English For Specific Purposes Research Articles

Exploring the professional role identities of English for academic purposes practitioners: a qualitative study

Abstract While English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has developed theoretically and empirically over the past decades, there are few documented studies on EAP practitioners’ identities. Our study examined 12 Iranian EAP practitioners’ role identities (as one type of identity) in light of the conceptualization of English for specific purposes (ESP) practitioner roles. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study revealed the role of various contextual factors shaping the practitioners’ role identities as being EAP practitioner agents of transformative education, being a course designer and the quest for needs analysis, being a materials provider and managing the oscillations, being a collaborator and the lack of collegiate connection, being a researcher and dispositional variations, and finally being an evaluator and dynamic assessors. The study provides implications regarding how policy and planning shape practitioners’ role identities and suggests future lines of inquiry to build the associated scholarship.

Class Room Teaching, Education Research and Barriers for ELT in Teaching-Learning for New Entrants: An Analysis of Problems and Solutions

The traditional techniques of English language teaching (ELT) have been replaced by more modern strategies that focus on a language's relevance and actuality. The English for Specific Purpose (ESP) is the result of this search and the need for cutting-edge trends. The goal of ESP is to provide topic understanding while also preparing students to function well in a certain scenario. The purpose of this study is to look into the difficulties and barriers that exist in University of Sindh, Jamshoro, when teaching English for Science. This research provides an analysis of ESP's history as well as effective teaching strategies for ESP courses. Data from 20 English language teachers who have been teaching English have been gathered using a quantitative research methodology. This study looks into the obstacles impacting teachers' performance in public institutions that use e-learning with the goal of making recommendations that are in line with sustainable development. Among the suggestions include making investments in technological infrastructure, working with developers and legislators, and giving technology integration varying degrees of priority based on global needs. These recommendations seek to advance high-quality, inclusive education by utilizing technology to achieve better results. Universities can help ensure that education is accessible to all and empower students in the digital era by removing these obstacles. Collaborative efforts and strategic investments are essential to promoting lifelong learning and educational justice.

Investigating Engineering Students’ Needs for ICT Integration in ESP Classes

The innovations in science and technology and the continuous development of educational theories and methods have urged the need for creative uses of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in English language teaching in Moroccan Higher Education and especially in the teaching and learning of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). For this reason and others, the present study aims to investigate the integration of ICT in ESP classes by identifying engineering students’ needs for ICT integration in ESP classes at the Engineering school (ENSAM), Meknes. To meet this aim, the study adopted a quantitative method approach, which utilized a close-ended questionnaire administered to 64 civil engineering students. The data gathered was analyzed through Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed the significance of ICT integration in ESP classes for Engineering students. Furthermore, the students expressed a number of lacks and necessities to improve their English proficiency level in general. The current research contributes to expanding literature on ESP in Morocco. Additionally, the implications and recommendations proposed will guide future practices and reforms in ESP teaching and learning.

Designing TPACK-English Textbook for Economic Faculty Students

This study thoroughly investigates the educational needs of Economics students in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), based on a survey of 292 students and 12 alumni from the Economics faculty. The study reveals nuanced linguistic preferences across six fundamental components: task, activity, language use, technology, pedagogy, and topic or content relevancy. The findings show that listening skills, particularly for information acquisition, were highly valued (mean score: 3.01), whereas speaking abilities such as explaining and knowledge elicitation were universally deemed critical (mean scores > 3.00), whereas activities such as making suggestions were deemed less important (mean score: 1.99). The study also identified important areas in economics education, highlighting significant topics such as Economics, Microeconomics, and Islamic Economics (mean scores > 3.00) and the impact of English proficiency levels in maximizing learning experiences. The findings demonstrate a variety of activity priorities, with a focus on collaborative instructional tactics and specific linguistic demands in economic communication. Furthermore, this study explored students’ educational needs and the design of English instructional material for economics faculty students. This design integrates technology, language skills, and economic theory to improve student learning and skill acquisition.

Description of Five Essential Elements towards Online Cooperative Learning in English for Nursing Students

Cooperative Learning (CL) develops many essential elements, including positive interdependence, individual accountability, social skills, group processing and face-to-face interaction among students in their respective groups. In connection with this question, this study aims to describe the appearance of five essential elements in Online-Cooperative-Learning (OCL). This research is a quantitative descriptive study, where a Likert scale questionnaire investigates the occurrence of the five basic elements of OCL among 109 samples of nursing students who have participated in OCL in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). This study employs univariate analysis, describing the percentage occurrence of these five OCL elements. The univariate analysis results show that these five essential elements of CL significantly appeared in online learning. Positive interdependence in OCL groups appeared at 83%, interpersonal competence successfully emerged in OCL at 85%, individual accountability emerged at 83%, and OCL group processing appeared at 84%, shaping students to adapt to "critical" conditions. Meanwhile, face-to-face promotive interaction at 76% formed positive strong bonds within the group to overcome challenges that arose during online learning. These findings indicate that OCL can provide access to building the five basic elements of CL, making OCL highly relevant for use in ESP learning for nursing students.

Learning English for specific purposes (ESPs) through social media platforms (SMPs): a systematic review

PurposeThe search for new techniques to teach English nowadays has been more than ever. These techniques have to be interesting and enjoyable in order to lower the anxiety levels of students when learning English (Bakhsh, 2016). That is why many scholars and teachers look forward to integrating technology into language teaching. Social media platforms (SMPs) are among these techniques since millions of people around the world utilize them for daily interaction. Yet, teaching English for specific purposes (ESPs) relies on learners’ needs and employs an eclectic approach in delivering its course content. For this reason, the current study reviewed articles that tackled the topic of teaching or learning ESP from SMPs so as to uncover their effect and the attitude or motivation of learners.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers used the PRISMA flowchart model in order to identify, screen and include articles in the study.FindingsThe results revealed that SMPs are effective in teaching and learning ESP writing, speaking and vocabulary. Yet, the included studies showed that learners’ attitude toward SMPs is positive as they believe that they are motivating and interesting.Research limitations/implicationsSome aspects of social media have turned out to be beneficial in the learning process and they need further investigation from ESP practitioners and scholars.Originality/valueAccording to the study, it is crystal clear that the various social networks and platforms are beneficial and helpful for improving ESP productive skills.

An Analysis of ELF-informed Practices in ESP Coursebooks

The investigation of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) contexts has produced significant results in the last few years. Moreover, these results have initiated a shift from achieving native speaker competency to more context-related and functional language use in the perspective of the overall approach to ESP. Yet, the literature needs more study to reveal how far this shift has embedded ESP coursebooks and audio materials. Therefore, this study aimed to explore to what extent the recent ESP coursebooks and audio materials matched the characteristics of ELF. In the study, four ESP coursebooks and their audio tracks were analyzed in terms of the presence or absence of references to ELF features, specifically; ELF-informed activities, the promotion of using English outside the inner circle countries, and the use of authentic expending circle English communication. The findings revealed the dominance of Standard English in language exposure, a dearth of ELF-informed activities, and a sparse representation of expending circle cultures in the four ESP coursebooks. Similarly, the listening tracks showed a strong preference for native English speakers as the introducers of English users in the tracks. The study presents a number of critical implications for ESP instructors and material designers.

Using Motivational Strategies in a Business English Course: An English Teacher in the Context of English for Specific Purposes

This study used a qualitative method to explore a teacher’s use of motivational strategies in an English for specific purposes (ESP) course and students’ perceptions. An English teacher in a business English class and her 32 students were recruited. The class was observed three times: at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the course. Two semi-structured interviews with the teacher were conducted: one before classroom observation, and the other after observation. Interviews with the students were conducted after each classroom observation. The teacher used seven motivational strategies to create a supportive and relaxed classroom atmosphere, and five strategies to facilitate students’ language learning. Most students’ perceptions of the teacher’s use of motivational strategies were positive. However, the students perceived a gap between their expectations for the course and their experiences. Finally, the article concludes by offering insights into the implications and constraints related to pedagogy.

From EAP to ESP

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) are language training pathways for students to meet target language proficiency requirements towards further tertiary studies (Keefe & Shi, 2017; Walková & Bradford, 2022). Yet, these can be highly debatable terms, controversial over their appropriate usage (Flowerdew, 2016; Li, 2020; Maleki, 2008; Mpofu & Maphalala, 2021; Wette, 2018). A main reason for this discord is a lack of firm definitions between these two constructs, which leads to vague and blurred boundaries. This article will describe the process where a small western Canadian university modified an existing EAP course consisting of broad reading and writing topics into an ESP one with a narrow culturally and medically themed focus towards internationally educated nurses (IENs). These modifications assisted in the identification of the similarities and differences of both EAP and ESP for the institution. The new ESP course, piloted over two terms was found to have strengthened student outcomes in their non-native target language, commonly known as L2 (Saville-Toike, 2012) while their disciplinary knowledge contributions also enriched the curriculum. Rooted within the debate between determining appropriate language pathways, recommendations to determine the suitability of an EAP versus an ESP course within a “negotiated syllabus” utilizing learner input are offered (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000; Prior, 2020).
  

Readiness and Challenges of Prishtina University Students for ESP Classes

Learning and teaching a language for specific purposes, in our case English language, is quite a new approach at the Public University of Prishtina, which was established only in 1970. Considering this fact, English language teaching in Kosovo has been around ever since. It was initially taught as General English (GE) in the schools of the capital city and later, namely from the 1980s to date throughout the country. Nevertheless, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is one of the most recent courses that have started to attract the attention of the domestic teaching authorities, mainly at the university level, while it continues to be absent in secondary schools.  Despite this, the reason for the absence of ESP in secondary education relates to the lack of planning, extracurricular teaching materials or specific textbooks. In this paper, we will review the current state of GE at the University of Prishtina by assessing the English language first-term exam results for two groups of students in the first year in the Departments of History and Political Sciences, with the aim of finding out whether they are ready to attend ESP courses in the second semester. Research has taken place amongst male and female students, aged 18-19, who attended the A1 and B2+GE level as per the CEFR requirements. The students who pass the exam may be qualified to attend the ESP classes in the second semester, whereas students who did not should continue with GE classes.

“I notice I'm getting more involved, interested, and excited about my future topic.” Action research as a transition from research steps to navigating graduate students' scholarly dispositions

Graduate students often approach research with predefined steps emphasising procedural aspects that occasionally expose their inadequate preparation for research as social practice. The purpose of this paper is to show how an action research (AR) methodology, in conjunction with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), has facilitated the scaffolding of explicit formal, rhetorical, procedural, and strategic knowledge in research discourse. We followed a cyclical action research model consisting of 1) recognising students' limited understanding of research as a social practice, 2) developing interventions to promote understanding of how language is structured, represented, and negotiated in scientific discourse, 3) results of the intervention, and 4) reflection. Thematic analysis of six participants' data, including their tasks, reflections, and draft proposals, revealed a discernible progression towards scholarly thinking, transformative learning, and the embodiment of scholarly identity. Integrating ESP and SFL frameworks enhanced our ability to guide students through research-specific discourses, moving beyond a purely theoretical understanding to engage in authentic practices. This approach contributed to the cultivation of Communities of Practice (CoP) in which student-faculty collaboration fostered a shared scholarly mindset and facilitated the gradual integration of students into these academic communities.

English for Specific Purposes and Problem-Based Learning: Strengths and Opportunities

In Europe, the internationalization of universities has resulted in the continuous expansion of English Medium Instruction. Despite the potential for acquiring language skills in EMI courses, characterized by authentic communication as L2-medium settings, linguistic education tends to be marginalized in these environments. As a result, the development of disciplinary literacy among students might be compromised. This research aims to explore the incorporation of problem-based activities as a means to create meaningful communication environments within English for Specific Purposes (ESP) settings. These settings focus on language learning, addressing the English language education needs of university students to promote disciplinary literacy and enhance academic skills in English. The study first outlines the connection between problem-solving and interaction in second language learning. Subsequently, it delves into the cognitive processes engendered by problem-solving and their relevance for ESP settings. Finally, an application of a problem-based activity within an ESP framework is presented, offering an illustrative example of how problem-solving and interaction can be integrated into the classroom.

Genre Analysis of Minutes of Academic Meetings

Genre analysis has received much attention in the recent few decades, in which different genres have been analyzed for their rhetorical features for academic and pedagogical purposes. One genre that has received very little attention in Ghanaian scholarship is meeting minutes. Meeting minutes are a cross-disciplinary genre and play crucial roles in organizations such as academic institutions, including serving as official records of all formal meeting proceedings and resolutions. From the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) tradition, this study explores the communicative events described in minutes of meetings. Using Swales' (1990) moves and steps genre analysis framework, a corpus of twenty-four minutes of meetings was collected from Sunyani Technical University and analyzed for their rhetorical structures as well as grammatical features that characterize these rhetorical events. The results show that the communicative events of the minutes are composed of a six-move structure: heading (Move 1), auxiliary information (Move 2), opening (Move 3), reference to previous minutes (Move 4), the content of the meeting (Move 5), and closing (Move 6). The prominent grammatical features that characterize these moves are tense (89.3% past and 10.7% present), voice (67.9% active and 32.1% passive), and sentence structure (48.8% simple, 29.8% complex, and 21.4% compound). These results have implications for the existing scholarship on meeting minutes, professional development (i.e. developing courses for secretarial students), and further research. It is expected that the knowledge of moves and grammatical features can help the students and novice secretaries practice writing minutes of meetings effectively.

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.

COLLABORATION OF ESP AND CONTENT LECTURERS AS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY

English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has been popularly applied in higher education contexts in Vietnam. EMI lecturers have to face many challenges in terms of language proficiency and content knowledge. This qualitative study aims to examine how much the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and content lecturers collaborate to help each other overcome such difficulties in the EMI context. Interviews were conducted with seven EMI lecturers at a university in Central Vietnam. The findings showed that there was a lack of collaboration between ESP and EMI lecturers although the participants were aware of its necessity as one of the best solutions for enhancing both English competence and content knowledge. The study also suggests some ways to practice continuous collaboration as a professional development activity.

Teachers’ Strategies in ESP Learning Program in Indonesia: A Comparative Study

This research article examines various strategies utilized by English teachers in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learning programs in Indonesia, focusing on the Social and Science study programs. The study used a qualitative research design to conduct in-depth interviews with 25 English teachers, which aim to investigate and compare the pedagogical approaches used to satisfy the unique linguistic and contextual requirements of these two academic disciplines. Through purposive sampling, English teachers from both Social and Science study programs participate in semi-structured interviews, providing rich insights into their instructional methods. The purpose of the qualitative analysis is to reveal trends, similarities, and differences in the strategies used, providing a detailed understanding of the complexities of ESP teaching methods. The findings reveal illumination on the specific strategies employed by English teachers in the Social and Science study programs, demonstrating how these strategies are shaped by curriculum complexity and the backgrounds of the learners. The comparative study highlights the significance of pedagogical techniques tailored to individual contexts and serves as a basis for making well-informed decisions in curriculum development and teacher training. This study has wider implications for improving English for Specific Purposes (ESP) learning programs in Indonesia and adds to the continuing discussion on effective language teaching. This study also provides helpful recommendations for educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers aiming to enhance language learning experiences in ESP environments.

Teaching English for Specific Purposes in Tertiary Contexts: Navigating Education and Assessment Challenges

ABSTRACT Since its inception in the early 1960s, English for specific purposes (ESP) has been characterised as a materials-driven and a teacher-led movement. Distinctively separated from general English teaching, ESP teachers often function as designers and implementers in curriculum development. Attaining a certain degree of disciplinary expertise is the greatest challenge that they encounter while transitioning from general to specific language teaching. Recognising a dearth of research on ESP teacher development, this study has emerged from in-depth, unstructured interviews conducted with both novice and expert educators. This qualitative inquiry examines the collaborative strategies employed and hurdles encountered by ESP educators within the tertiary education arena, with a specific emphasis on their vital contributions to the English language instruction of undergraduate students in India. The findings offer insights into the evolving specificity of English language education in India, particularly for educators and institutions committed to improving language teaching practices in higher education.

Bring the Dual Focus on both Language and Content into ESP Courses through Teacher Collaboration

In China, the evolution from traditional “College English” courses to English for Specific Purpose (ESP) reflects the changing demands for foreign language skills in specialized industries. This transition poses challenges for teachers due to limited specialized knowledge. This study explores the integration of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) into ESP courses through collaboration between language and content-area teachers. Drawing on a literature review and qualitative research at West Yunnan University of Applied Science, the study examines the challenges traditional English General Purpose (EGP) teachers face in ESP classrooms and their willingness to collaborate with content-area teachers. Results reveal teachers’ struggles with specialized knowledge and materials selection, alongside their openness to collaboration. The discussion emphasizes the importance of fostering cooperation, establishing teaching communities, and utilizing online platforms for enhanced student learning outcomes. This research contributes to the advancement of ESP teaching methodologies by advocating for collaborative approaches that integrate language and content effectively.

Moroccan ESP Instructors’ Perceptions of an Effective ESP Teacher

The changes in the linguistic and socio-economic spheres in Morocco have brought about new perspectives to teaching English for specific purposes (ESP). The challenge has long been to ascertain the implementation of well-informed teaching practices to meet the volatile needs of learners and those of the local and global job market. Within this context, guided by the aim to promote quality in ESP teaching in Morocco, this paper investigated Moroccan ESP teachers’ perceptions of effective ESP teaching and teachers’ roles, hoping to offer a hands-on profile of an effective ESP practitioner. This study sought to answer two main research questions: 1). What roles do Moroccan ESP teachers play in their ESP teaching settings? 2). What are Moroccan ESP teachers’ perceptions of an effective ESP instructor? To answer these questions, a mixed-method research design was adopted where 32 teachers from different ESP settings were surveyed. The study offered illuminating data about effective ESP roles and practices and suggested a modal for effective ESP teaching.

Value your students' bilingualism? Nurture them through development of school-based registers!

As a language teacher, teacher educator, and researcher over the past 40 years, my interests have been centered in classrooms where students are learning something else while also learning language. In the 1980s, as an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher, my students were learning ‘English for specific purposes,’ where they brought knowledge from their fields, working as economists, in business or tourism, or as drivers and receptionists, and I saw how language teaching needed to focus on the language and discourse patterns that would be most relevant to the ways they would use English in their professional roles. In the 1990s, as a teacher educator and director of a university English as a Second Language (ESL) writing program, I saw how students' academic writing goals needed to be foregrounded. In the last 20 years, as a researcher in elementary and secondary schools, I engaged with, but also saw, shortcomings in ‘content-based’ language teaching (e.g., Moore & Schleppegrell, 2020; Schleppegrell, 2007, 2016, 2020; Schleppegrell et al., 2004).