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Module 1: Esp Overview: Lesson 1: History and Development

The document provides an overview of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), including its history, definitions, types, classifications, and key features: 1) ESP emerged in the 1960s in response to developing nations' need to learn English for academic and occupational purposes. It has since evolved from focusing on lexis to discourse analysis and learner-centered approaches. 2) ESP is defined by its goal of meeting learners' specific language needs for disciplines, occupations, or activities. It contrasts with general English and may focus on certain skills. 3) ESP is divided into English for Academic Purposes and English for Occupational Purposes, with various sub-categories within those domains.

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94 views

Module 1: Esp Overview: Lesson 1: History and Development

The document provides an overview of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), including its history, definitions, types, classifications, and key features: 1) ESP emerged in the 1960s in response to developing nations' need to learn English for academic and occupational purposes. It has since evolved from focusing on lexis to discourse analysis and learner-centered approaches. 2) ESP is defined by its goal of meeting learners' specific language needs for disciplines, occupations, or activities. It contrasts with general English and may focus on certain skills. 3) ESP is divided into English for Academic Purposes and English for Occupational Purposes, with various sub-categories within those domains.

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Aris Pet
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MODULE 1: ESP OVERVIEW

A. History and Development


B. Definition
C. Types and Classifications

LESSON 1: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT


The idea for a specialized English program came into existence during the 1960s in response to
the sprouting "global need" to fill the gap between developed and developing countries. Developing
nations were starting to be curious and interested to learn more than what they have within their
boundaries, However, they were hindered by the language barrier, since English is the lingua franca.

According to Masters (1 985), "The first focus of ESP was on the lexis. The idea was that normal
ESL materials would be used but that subject-specific lexical items would be substituted for more general
terms (e.g., "This is a book" would be replaced by "This is an Erlenmeyer Flask." This was originally labeled
“register" for want of a better term, "

As the pendulum of language teaching swung from structural approaches to more communicative
or "pragmatic" approaches* ESP also went with the tide. ESP courses went beyond the sentence level and
focused not on "describing" but on “doing"

However, similar with language teaching approaches during those times, ESP courses were still
teacher-centered. Hence, with the concern regarding the needs of the students becoming more
emphasized, ESP practitioners started looking for realistic materials that students will be able to
meaningfully use within the ESP classes.

Synoptically, the history and development of ESP is defined in terms of five stages: (Hutchinson
and Waters, 1987 as cited in Sinha and Sadorra, (1991, PP. 17-23)

A) The concept of special language: register analysis


B) Beyond the sentence: rhetorical or discourse analysis
C) Target situation analysis
D) Skills and strategies
E) Learning-centered approach
LESSON 2: DEFINITION

The meaning and signification of the term ESP has undergone several changes over the years and
is continuing to undergo modifications. Dudley-Evans and St, John (1 998, pp. 3-5) present the following
definitions given to ESP:

• Hutchinson and Waters (1987) use ESP as an approach rather than product, by which they
mean that ESP does not involve a particular kind of language, teaching material or
methodology. They suggest that “the foundation of ESP is the simple question: "Why does
this learner need to learn a foreign language?" The answer to this question relates to the
learners, the language required and the learning context, and thus establishes the
primacy of NEED in ESP.
• Steven (1988) makes a distinction between four absolute characteristics and two variable
characteristics,

A) Absolute characteristics of ESP consist of English language teaching which is:

▪ Designed to meet specified needs of the learner;


▪ Related in content (that is in its themes and topics) to particular
disciplines, occupations and activities;
▪ Centered on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis,
discourse, semantics, and so on, and analysis of the discourse;
▪ In contrast with "General English"
B) The variable characteristics are that ESP
▪ may be restricted as to the learning skills to be learned (e.g. reading only,
speech recognition only, etc.) and
▪ may not be taught according to any pre-ordained methodology
LESSON 3: TYPES AND CLASSIFICATION
Types of ESP

ESP has traditionally been divided into two main areas: English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and
English for Occupational Purposes. Robinson (1991 p.3) uses the following tree diagram to show the
classification:

Basic Features of an ESP course

Various educational institutions and training centers claim that their English program is ESP.
However, it should be noted that ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learners. Thus, the
following are some of the basic features or characteristics of an ESP course. These may be considered as
the criteria from which we may gauge whether a program is ESP or not.

1. ESP is goal oriented- Because students study English for a specific purpose, i.e. to
survive in an academic setting or in a workplace, topics and activities are specified on the goal of
the student. Hence, the program should not be geared towards a general approach to teaching
the English language.
2. ESP is based on needs analysis- Relevant to the first criteria, the topics and
activities embedded within an ESP course is based on the analysis of students' needs, i.e. initial
needs, learning needs, and target or end of-course requirements.
3. ESP is time-bound- Because students study English for a specific purpose, they do
not intend to spend too much time engaging to indirect learning activities and exercises. Each
session aims to contribute to the end goal, which should be met at a specified time or duration.
4. ESP is for adults-Most often, ESP students are adults, simply because they are
the ones who are opting to learn English as a preparation for higher learning or for the workplace.
5 ESP is discipline specific- Most often than not, ESP courses are written to fit a
particular group of students who belong to the same field of study, If you're a nurse, you would
not enroll in an English for Engineers course, would you?

Specificity and Motivation

Stevens (1988 as cited in Dudley-Evans and St. John, 1998) p.9) summarizes the advantages of ESP
with the following four points:

1 . Being focused on the learner's need, it wastes no time;


2. It is relevant to the learner;
3. It is successful in imparting learning;
4. It is more cost-effective than General English

It was further emphasized that motivation in ESP has a profound effect on the question of how
specific the course is. High motivation on the pan of the learners generally enables more subject specific
work to be undertaken; low motivation, however, is likely to lead to a concentration on less specific work.

Carrier Content and Real Content

In discussing the question of specificity in ESP, practitioners try to clarify the role of the actual
content. The notions of "carrier content" and "real content" are essential to the understanding of ESP
work and of motivation in ESP.
In ESP, any teaching activity, whether its aim is to teach language or skills, is presented in a
context. Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) differentiate the two significant terms in ESP as follows:
• Carrier content refers to the subject matter of an exercise,
• Real content refers to the language or skill content of an exercise

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