English for social purposes. A handbook for teachers of adult literacy: Jenny Hammond, Anne Burns, Helen Joyce, Daphne Brosnan, and Linda Gerot with Nicky Solomon and Sue Hood. Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Macquarie University, 1992, 96 pp. (available from NCELTR, Teaching and Research, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia)

Abstract

This paper describes the process of creating English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course for the students of Public Administration and Political Sciences (PAPS) at the South East European University (SEEU) in Tetovo, Macedonia. The necessity to modify the existing syllabus for this course and change the complete approach in teaching it arouse from the expressed concern about its efficiency by all stakeholders: students, administration and employers. This concern was mainly related to the communicative competence of students that were expected to demonstrate speaking abilities when applying for jobs in the Public Sector at times when Macedonia was aspiring for integration in international organizations such as NATO and EU. After a brief description of the language policy at SEEU, an overview of ESP as a branch of English Language Teaching (ELT) is presented. Recommendations about the communicative orientation of ESP courses are taken as a basis for creating the new model. Developing student speaking abilities necessary for active use of the English language in the future professional settings from these two fields is the core component for the syllabus creation together with careful selection of materials based on student needs. Student satisfaction demonstrated through discussions with them, as well as the results on the final achievement test indicate that the course was effective although some more complex investigation of the perceptions of all parties involved and other evaluation tools are needed to confirm this result.