Linguistic effect of focus projection in the ESP classroom: some pedagogical implications

Abstract

Placing emphasis on words, which in turn spread this emphasis to the preceding word, is a phenomenon typical of English. This is technically known as focus projection, or projection. Since projection as defined above is realised in and through speaking, the relation between projection and speaking is studied in the context of ESP. Due to the lack of enough practice, speaking appears to constitute a challenge for most ESP students. Although practice remains the best solution, the question is how to practice, or how to encourage students, in an artificial environment. I define artificial environment as an environment where learners of English are not surrounded by native speakers, so the former do not have the opportunity to practice, i.e. to speak, English on a regular everyday basis. Hence, a research question emerges naturally, namely can projection be used to facilitate speaking? This paper studies the relevance of focus projection in the ESP classroom. The introductory section exemplifies the concept of projection, sets the objectives of the study, and briefly describes the methods that are used. The main objective is to study if awareness of focus projection on the part of the teacher can serve as a tool to facilitate learning, especially speaking, in an ESP context. The second section deals with theoretical and practical, including pedagogical, implications, and is followed by empirical data on the basis of which these implications are further discussed.The concluding section continues the discussion by lending weight to the constraints the teacher faces if they apply the above presented ideas but also reinforces the practical benefit of encouraging students to attach emphasis to particular words in the sentence. / Keywords: linguistic affect, emphasis, focus projection, ESP, pedagogical implications