English For Specific Purposes Classroom Research Articles

Oral Proficiency in Higher Education: A Comprehensive Examination of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) for ESP Students

There have been various conceptualizations about the implementation of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in the context of English language teaching. TBLT has been proposed as a potentially efficacious approach for instructing English as a second language (ESL) in Asian settings, such as Indonesia. The present study aimed to investigate the optimal implementation of TBLT for higher education students in ESP classrooms. A cohort comprising seventy ESP students pursuing a degree in the Accounting Study Program participated as research subjects. This research used a descriptive quantitative research method. The results show that the implementation of TBLT into the teaching of speaking skills resulted in beneficial result concerning students in ESP classrooms. The findings of this study indicate a statistically significant increase in the mean scores of oral English proficiencies among students enrolled in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, as seen by the comparison between pretest and post-test scores. This study can be implemented by providing opportunities for students to engage in spoken language practice rather than learning sessions primarily focused on the explicit instruction of grammatical rules and ESP students’ comprehensibility. This study can be applied in TBLT approach in the ESP classroom setting for comprehensibility in EFL students' oral English.

Investigating the Writing Skills Alternative Assessment Strategies used in Moroccan ESP Classrooms: Teachers’ Perceptions and Prevailing Practices

Assessment is the backbone of the learning-teaching process. Several studies have proven that assessment goes hand in hand with learning. Classroom assessment can be either traditionally of learning or formatively an ongoing process for learning. The current study explores the writing skills alternative assessment strategies used by Moroccan English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers in their classrooms. To reach this, the study seeks to explore Moroccan ESP practitioners’ perceptions and prevailing practices of writing skills alternative assessment strategies. Similarly, the study tries to identify possible challenges that impede the proper implementation of alternative assessment pedagogy in the Moroccan ESP context. Following a qualitative research design, the current paper deploys semi-structured interviews to collect data from 10 ESP instructors working in different higher institutes and universities in Morocco. The findings reveal that the participants possess favorable opinions regarding alternative assessment methods of writing skills. Nevertheless, these optimistic viewpoints are not clearly reflected in their assessment practices. The research paper can benefit both practitioners and policymakers in the field of education.

Top-down versus bottom-up pedagogy: Applications in the East Asian ESP classroom

This study explores the ways in which English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers in three East Asian countries, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand, understand and utilize top-down and bottom-up (hereafter abbreviated to TD and BU respectively) teaching pedagogies in their classrooms. A judicious combination of either approach in both classroom pedagogy has long been advocated by both theorists and veteran practitioners. However, the authors, when working as teacher trainers, had observed that many ESP teachers reverted almost wholly to bottom-up approaches in their classroom practices. The present study seeks to understand whether or not this perception is accurate and what justifications and/or explanations might be put forward in favour of adopting either approach in ESP milieus. With the participation of 14 ESP teachers in Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, the study was conducted using a semi-structured written questionnaire which was followed by an open-ended live interview. Emerging and significant themes were then identified and codified by the authors, utilizing a reflective ethnographic approach. Among the most significant findings were 1) that teachers often failed to apply aspects of their training as language teachers into their own classrooms and 2) that the judicious application of either approach was more often performed unconsciously than as a result of any conscious methodological application.

Potentialities of Using Travelogues as a Resource in The ESP Classroom

The article proposes the incorporation of travel writing as a linguistic resource in teaching English for specific purposes (ESP). Introducing generic variety into a language lesson is supported by the principles of communicative language teaching. Travel writing is also proven to be both a vehicle of relevant content and a powerful stimulus for students´ involvement in the lesson. Taking social constructivism as its second vector, the article discusses travel writing as a mediatized resource for making sense of the world. Recent publications of travel experiences in Bulgaria are read through the lens of critical discourse analysis seeking to identify travellers´ levels of engagement with the Bulgarian heritage. Focus on the construction of Bulgarian heritage could stimulate critical thinking by alerting students to the fact that communication is never innocent of ideology and travelogues are often instrumental in popular geopolitics.

TEACHING CULTURE IN THE MODERN ESP CLASSROOM

For several decades now, it has been realised that teaching a foreign language means much more than just focusing on the four basic language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking); it also encompasses teaching about culture. Teaching culture in the modern English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classroom is focused on building students’ knowledge of cultures while simultaneously developing their language skills. Although this approach to ESP is not new, this paper will analyze the basic principles of teaching culture and possible challenges in the process. In addition to this, it will show authentic classroom examples, present practical ideas for instructors and show what benefits teaching culture bring in the modern ESP classroom.

The Impact of Portfolio Assessment on the Moroccan Police Cadets’ EFL Writing Skills

The purpose of this study is to examine whether or not the integration of portfolio as part of the assessment practices in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context can significantly impact the improvement of the Moroccan police cadets’ EFL writing skills. The study participants were 50 Moroccan Police Cadets who have been studying English for Policing at the Moroccan Defense Language Institute for one year. They were randomly selected and divided into experimental and control groups. Each group consists of 25 students. A pre-test was administered to both groups to check their writing proficiency level. The experimental group students were treated, throughout the semester, using portfolio-based assessment techniques like (self-and peer-assessment, teacher’s feedback, student-teacher conferences…etc.) to evaluate their writing skill, whereas the control group ones were tested using the traditional summative writing achievement tests. Eventually, a paired sample t-test was conducted to determine the significant differences between the two groups after the treatment. The findings showed that the experimental group students, who were exposed to portfolio-based writing assessment, outperformed their control group counterparts. Finally, the researchers concluded that the use of portfolio assessment in an ESP classroom positively affects the Moroccan Police Cadets’ writing skills.

APPLICATION AND COMBINATION OF DIFFERENT FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODS IN ESP CLASSROOM

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) being separate branch of the English Language requires specific approach during the process of teaching. Application of right methodology of teaching is very important for successful ESP teaching, therefore correct selection and combination of different foreign language teaching methods are crucial to ensure that the required results are achieved in the ESP classroom. When working in the ESP classroom ESP teachers base their teaching approach on the principle: “English for Specialty” rather than on the principle: “Specialty in English” the approach characteristic of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). In our paper we are going to discuss the ways of efficient combination of Grammar-Translation method and Audio-Lingual method using ESP textbooks and materials and also development of listening and speaking skills of ESP learners through different subject videos selected on the basis of linguistic abilities and knowledge of specific terminology by ESP learners. Some of these videos are available on YouTube and other internet platforms. Elements of CLIL approach that imply complete immersion into language and subject matter can be applied in ESP classroom. Their combination with the above-mentioned foreign language teaching methods is possible, especially in those groups of ESP learners whose level of General English is B2 and higher. The parallel can be made between CLIL in ESP teaching environment and Direct method of foreign language teaching in General English teaching environment. In this way we compare partial application of CLIL approach in the ESP classroom to the Direct method of foreign language teaching when it refers to teaching of General English. The main aim of our paper is to consider combination of the following foreign language teaching methods and the methodology of CLIL as the most suitable and efficient way of teaching English for Specific Purposes in the classroom:1) Grammar-Translation method;2) Audio-Lingual method;3) Direct method with elements of CLIL approach when applied in the ESP classroom.

Flipping ESP Classrooms in Hybrid Environment

The use of flipped learning in ESP (English for Specific Purposes) classes may have not been frequently portrayed. This recent study attempts to depict the implementation of a flipped learning model applied in an English for Management course. A single qualitative case study was applied. One lecturer of the English for Management course was involved in this study. The data were obtained using interviews and observations. The findings revealed that the flipped learning in the ESP class is realized in the following steps: 1) distributing materials and tasks to students, 2) providing guidance for students to discuss the materials and tasks, 3) assessing students with tests or quizzes, and 4) providing reinforcement for students in face-to-face meetings. The lecturer admitted that she encountered some challenges using flipped classrooms in ESP classes: the issues of bandwidth, students’ readiness, the lecturer's need for non-authentic materials, and the institution's policy on curriculum and facilities. Potential research in investigating ESP students’ perceptions of the use of flipped learning is strongly advised.

Profiling a microeconomics noun collocation list: A corpus-based approach

Collocations are essential for language learning because using collocations naturally and accurately constitutes a key indicator of academic writing success. Past studies have examined collocations in academic genres and created lists of collocations for pedagogical use. However, studies that compile collocation lists often use a wide-angle approach to identify general collocations. There have been concerns about using general academic multiword constructions (MWCs) in English for specific purposes (ESP) courses as there are formalities and conventions in academic texts which are characterised by discipline-specific MWCs. This corpus-based study proposes a common and pedagogically useful microeconomics noun collocation list (MNCL). The MNCL is based on a corpus of microeconomics research articles comprising 1.6 million words. The MNCL is the result of an innovative procedure that involves a four-step selection method. This study produces: (1) a list of the 1 125 most common noun collocations (noun + noun, noun + verb, verb + noun, adjective + noun) in microeconomics research articles identified and classified using the most commonly used nouns, and (2) new findings regarding the types of noun collocations. The findings of this study have pedagogical implications on how collocations should be perceived and approached in ESP classrooms.

Blended Learning Effectiveness: A Quasi-Experimental Study on Students’ ESP Achievement

Blended Learning, a mixture of face-to-face (FTF) and online learning, has gained its popularity in the English language teaching context. However, examining its efficacy in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) remains scares. To fill this gap, this study implemented BL in an Indonesian ESP classroom and examined its effect on students’ learning attainment and the challenges they encountered. Drawing on the data garnered from pre- and post-tests, it was unveiled that using BL promoted the students’ learning outcomes given the statistical evidence was 0.000 which means lower than 0.05. Three main challenges of blended learning implementation were also identified, namely limitation of proper media, time allocation, and instructional aspect. This study incapsulates that the use of Blended Learning could promote students’ English language skills. This study recommends that future studies be carried out involving more participants and more varied ESP classes to gain more robust results.

Instagram as a learning tool to improve technical vocabulary for sports science students

The present paper shares a learning and teaching experience built on a project-based methodology using Instagram accounts to improve technical vocabulary in the ESP classroom. Participants were 75 undergraduate sports science students who attended our English for Professional and Academic Communication ESP course at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain) and participated in the project during the spring semester of 2022. To achieve our objective, the participants were divided into 16 self-arranged groups, each expected to develop a fitness project based on Instagram accounts. At the end of the experience, participants were invited to complete an ad hoc designed questionnaire giving their opinion about the use of Instagram accounts as a learning tool to acquire specific vocabulary in the field of sports science. The learners reported high positive perceptions towards using Instagram to develop technical vocabulary. This paper recommends observing quality standards when integrating Instagram content into English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses.

IMPLEMENTING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING IN AN ESP CLASSROOM: DESIGN AND IMPLICATIONS

In the contemporary global scenario, English is widely accepted as a link language, especially in the fields of business and marketing. Therefore, professionals in a business setting are expected to acquire the optimal level of linguistic competence that the workplace demands to perform effectively in their assigned job positions. In this context, the significance of Business English, a variety of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), is immense in business correspondence and reporting. The research paper discusses the means of implementing the principles, techniques and praxis of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in teaching English as a second language in a Business English classroom. The study follows a descriptive methodology by reviewing literature related to the prior studies in TBLT and ESP. The study elaborates on a detailed lesson plan that had been validated and field tested with a group of business English learners at the undergraduate level in Kerala. The research paper provides insights regarding the implications of TBLT in an ESP classroom by elaborating on the scope and possible challenges. The researcher also makes a few recommendations and suggestions. The research concludes that incorporating TBLT as a part of one of the methodologies can immensely benefit students of English for specific purposes.

Translation-based task in an ESP classroom: Tlemcen University as a case study

Integrating translation in English for specific purposes (ESP) teaching and learning is a crucial issue since the last decade of the 20th century. This paper aims to analyse the role of translation as a helpful tool for ESP classes on the use of translation in ESP teaching and learning. Therefore, a case study is employed to describe the necessity of using translation in ESP classes, especially, for third-year computer science students at the University of Tlemcen. A mixed method was used; a questionnaire was administered to ESP teachers in the Department of Science and Technology, and classroom observation on third-year students of computer science was conducted. The results revealed that computer sciences students at the University of Tlemcen faced various hindrances when dealing with professional resources which are mainly at the level of content due to the nature of ESP courses they were exposed to during their studies.
 Keywords: Computer science; ESP; ESP courses; students; translation.

Integrating L1 into Grammar Teaching as a Remedy for Learners’ Unresponsiveness in an ESP Classroom: An Action Research

In this study, the researcher had a group of unresponsive learners taking a year-long English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course in Banking and Finance Department. After the detection of the problem, unresponsiveness, one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with the learners (N=8) to find the reasons of it, and what they needed accordingly. Data analysis showed they majorly needed Turkish- (L1), which was restricted to the teaching of grammar as they found most beneficial to their learning. Thus, use of L1 for explicit grammar teaching which proceeded schema building plus implicit inferring was examined to see if and how it remedied their unresponsiveness. Systematic data collection included the learners’ end-of-course written reflections (N=40) and another round of one-on-one semi-structured interviews (N=7) to further elicit their views about teaching grammar through L1. The results revealed positive evaluations regarding the benefits of L1 upon more and better input comprehension, vocabulary and grammatical knowledge development, and awareness regarding language learning. They also reported feeling less anxious and stressed, which encouraged their willingness to communicate and participate. Thus, the results verify judicious role of L1 as a scaffold to decrease affective barriers and increase comprehension in language learning.

Making Beverage Service Word List for English for Specific Purposes Classroom

Creating a word list for the beverage services is one method to assist learners in this field to expand their English language vocabulary. The purpose of the current study was to create the Beverage Service Word List (BSWL). Data were collected from www.tasteatlas.com—a website that contains abundant beverage information from all over the world. The Beverage Service Corpus (BSC) was compiled from 1,729 beverage menus with a size of 471,233 tokens. The criteria used in the current study were frequency, range, lexical profiling, and expert consultation. The words included in the BSWL were those which occurred at least 13 times in 30 per cent of menus, were outside the reference word lists (the General Service List, the Academic Word List, the Function Word List, the abbreviation list, and the Proper Name List), and were scaled as 3 or 4 by two or more experts. As a result, the BSWL comprised 288 words with 7.92 per cent coverage of the BSC.

フィードバックによる学術的社会化―EAP授業における教師のポスト・パフォーマンスフィードバックの会話分析 Socializing Students into Academics Through Feedback—Conversation Analysis of Teacher’s Post-performance Feedback to EAP Classroom Presentation

学術目的のための英語 (English for academic purposes: EAP) 授業を担当する教師は、アカデミック・プレゼンテーションなどでの学生のパフォーマンスに対して、どのようなフィードバックを与えることで学習者の学術世界への社会化を促進できるのか。この問いに具体的な回答を行うことでより良いEAP授業の実践に貢献することを本研究の目的とし、日本の２つの大学における185のEAP授業を撮影したビデオデータを対象に、エスノメソドロジー的会話分析を用いて分析を行った。結果、学生たちの不適切なパフォーマンスを再現し、そこからその問題源を体験させるという相互行為手続きを取ることによって、教師のポスト・パフォーマンスフィードバックは学生の学術世界への社会化を促す媒介となる、ということが分かった。EAP授業において教師は、学術世界での専門家として学生のパフォーマンスの問題とその問題を見極めることができる能力、さらにその専門家としての見方を体験させられる相互行為能力が必要である。 In classes such as English for Academic Purposes (EAP) wherein the pedagogical focus is on knowledge and competence required in academic settings such as academic presentation, what kind of feedback should teachers give to students about their performance to socialize them into becoming academics? Studies investigating students’ perceptions about the teacher’s post-performance feedback support the necessity of the dialogical process for students to understand the teacher’s feedback and to utilize it for their next performance. However, very few studies in the context of higher education have been conducted to examine what constitutes effective dialogic feedback, or how teachers and students actually achieve a mutual understanding of the point of feedback in classroom interaction. Meanwhile, ethnomethodological conversation analytic (EMCA) research on instruction from a professional to a novice member of a community explicated the interactional process on how the point of a teacher’s post-performance feedback is understood. The interactional feedback practices performed by the professionals such as a senior archeologist or a master of Japanese calligraphy described in those EMCA studies indicate that a professional’s post-performance feedback can develop a member’s competence necessary for his or her socialization into a particular domain of cultural activity. EAP is aimed at socializing students into the culture of academic research (de Chazal, 2014). So, appropriating the EMCA perspective of instruction from professional to novice in a community to investigate teacher’s post-performance feedback in the EAP classroom will give insight into what and how teachers should give feedback to students about their performance. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explicate teachers’ post-performance feedback practices given for students’ academic presentations in EAP classrooms through the microanalysis of actual EAP classroom feedback practices from an EMCA perspective. The data used for this study were based on the video corpus of 185 post-performance feedback interactions in EAP classrooms of a national university and a private university in Japan. Microanalyses of teacher feedback on student presentations in EAP classes at Japanese universities suggested that making the students personally experience the trouble source of their presentations makes the teacher’s feedback a catalyst in the academic socialization of the students. In the case where the trouble source of a student’s problem in his presentation was his or her lack of understanding of the audience’s perspective, the physical representability of the audience viewpoint allowed the teacher to reenact how she and the audience found the problem and its cause. The teacher’s feedback was composed of replaying the problem, switching the student’s perspective from that of the presenter to the audience, collecting the actual audience’s agreement to her interpretation, and showing the exchange between her and the audience member to the target student. Through the step-by-step feedback practice to make the target student personally experience the trouble-source, the teacher put the student into a sequential position where he or she was normatively required to display how the demonstrated issue was treated. The real challenge is how to make the trouble source of the students’ mistakes evident when it is about an abstract idea, such as a lack of understanding about why a clear statement of the purpose is essential to a presentation. In such a case, the teacher’s feedback practice involves students in a type of puzzle-solution sequence. First, the teacher presents out-of-context talk to the students to make them confused; after the talk, the teacher enacts what the confused students might have thought while they were told an out-of-context talk and this works as a solution to the puzzle. The puzzle-solution sequence is a way of making experientially accessible to the students the importance of abstract norms such as making the aim of the presentation explicit. The lived experience becomes a catalyst for students’ academic socialization by constructing a link between the goal behavior (i.e., correct performance) and the students, who had lacked the insight into the importance of the goal behavior, which was the trouble source of the issue with their presentations. The findings of this study further show that the analytic method used in this study, EMCA, is a promising way of representing the effective interactional feedback practices in detail. Of course, the results of this study do not represent the entirety of post-performance feedback practices used by teachers engaged in EAP classrooms. Future studies should examine a variety of teachers’ post-performance feedback practices in EAP or ESP (English for Specific Purposes) classrooms so that a knowledge base of pedagogically meaningful feedback practices is developed and made available for the language teachers today to rely on when they teach classes where the educational focus is not only the linguistic aspects of the target language, but the content or academic/professional competencies.

Digital Storytelling for Improving ESP’s Students’ Motivation and Autonomy During Covid-19 Pandemic: A Conceptual Paper

Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way ESP (English for Specific Purposes) teachers and students interact in the classrooms. As teachers and students need to use online method to teach and learn English, an alternative strategy is needed to maintain students’ motivation and autonomy. One of alternatives which can be taken by teachers to improve students’ motivation and autonomy is digital storytelling. It is because digital storytelling has been considered effective to improve students’ motivation and autonomy. Therefore, the present study is a conceptual paper which will discuss the possibilities of digital storytelling integration to ESP classes. In addition, the present study aims to discuss strategies that can be taken to apply digital storytelling to ESP classrooms.

Vocabulary Learning Strategies in ESP Context: Knowledge and Implication

The present study aims to explore the knowledge level and preferences regarding vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) among the EFL university students studying English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses. It also investigates the impact of vocabulary learning strategies on EFL learners’ performance. A sample of twenty students from an intact class participated in the study. For data collection, a triangulated approach has been employed through the usage of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, together with classroom observations. Moreover, the cumulative percentage of scores in the pre-tests and post-tests has been incorporated to investigate the impact of vocabulary learning strategies. SPSS software is used to calculate the T-test value. The findings demonstrate that the implementation of various vocabulary learning strategies has a substantial impact on the performance of the English language learners within the context of an English for Specific Purposes classroom. The findings have pedagogical implications in the teaching and learning of vocabulary within the ESP context.

Challenges of Teaching ESP: A Review

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has Noor Mala Ibrahim gained prominence and abundant research has been conducted on issues associated with it. However, research addressing the challenges of ESP teaching and learning continues to receive extensive attention focusing on issues ranging from the most appropriate methodology to use in ESP classrooms and contents to cover for effective learning outcomes for the learners. The aim of this review paper is to give a brief overview of what ESP is all about, it also covers some issues faced by ESP practitioners while in the process of teaching. During the course of this review, the key words “ESP Challenges”, “ESP teaching methodology”, “ESP teacher” were used on Google scholar to search for relevant materials to the topic covering the range of years from 2012 - 2021. Twenty relevant materials were finally selected which are used for this review. This review finally concludes by offering solutions as to how these challenges can be overcome by practitioners to make ESP teaching more effective.

Autonomous learning features: A case study in an Indonesian ESP classroom

This article explores autonomous learning features and effective strategies for meeting the needs of the autonomous learner. A 4-month ethnographic study examined the learning features of three non-English major undergraduates enrolled in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course at an Indonesian university. The study also explored the students’ and teacher’s understanding of how the ESP classroom can benefit the autonomous learner. Data gathered through interviews, focus group discussions, and classroom observation indicate four key autonomous learning features: 1) a willingness to accept responsibility; 2) dedicated planning; 3) implementing effective strategies; and 4) monitoring progress. The findings also indicate that a variety of scaffolded and authentic learning materials combined with a flexible and creative teaching approach enhance autonomous learning. We also address how our results are applicable to most educational situations as autonomous learning is not limited to the language classroom.
 HIGHLIGHTS:
 
 The three subjects indicated different processes of autonomy such as monitoring learning progress using a specific task, holistic approach, and regular reflection strategies.
 Adopting and promoting a spirit of independent learning provides ESP learners with a supportive framework to develop and practice autonomous learning habits
 The ESP learners not only required to learn general English but also to learn specific English (their content knowledge in English) as their major. This is the novelty of the study. Therefore, this study provides specific add to the theory of autonomous learning.