ESP Students Research Articles

Investigating the Challenges Faced by ESP Learners in Saudi EFL Context

ESP courses are designed to meet the specific needs of students. With this regard, it is noted that there are many challenges and problems that encounter ESP students studying English for Business Administration at Taif University, Saudi Arabia. This study has two aims, the first one is to explore the problems faced by students and the second one is to find possible solutions in order to overcome these problems in the light of the views of the students. The main instruments that were used in this study were interviews and documents (results of final exams). To achieve the aims of this study, 5 Saudi male students majoring in Business Management and Administration, participated in this study. The results showed that students registered on the ESP business modules faced a variety of problems. The nature of such problems is divided into three categories: class size, the limitation of inputs, and classroom management.

The Use of Peer-Assessment in Enhancing ESP Students’ Speaking Ability

The English for Specific Purpose students assumed that the speaking ability is the most challenging item to learn English because the English learning class and the environment are unsupportive to the students to speak in English. This research aimed to describe whether the peer assessment improves the ESP students' speaking ability or not. Thus, the researchers conducted experimental research by using a peer assessment method to check the improving speaking ability of ESP Students. This research involved 30 second-semester students of Teknik Laboratorium Medis at Universitas Megarezky. The data was analyzed from the assessment, interviews, observation, and field notes during the study. The result showed that the average of students' was 67.3 before applying peer assessment, while the percentage of students' score was 82 after using peer assessment. The speaking ability increased in the post-test after using peer assessment. The peer assessment can improve the speaking ability of ESP students' performances. This study concludes that the implementation of peer-assessment improves the speaking ability performance of ESP students. Although this research proves that peer assessment significantly increases speaking ability, but the next study is urgently needed, especially for ESP students. The researchers suggest tor further analysis to have more peer assessment techniques and apply peer assessment in different ways in ESP students.

Lexical Richness of One-Minute Speaking Task by Science and Technology University Students

Driven by Coxhead’s question “What vocabulary do ESP learners need?”, this study aims to investigate the quality of vocabulary use by measuring lexical richness (lexical diversity, lexical sophistication and lexical density) of speech production in ESP classroom context. The data was collected from 100 first year university students while performing a speaking task. Drawing on D_tools and AntWordProfiler, we made measures of diversity and sophistication. TagAnt was applied for calculating percentages of lexical density. Furthermore, a scale-based approach was employed for technical identification. The results revealed that vocabulary produced by the students was mainly from GSL1000 word list. Lexical density of the speech was 43.72% and the lexical diversity was moderately rich with a value of D 58.8. This study suggests needs of productive vocabulary in ESP classroom contexts. The results of this study imply that ESP students need a great awareness that they are parts of a particular group. To achieve the goal of learning, they are required possession of disciplinary knowledge and skills of the area they belong.

Improved understanding of meanings of modal verbs in Legal English and increased motivation through Computer Assisted Language Learning

This research explores the impact of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on the understanding of meanings of modal verbs in Legal English (mmvLE) and the level of motivation in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course. The hypothesis is that the understanding of the mmvle and the level of motivation will be increased if esp students are allowed to choose call as a preferred learning environment. Based on a quasi-experiment, the control group received instruction in a conventional classroom (CC) (face-to-face instruction, white board and paper-based material) and the experimental group received instruction in a call environment (combination of face-to-face and online instruction, web-facilitated). Following the principles of a repeated measures research design, the participants’ understanding of the mmvLE was measured in four subsequent instances. The detailed quantitative and qualitative error analysis shows that the CALL group outperformed the CC group. The analysis of the participants’ answers to the additional questionnaire completed at the beginning and at the end of the experiment as well as the group discussion after the experiment confirmed that call positively affected the participants’ motivation toward the subject matter

Вдосконалення навичок студентів немовних факультетів з англійської мови (практичний аспект)

The article is devoted to practical aspects of effective development ESP students' skills for tomorrow's challenges. It is stressed that a noticeable shift towards training ESP students in universities, on how to develop global skills, has taken place. Consideration of productive approaches at ESP classes is beneficial. In the article deliberately proved that global skills are not restricted to any particular subject on the curriculum but are transferable across all subjects, ESP in particular. The idea that much better results when ESP is provided through exposure to the language and meaningful communication in combination with systematic studies is provided. Nowadays there is a distinct tendency in which ESP teachers are aware of the importance of meaningful communication, while the rise of technology leads employers towards becoming globally interconnected, so such global skills as interpersonal communication, collaboration, critical thinking, intercultural competence and citizenship, and digital literacy are important for for future specialists. In order to operate in an international context a successful ESP course should have tools to engage students in meaningful conversations with meaningful language as well as to develop global skills. A detailed analysis of global skills and ways how to enhance these skills are given. In the context of improvement of ESP students’ skills, the idea of a learner-centered classroom is considered to be pretty effective as teacher can not only create a learner-centered classroom, but also shift teacher’s classroom position from simple lecturer to a knowledge facilitator. The article is focused on the approaches a teacher should provide to create such kind of classroom. A special attention is payed to authentic learning environment as to important element of a successful ESP course. This element is classified in details from practical point of view.

Development of communicative culture of esp students in the process of teaching english language

Development of communicative culture of esp students in the process of teaching english language

Implementation of role-play and simulation activities while teaching esp students

Implementation of role-play and simulation activities while teaching esp students

YSTEM OF COMPILING TESTS FOR ESP STUDENTS’ READING COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT AND METHODS OF THEIR APPLICATION

The article depicts various types of reading used at ESP lessons as well as the aims and the necessity of using evaluation system for the reading skill. As teaching ESP, students are implied working with texts most of the time of the lesson. Therefore, the developing students’ reading competence becomes vital. This denotes the usage of adequate evaluation system for ESP students’ reading skills. Moreover, based on ESP materials and taking into account different reading techniques various evaluation students’ foreign language reading competence techniques are described as well. Hence, to help teachers in compiling and using appropriate reading tests, some criteria for defining the level of ESP students’ reading competence and test designing are described with the examples of reading test exercises. Methods, described in the article, provide the reader with the information when and how to use the assessment material: at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the course depending on the aims the teacher is targeting at. In addition, the article covers practical test results used at ESP lesson for the students of “Psychology” and “Applied Mathematics and Computer Science” faculties. Everything touched in the article could be valuable for other ESP teachers and scholars to implement in their further work with their students.

Students’ Perceptions of Blended Learning in Mastering English for Specific Purposes

The blended learning has proliferated in recent years to integrate ICT into ESP instruction. Thus, ESP teachers have to acclimatize the feasibility of the advancement in facilitating English instruction for ESP learners. To this end, the present study assayed the ESP students’ perceptions toward the blended learning in mastering English for specific purposes. In the present study, the qualitative approaches were employed based on the questionnaire data. The data gathered from the questionnaire was gauged by descriptive analyses that utilized SPSS 21. The results show that most students get satisfied and enthusiastic to have blended learning of ESP course. However, the classroom interaction by using English and time management skills should be taken into deep concern by English teachers for developing the ESP blended learning course.

AN EVALUATION OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES COURSES AT A VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY

When English is commonly used in different professional fields and serves as an important communication tool at work, the teaching of English for Specific Purposes at higher education institutions requires more attention. Aiming to increase the effectiveness of ESP education, this study investigates the teaching of ESP courses at a Vietnamese university, evaluating the syllabus, materials, teaching methodology and tests of ESP courses. Data were collected from the questionnaires distributed to 657 ESP students, interviews with 8 ESP teachers and observing ESP lessons delivered by 5 teachers and analysing related documents. Research findings pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of the ESP courses and propose practical solutions to improve the effectiveness of the courses. The findings could be used as a reference for other higher education institutions with similar educational contexts in Vietnam.

The Improving Speaking Ability Of ESP Students Through Self-Assessment and Peer-Assessment

Abstract. Self-Peer-Assessment (SPA) is one of the learning methods that can be used to improve speaking ability in English Speaking ability is one of the important skills in English and it is very encouraging for students to learn, especially for students who use an ESP because it will be an added value in developing their capabilities.
 The purpose of this research is to explain the ability of students of ESP D3 Medical Laboratory Technology (TLM) at Megarezky University through self-peer-assessment (SPA).
 This research is a Classroom Action Research (CAR), with planning for each class action research cycle carried out through four (4) stages which include: planning, implementing actions, observing / collecting data, and reflecting. Quantitative data collection techniques were obtained by tests (pre-test, interview, discussion, and post-test), as well as through observation, field notes, and documentation in the teaching and learning process.
 The results of this study indicate that the use of SEF assessment and peer assessment in cycle I was at 56.6%, while in cycle II there was a significant increase of 96.6%. This proved that the speaking ability of ESP students increased by using self-assessment and peer-assessment.

DEVELOPING COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE BY IMPLEMENTING PROJECT BASED-LEARNING IN ESP CLASSES

Higher education plays an important role in developing communicative skills of ESP learners. ESP is oriented towards mastering the skills for professional communication. However, most of the students find themselves incompetent in the course of their work. The article discusses the benefits of using a project work to history students to improve their speaking skills as well as professional communication. The topicality of the article is determined by the fact that the projects proposed have not been actively introduced into curriculum designed for history students. The article is aimed at analyzing the problems the teachers face in teaching process. It proposes six methods for teachers as practical advice that can be used effectively to master students’ speaking skills at the end of the project. The results show that implementing project is very effective in improving speaking, critical thinking skills, creativity, and how to manage the time. The purpose of the article is to encourage ESP students to learn English through introducing new approaches to teaching. The author indicates that applying project work to language learning raises the academic achievement in which students explore the real world challenges.

APPLICATION OF ETYMOLOGY-VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES TO TEACHING FINANCIAL ENGLISH VOCABULARY: A KOREAN EXPERIENCE

It is a common belief that English for Specific Purposes students (herein ESP students) in general, and Financial English students (herein FE students) find it harder than Basic/General English (GE) for a number of reasons, one of which is differences between FE and GE. The paper first identifies the most important factors in teaching FE by clarifying such differences between FE and GE and pointing out peculiarities of FE vocabulary. Then, we share our experience in seeking effective FE vocabulary teaching techniques to overcome our Korean students’ difficulties in the ESP course compared with their GE course. In our efforts, we piloted different techniques which combine etymology and visualization for teaching FE vocabulary, including derivative reasoning technique, monolingual reasoning technique, multilingual reasoning technique, semantic contrast technique, word decomposition technique, and definition grouping technique. We also checked our students’ retention of some FE vocabulary items taught through both traditional and piloted techniques, and initial results manifest that these etymology-visualization techniques promise to be effective. Above all, the paper presents a glimpse of ESP teaching/learning in our country in the hope that what works in our case in Korea can also be effectively applied elsewhere.

Investigating and Analyzing ESP College Students’ Errors in Using Synonyms

This study aims to investigate and analyze the errors of English for specific purposes college students in using synonyms. It also discovers the difficulties that faced ESP students in using synonyms. A descriptive-analytical method was used in this study. The population of the study were (60) ESP college students from the college of Political Sciences at Al-Nahrain University, in the academic year 2018–2019. The sample consists of (50) ESP for college students, which were chosen randomly. Data for the study were collected from the written test which consisted of different five questions and each question contains five items, so the total items were 25. The findings of the study showed the importance of error analysis for the learners and teachers; it can provide a good methodology for investigating learners’ errors in English. The study discovered that the most occurred errors are due to their limited knowledge of acquisition of vocabulary especially for learners who study English for specific purposes. The insufficient of vocabulary knowledge causes many difficulties for learners in choosing the correct synonyms and, hence, they committed errors which prevent their advance in learning natural English. Finally, the study concludes with some recommendations for further research.

Designing Reading Materials For ESP Students Vocational High School Of Medical Science

The study attempted to design reading materials for Medical Science students at one of Vocational High Schools in Serang. To produce satisfactory teaching materials, the researchers conducted the following steps: doing needs analysis, reviewing the principles of materials design and reading in a foreign language, designing course framework, syllabus, the reading materials, and implementing the sample lessons. Researchers employed qualitative methods in gathering the data. The instruments used were questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire was addressed to students, alumni, teachers and institution. The interview was collected from the users. The needs analysis was carried out by distributing questionnaires. The result of needs analysis, became the basis for the researchers to design course framework. The course framework was then developed into a syllabus. Finally the syllabus became the basis for designing reading materials. Reading materials for Vocational High School applied a topical syllabus. Each lesson or unit discusses different topics, greeting and introduction. Introduction about nurse, health, dialogue between nurse and patient, eat healthy food, profile a nurse, tools, disease, nutrition, the healthy diet pyramid. Each lesson also adopted various reading skills or strategies. They were skimming, scanning, and guessing meaning from context. When the materials had been designed, the researchers implemented six out of ten lessons of the coursebook. The results were satisfactory. Most students mentioned that the coursebook was related to their field of study. The majority of the students said that the materials were understandable and interesting. They also said that they were satisfied with the reading materials

Designing Reading Materials For ESP Students Vocational High School of Medical Science

The study attempted to design reading materials for Medical Science at one of Vocational High Schools Medical Science in Serang. To produce satisfactory teaching materials, the researchers did the following steps: doing needs analysis, reviewing the principles of materials design and reading in a foreign language, designing course framework, designing syllabus, designing the reading materials, and implementing the sample lessons.
 The researchers employed qualitative methods in gathering the data. The instruments used were questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire was addressed to students, alumni, teachers and institution. The interview was collected from the companies or users that have ever recruited the graduated students. The needs analysis was carried out by distributing questionnaires. The results were then analyzed.
 The result of needs analysis, became the basis for the researchers to design course framework. The course framework was then developed into a syllabus. Finally the syllabus became the basis for designing reading materials.
 The reading materials for Vocational High School Husada Pratama applied a topical syllabus. Each lesson or unit had different topics, greeting and introduction. Introduction about nurse, health, dioalogue conversation nurse and patient, eat healthy food, profile a nurse, tools, disease, nutrition, the healthy diet pyramid. Each lesson also adopted various reading skills or strategies. They were skimming, scanning, and guessing meaning from context.
 When the materials had been designed, the researchers implemented six out of ten lessons of the coursebook. The results were satisfactory. Most students mentioned that the coursebook was related to their field of study. The majority of the students also said that the materials were understandable and interesting. They also said that they were satisfied with the reading materials.
 Keywords: Reading materials, ESP, Reading skill

Leveraging the Power of Mobile Technology to Enhance ESP Students’ Listening Comprehension Ability

The ubiquitous nature of mobile devices and the expanding array of mobile learning applications enable the foreign language acquisition to take place outside the traditional classroom environment. This study conducted a mobile-assisted instructional experiment where the design and development of a mobile application were accomplished to serve students with diverse learning needs in a business English communication class, and with special emphasis on the practice and improvement of listening skills. The instruments used in this study include two tests, weekly quizzes and an attitude survey. The findings demonstrated positive effects of the mobile learning on ESP students with regards to their listening comprehension. Most of the students enjoyed having access to the mobile materials specifically designed to improve their learning performance. They perceived such technology-enhanced learning as a practical method for acquiring foreign language skills, because it provided them with an opportunity to accomplish learning tasks anywhere and at any time.

TURN-TAKING IN CINEMATIC DISCOURSE: LINGUISTIC CHARACTERISTICS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR ESP TEACHING

The article focuses on the issues of teaching turn-taking for ESP students in blended distance learning courses at B2 level. It lays the rationale for the use of film episodes of business interaction in distance learning highlighting turn-taking as an operational meta-discursive category. In multimodal cinematic discourse, turn-taking is performed by heterogeneous semiotic resources: linguistic, non-linguistic, cinematic codes and underpinned by intersubjectivity. Turn-taking strategies of initiating and responding types are viewed as a system of interactional dialogic communication management which includes discursive means of turn-claiming, attempt-suppressing and turn-yielding where each type is actualised by its own set of tactics and techniques. We claim that ESP learners need to know the main parameters for turn-taking in oral professional communication; such as the participants’ stance, speaker – hearer relations and their intersubjectivity, the transition point in a conversation, discourse situations, and specific semiotic resources. In cooperative discourse situations, turn-claiming and turn-yielding strategies are determined by initiating tactics of statement or interrogation. Unlike this, in conflict situations, turn-taking strategies depend upon initiating tactics of statement, interrogation, order, inducement and predetermine responding tactics. In asynchronous and blended formats of distance learning, the preferable delivery methods for this material include video recordings and digital games which facilitate receiving new information and motivate students to practice new communicative skills.

The Effect of Using Google Translator Website on Understanding a Short Story

Translation has historically been performed by traditional ways like paper dictionary or by asking expert bilinguals who is equipped by strong knowledge. This way of translation was further driven by the digital revolution in the 90s where a huge need of interpreting text from source language and into target language. Twenty years on, translation means continue to flourish, even tending towards machine translation. Consequently, this technology became a part of everyone’s life. This paper is to highlight the advantage of using Google translation website on understanding a short text by secondary school students. Keywords: Google Translate, ESP students, machine translation, translation utilization. DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-18-14 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

AUTONOMY AND MOTIVATION: A SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY PERSPECTIVE ON ESP MOTIVATION

Motivation is considered one of the central elements contributing to the success of language learning. It has been found that teachers’ motivating style has substantive impact on student learning motivation and academic achievement. Hence, in the recent research, much attention has been devoted to conceptualization of motivation and identifying factors affecting learning motivation, as well as ways in which teachers may best develop students’ motivational capacity. ESP students are commonly extrinsically motivated and extrinsic motivation is often associated with lower quality performance. Self-determination theory (SDT) offers a broadened conceptualization of extrinsic motivation, suggesting that in an environment responsive to students’ psychological needs it represents a valuable resource which fosters high-quality learning. Such developments in the research on motivation have prompted a shift in approach to language learning motivation. Drawing from SDT, this paper aims to describe how certain aspects of the learning environment may support as well as undermine ESP motivation, and to provide direction for effective ESP classroom practice.