Is Teaching Technical Words a Problematic Issue for ESP Teachers in a Saudi Industrial College?

Abstract

The literature written about technical words instruction is little compared to its equivalent about vocabulary learning. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which English for Specific Purposes Teachers (ESPTs) think that teaching technical words is a problematic task for them in a Saudi Arabian industrial college called Yanbu Industrial College (YIC). It also explores the reasons behind the challenges they face in teaching technical words. To obtain the goals of this study, six ESPTs at YIC from three different nationalities with different majors, teaching experience, and ages were interviewed to understand their beliefs regarding the existence of the problem and the reasons behind this challenge. The interview type was semi-structured in nature and some prompt cards were also utilised to gather data from the participants. The study revealed that ESPTs at YIC don’t view technical words as a problem but rather a challenge which they can cope with. Among the main challenges they said they faced in doing their job are lack of the proper subject knowledge, lack of experience, absence of prior to students’ enrollment needs analysis and lack of opportunities to employ critical Vocabulary Teaching Strategies VTS and employing reliable Vocabulary Delivery Vehicles VDVs. The findings of the study are expected to provide the literature with some instructional implications such as ESPTs and subject teachers collaboration in teaching technical words, ESP course designing, early analysis of ESP students and ESPTs specialized training programs. Future scrutiny to further our understanding about this neglected topic in the ESP domain and L2 vocabulary instruction is highly recommended.