Institute Good TESOL

ESP ESP, or english for Specific Purposes is a relatively new specialization within the ESL Curriculum spectrum. With the end of WWII and the end of the Cold War fast approaching, the global landscape began to change in significant ways, specifically in the flow money and investment into oil rich nations. Also influencing this new globalization was technology and manufacturing expansion in countries outside of the US and Europe. english, due to the success and will of the united states, had already taken a lead as a global language but with this new globalization of markets, it became a necessity rather than an imposition. With rebellion on all fronts in the 60’s and 70’s, so to was linguistics and teaching theory changing with the times. Suddenly there was a focus on the psychology of learning and instead of practicing “methods of language delivery” studies of “language acquisition” were being done. Language study was no longer a theory or descriptive practice but was being approached from a “real use” perspective. It went from an instructor motivated discipline to a user based motivated discipline. Not only was this true for linguistics in general but ESL specifically. It was not long before ESP emerged as the new specialization of ESL learning. Since ESP content and method are based on a learners’ reasons for learning it isn’t characterized by any specific discipline is thus quite adaptable. This approach strays from prior methodologies in teaching whether ESL or Standard english instruction. Because of this difference, ESP is categorized in 3 ways: english as a restricted language, english for academic or occupational purposes and english for specific purposes. These sub -classifications all have specific nuances but can generally be explained as an approach that does not encompass english in the broader sense of overall communication and cannot necessarily address communication in a “novel situation or in contexts outside of vocational environments”. This is quite significant for an instructor/curriculum designer to understand since language study is usually geared specifically for just that, enabling people to communicate freely in a wide range of situations and environments. The fact that ESP curriculum focuses so heavily on the learner’s needs does not necessarily mean that certain students won’t still need a broad spectrum of instruction that teaches them to speak in more social contexts (sales reps or presenters). Therefore, the instructor of ESP is charged with double duty, to instruct within specific “user needs” context while still incorporating general english usage and understanding. Also, they must do this with very little text book material since, due to the highly specialized nature of ESP, text books and syllabuses have not been generated. Although there is a lack of supportive material specifically designed for ESP usage, there is still a plethora of ESL resources of all kinds out there to adapt and modify to address ESP needs. In addition, ESP students are generally higher level learners and therefore the use of authentic material can be the main source of material instead of the exception. It will most likely make up the majority of content as learners do research for presentations or for papers. As important as content and language skills are, teaching students how to learn and access information on their own will be key in their success in ESP because their need is job/career related and their learning will continue throughout their career. One can assume a fair amount of content knowledge since the student a.) Already works in that field or b.) Has prior knowledge learned in their native language. For example, a student works for a manufacturing company and is trying to get a promotion. He understands the operation of the company, the product, the machinery, etc. but he would like to become a sales representative or get into marketing which requires him to do presentations, participate in negotiations and meet with clients in foreign countries. The skills he needs then are not language or content based so much as skill based (how to use PowerPoint? What kind of language is appropriate when addressing a room of executives?) In this way, focusing on authentic material and real world role play becomes a vital component for the ESP instructor/ curriculum developer. I see ESP instruction and curriculum development continuing to grow as a specific discipline within the ESL field, especially due to the explosion of technology. Not only does it create more demand but it also allows for the use of technology in the development of tools for teaching ESP. Although the difficulties of developing specific text books and curriculum for broad use has been discussed I believe that the demand will be such that perhaps software can be designed to address the special issues involved in teaching ESP or that it will simply become so widespread that hard copy material created by teachers will be published in textbook form or in a database. In any case, I think this is an exciting new component of ESL learning and I look forward to taking part in it.