The Future of English for Specific Purposes Classes Beyond the Pandemic Context as Seen by the Students of Agricultural Sciences

Abstract

While English for Specific Purposes has been dealt with by researchers all over the world, the insertion of educational technology and online environment is a relatively new concept. This article explores the main aspects of an effective online ESP learning process during the 2019-2020 academic year within the split frame generated by the pandemic context. It also aims at setting the educational frame for the future of ESP classes from the standpoint of the freshmen of Agricultural Sciences. An online questionnaire was answered, its structure being underlined by aspects such as content and skill-related tasks, accessibility, motivation, engagement, educational environment, media and assessment. The use of specialization-related materials is positively adjusted towards the online ESP classes, whereas frequency usage of skill-related tasks shows more balanced values between on-site and online ESP classes. In terms of schedule flexibility, the online medium is the more manageable of the two. If the combination of online exercises, specialized sites, online apps and platforms is clearly the norm for the online ESP classes, on-site assessment is evaluated as being more accurate. Although the students’ answers are relatively balanced, the majority agreed that the online environment is the most suitable frame for the future ESP classes.