Teaching and Testing ESP at Iranian Universities: A Critical View

Abstract

Comparing general English teaching with ESP teaching, we certainly notice both similarities and differences. The difference is that many general English language teachers are trained to become teachers of English while the great majority of ESP teachers are not trained as such. ESP teachers need, therefore, to orientate themselves to a new environment for which they have not generally been prepared. Regardless of the existence of this significant difference, as Jordan (1997) believes, ESP teachers obviously have much in common with any language teacher. The ESP teacher needs to take account of developments in linguistics and learning theory, aims to keep up with current views on the place of learners in the education system, and has to confront the new technologies offered as aids to improve pedagogy. What distinguishes, the ESP teachers from many teachers in the world of ELT, however, is the additional and crucial need to understand, the requirements of other professionals, either academic or occupational, the differences in learning conditions in terms of both learners’ needs, age, etc. This study is an attempt to critically view of ESP teachers' roles in Iran to see whether they follow the right procedures in ESP classrooms or not. To carry out the study, some ESP classrooms in some universities were observed and the teachers' main activities were compared with those activities in the provided checklist. The results indicate that ESP teachers in our country are not teaching English and their activities do not reflect innovations in teaching and learning.