was paying. English teachers started working not just in educational establishments, but in businesses, where results were expected, and paid for.

Origin of ESP . . .

A revolution in linguistics
- Traditionally: grammar. New emphasis: language in the real world - the so called communicative approach. - Language varies according to situation, therefore the distinctive features can be identified, and made the basis of the new courses. In particular, there was some discussion of the distinctive features of the language of science, and a concentration on these features in lessons.

A focus on the learner

- In psychology, emphasis on the learner and their attitudes. - Hence courses where importance was given 'relevance' to learners needs and interests.

Development of ESP . . .

5 Phases of Development
1. The concept of special language: register analysis 2. Beyond the sentence: rhetorical or discourse analysis 3. Target situation analysis 4. Skills and strategies 5. A learning- centered approach

Development of ESP . . .

5 Phases of Development
1. The concept of special language: register analysis - 1960s and early 1970s. - aim was to identify the grammatical and lexical features of the different registers. - main motive was the pedagogic one of making the ESP course more relevant to the students needs. - focused on language at the sentence level and on sentence grammar

Development of ESP . . .

5 Phases of Development
2. Beyond the sentence: rhetorical or discourse analysis -. ESP focused on the level above the sentence, as ESP became closely involved with the emerging field of discourse or rhetorical analysis and how sentences were combined in discourse to produce meaning (Henry Widdowson, Larry Selinker and Louis Trimble)
Basic hypothesis: we take the view that difficulties which students encounter arise not so much from a defective knowledge of the system of English, but from an unfamiliarity with English use, and that consequently, their needs cannot be met by a course which simply provides further practice in the composition of sentences, but only by one which develops a knowledge of how sentences are used in the performance of different communicative acts (Widdowson , 1974)

Development of ESP . . .

5 Phases of Development
3. Target situation analysis - aimed was to take the existing knowledge and set it on a more scientific basis, by establishing procedures for relating language analysis more closely to learners reasons for learning - to enable learners to function adequately in a target situation, that is, the situation in which the learners will use the language they are learning.

Development of ESP . . .

5 Phases of Development
4. Skills and strategies
- the principal idea behind the skills-centered approach is that underlying all language use there are common reasoning and interpreting processes , which, regardless of the surface forms, enable us to extract meaning form discourse - the focus should rather be on the underlying interpretive strategies , which enable the learner to cope with the surface forms, for example guessing the meaning of words from context, using visual layout to determine the type of text, exploiting cognates, etc. - the language learners are treated as thinking beings who can be asked to observe and verbalize the interpretive processes they employ in language use.

Development of ESP . . .

5 Phases of Development
5. A learning- centered approach

- concern is not with LANGUAGE USE but with LANGUAGE LEARNING

Roles of ESP teachers. . .

What are the roles of ESP Teachers?

Role of ESP teachers . . .

ESP teachers as

1
2 3

Teacher

Collaborator

Course designer and materials provider

4
5

Researcher

Evaluator

Role of ESP teachers . . .

ESP teachers as Teacher - synonymous with that of the General English teacher ESP teachers as Collaborator - working closely with field specialists.
- collaborating more closely with the learners

ESP teachers as Course Designer and Materials Provider

required to design courses and provide materials. - how specific materials would be - materials that cover a wide range of fields, arguing that the grammatical structures, functions, discourse structures, skills, and strategies of different disciplines are identical

Role of ESP teachers . . .

ESP teachers as Researcher - conduct a research in order to come up with materials

appropriate for the classroom.

ESP teachers as Evaluator - evaluate the effectiveness of the materials for a certain course.

End of the presentation . . .