Meeting students’ needs: ESP teaching at the department of political sciences

Abstract

This paper examines the current situation of learning ESP in a non-English Department at the University of Saida, Algeria. Data were collected from the targeted population which was an ESP teacher and a group of 46 first-year License-Master-Doctorate political sciences students. Three methods of data collection were used to investigate the suitability of the designed curriculum in meeting students’ needs, to analyze the teacher’s methods and to see whether they are effective in boosting active ESP learning. The study uncovers the students’ learning deficiencies. Results suggested that curriculum designers need to clarify some components and point out the importance of reconsidering some teaching practices in relation to needs analysis. Eventually, some recommendations are suggested to conduct ESP teaching and make it a beneficial learning opportunity.