ESP Teaching Research Articles

The Teaching of ESP Lexis Revisited: The Effect of Authentic Text Adaptation on Vocabulary Retention

The Teaching of ESP Lexis Revisited: The Effect of Authentic Text Adaptation on Vocabulary Retention

ESP Exercises Building Strategies

"In the currently hyper-technologised world of information, unhindered access to limitless resources has made it possible for ESP teachers to easily retrieve ideas and inspiration for designing course activities that tackle students’ needs optimally. Nonetheless, the inspiration for ESP course activities can run dry at some point. Addionally, each new generation of students brings along newly emerging needs generated by a constantly changing world, hence the necessity of ESP exercises and activities to be constanly updated and customised. The current paper proposes a personal insight into how ESP activities can be conceived starting from a teachnical Reading text for the engineering field. We have sought to create a wide range of exercises derived from the technical reading texts, so that they incorporate an integrated skills approach into the ESP class, serving, perhaps, as a source of inspiration for other teachers in devising their course activities."

Teaching English for specific purposes at Russian universities: problems teachers have to cope with

Any university performance is assessed according to the job placement of its graduates who according to the Russian Federal Educational Standard of higher vocational education must acquire professional skills as well as skills of using Russian and foreign sources of information and being active representatives of domestic companies in business dealings with their overseas partners. Thus, in comparison with English for general purposes taught at Russian schools, students at non-linguistic universities learn English for specific purposes. Since an ESP course is a very demanding one, the paper deals with the main challenges ESP teachers cope with.

Need for an Aligned ESP Writing Course for Engineering Students

The English writing skills of engineering students in India is a tricky proposition. The term- end university exams majorly test their writing ability but the students focus more on oral communication skills to do well in group discussions and interviews to get placed. To add to this, the pressure of domain subjects and a lack of awareness about the real need of writing skills at the workplace and in higher education contribute both to a neglect and poor standard of writing. University courses are not updated frequently and proper needs analysis is not done. India produces the largest number of engineers annually. The paper argues for a mechanism to continuously update English writing course for engineering students by aligning the views of all stakeholders. It also recommends granting autonomy and flexibility to ESP teachers to draft a new or modify the existing writing course which will be updated as per the academic and workplace needs.

Online ESP teaching in non-philology universities: Provided suggestions and proposal

It is an undeniable fact that there are different language challenges in every community and the role of language planning is to concentrate on resolving these existing language problems. Uzbekistan also recognizes the importance of solving language issues and advancing the language teaching system in both macro and micro levels that need to develop the language teaching system, particularly improving English language teaching in each stage of education either online or offline.

Exploration of the Path for Local College ESP Teaching to Empower Common Prosperity

Exploration of the Path for Local College ESP Teaching to Empower Common Prosperity

INTEGRATING CORPUS ANALYSIS TOOLS AND PRACTICES FOR TERMINOLOGY STUDIES IN ESP COURSES

This practice illustration paper aims to present the rationale and methodology of using corpus analysis tools and other software to develop students’ terminology analysis skills and enhance terminology acquisition at university level. It focuses not only on students of philology, but also on non-linguists within ESP courses. The paper presents the types of assignments for terminological analysis based on corpus analysis methodology as well as skills and competences developed through such activities. Assignments on corpus analysis of terminology provide several important benefits. Besides developing language analysis skills and deepening the knowledge of the specific domain, students also develop their research skills through data collection and analysis. They become researchers who can explore the linguistic phenomena on their own and share their discoveries. They develop the skills of working with different data sources, selection of relevant materials for the research, extracting, interpreting, and managing terminological data. It is hoped that the activities and practices presented in the paper will inspire ESP and EFL teachers to integrate the use of digital language technologies into terminology teaching strategies

ESP Course Design and Teaching Professional Development in Algeria

Coursebook design is becoming more and more important in the teaching of ESP in Algeria. In fact, the teaching of scientific and technical English has become demanded at university and in private schools, which has rendered the need for coursebooks and their design pressing. Many researches and projects have been undertaken in this sense to help this kind of literature to spread and to become available for both teachers, students and professionals. In parallel, professional development has become one of the most discussed topics, in particular, in relation to the teaching field. Hence, this paper, which is a modest contribution in the development of coursebook design in ESP, aims at discussing the characteristics of professional development and the possibility of their insertion and application in ESP coursebook design.

Inclusive Communicative Strategies in an ESP Classroom: A Case Study

This paper describes the experience of Ukrainian educators in the promotion of social inclusion for internally displaced students. Attention is paid to the analysis of key notions and concepts of social inclusion in education, and the challenges associated with the implementation of inclusion strategies. This paper investigates the advantages and disadvantages of inclusive communication strategies implementation in ESP courses. The choice justified by its communicative orientation and focus on social interaction. One hundred and ten internally displaced students and fifteen ESP teachers participated in the study. The study presents the results gained from interviews with Ukrainian students and ESP teachers from Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. A comparative analysis revealed the positive dynamics in internally displaced students’ well-being after the implementation of inclusive communicative strategies. The findings support the idea that the well-being of internally displaced students can be improved with the implementation of individualization, diversification, and differentiation integrated into the ESP classroom.

"SPORTS VOCABULARY IN ENGLISH AND SERBIAN IN THE LIGHT OF TRANSLATION CHALLENGES "

Due to the powerful influence of English on Serbian in the sports field, which has been present since the nineteenth century and which is nowadays particularly striking, numerous translation concerns in this field are emerging. In order to point out some possible translation difficulties which can appear as a consequence of the lack of sufficient terminology knowledge in this field in English and Serbian and due to the complex socio-linguistic and cross-cultural influences, the authors focus on several lexical issues which can cause these difficulties: false friends, collocations and lexical gaps. The sports terms analyzed in this paper are extracted from the detailed contrastive analysis of English and Serbian sports terminology, which included terms from over 100 sports which are popular all around the world. The results of the research can be useful for linguists who are interested in contrastive analysis and translation studies, as well as for ESP teachers.

Is Teaching Technical Words a Problematic Issue for ESP Teachers in a Saudi Industrial College?

The literature written about technical words instruction is little compared to its equivalent about vocabulary learning. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which English for Specific Purposes Teachers (ESPTs) think that teaching technical words is a problematic task for them in a Saudi Arabian industrial college called Yanbu Industrial College (YIC). It also explores the reasons behind the challenges they face in teaching technical words. To obtain the goals of this study, six ESPTs at YIC from three different nationalities with different majors, teaching experience, and ages were interviewed to understand their beliefs regarding the existence of the problem and the reasons behind this challenge. The interview type was semi-structured in nature and some prompt cards were also utilised to gather data from the participants. The study revealed that ESPTs at YIC don’t view technical words as a problem but rather a challenge which they can cope with. Among the main challenges they said they faced in doing their job are lack of the proper subject knowledge, lack of experience, absence of prior to students’ enrollment needs analysis and lack of opportunities to employ critical Vocabulary Teaching Strategies VTS and employing reliable Vocabulary Delivery Vehicles VDVs. The findings of the study are expected to provide the literature with some instructional implications such as ESPTs and subject teachers collaboration in teaching technical words, ESP course designing, early analysis of ESP students and ESPTs specialized training programs. Future scrutiny to further our understanding about this neglected topic in the ESP domain and L2 vocabulary instruction is highly recommended.

Questioning business English teaching during the pandemic era: Challenges and prospects in E-learning

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the shutdown of industrial, economic, academic, and public institutions all across the world to ensure social separation among individuals. On the education ground, decision-makers called for a switch from on-the-ground to online instruction as a remedy to this challenging issue. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the primary challenges that English for Specific Purposes teachers and learners encounter in the Higher School of Management of Tlemcen, Algeria in E-learning classes, as well as the most effective ways and skills to cater to the needs of this global age during this pandemic era. This research is a case study conducted on 5 ESP teachers and 60 first-year learners. The data collection was through a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Findings revealed that despite their recognition of the vital importance of such courses, both teachers and learners encounter a set of challenges related to organizational, technological, pedagogical, and psychological issues. Keywords: Business English; COVID-19; E-learning; pandemic.

But then something happened: A critical multimodal genre analysis of corporate image repair videos

This study explores an emergent genre of corporate image repair videos that were produced and disseminated on YouTube by three large corporations Facebook, Uber and Wells Fargo following major corporate scandals and mismanagement. Utilising a critical multimodal genre analysis, the generic and semiotic features of this new corporate multimodal ‘product’ are investigated focusing on meanings, values and beliefs that they interactively produce. The analysis shows how the corporations appropriate the generic structure of the canonical narrative, narrative positionality, narrative frames and audio-visual resources in fresh and creative ways to do repair work and diminish their responsibility for wrongdoings. The analysis raises critical awareness of the ‘dark side’ of generic creativity and innovation in the service of corporate interests and public manipulation. This study is intended as a case study showcasing to the community of ESP students, teachers and researchers a workable approach to explore multimodal practices of professional communication mediated online.

Content-Based Language Teaching (CBLT) in ESP Courses in Indonesian Higher Education: A case study

This study explores the implementation of CBLT in ESP courses within Indonesian higher education. It identifies categories of assessment within that implementation through a variety of classroom activities. The study looks at learning outcomes in which CBLT makes an impact on ESP learning, at types of teaching preparation, at teaching materials, and at various teaching methods employed in CBLT implementation. This research applies a case study research design, focused on Indonesian higher education, specifically Bosowa University, Makassar. Seven lecturers and ten students from the university’s non-English department were selected as participants in the study. They were selected purposively, as they had implemented CBLT in ESP courses in their classes. The instruments of data collection were documentation, observation, and interview. The findings of the study show that by implementing CBLT, the lecturers believed that they could teach the ESP courses more effectively. In addition, lecturers were able to manage and organise content material in their ESP teaching. Students enhanced their knowledge of specific English, as well as their communicative competence in real life, elevating the vocabulary pertaining to their disciplines. Finally, students believe that CBLT offers many opportunities for meaningful and purposeful language use. Detailed findings are presented here, and their implications discussed.

Réflexions sur la traduction automatique et l’apprentissage en langues de spécialité

Le développement de la traduction automatique déclenche des inquiétudes chez les traducteurs comme chez les enseignants, car elle peut non seulement remettre en cause l’enseignement de la traduction mais également rendre problématique l’évaluation des productions des étudiants en langue étrangère. Son usage croissant et ses progrès fulgurants ont renforcé ces peurs. Appuyés sur des grands corpus parallèles et des techniques d’apprentissage statistique ou « réseaux de neurones », ces systèmes se heurtent pourtant à des difficultés pour les langues de spécialité. À partir d’exemples de traduction de groupes nominaux complexes, nous soulignons leurs défaillances face à la prise en compte de savoirs implicites. Nous montrons que le fonctionnement actuel au niveau de la phrase ne permet pas de contextualiser le texte dans un genre, un domaine, et sa phraséologie. Enfin, nous préconisons une approche critique de la traduction automatique qui contribuera à une meilleure connaissance des langues de spécialité.

Effects of ESP Courses on Chinese Health Vocational College Students' English Proficiency

This study investigated the effects of ESP teaching of medical English on the English proficiency of Chinese medical major students. A content-based language instruction was given to the experimental group while the control group was taught on the basis of traditional grammar-translation method. Both groups were freshmen majoring in clinical nursing and were in the second semester of their college learning.The findings showed that the content-based ESP course was significantly effective for the students when it came to improving their English proficiency. Compared with the grammar-translation method, it manifested a more significant advantage in improving the students’ listening and speaking abilities. However, the grammar-translation method was proved to be more beneficial in improving students’ writing ability. Moreover, content-based ESP learning didn’t have a more significant effect on students’ reading performance in comparison with the grammar-translation method. Additionally, the survey results revealed that content-based ESP learning was more beneficial to the students in developing their professional communication skills, increasing their English speaking opportunities, giving them confidence in using English, and providing them with a better understanding of unit topics. However, the interview results showed that students experienced some difficulty concerning group discussions or impromptu speeches. In particular, low-level students perceived that speaking in English was uncomfortable and required an unexpected amount of preparation time. ESP learning looks promising, but it is necessary for us to apply a different teaching method according to the students’ proficiency levels and for the skills that they acquire.

ESP Teachers' beliefs about their roles in Teaching Technical Vocabulary

ESP Teachers' beliefs about their roles in Teaching Technical Vocabulary

ESP Teachers’ beliefs about their roles in Teaching Technical Vocabulary

This paper investigates the beliefs of the English for Specific Purposes Teachers (ESPTs) about their roles in teaching English Technical Vocabulary (ETV) in a Saudi Arabian Industrial college called Yanbu Industrial College (YIC). It also aims to find the reasons behind their beliefs and explores the extent to which their beliefs go in line with the literature available about this topic. Methodologically, a qualitative study under the case study tradition was conducted. Six ESPTs were interviewed to understand their beliefs regarding their roles in teaching technical vocabulary and the reasons behind their stated beliefs. The study found different beliefs held by ESPTs. They believed that ETV items form should be taught by them, meaning should be introduced jointly with subject teacher and use should be taught by subject teachers due to its advanced technicality. The study suggested some educational implications and recommended experts in the area to carry out future scrutiny to understand this topic from different dimensions.

Technical, psychological and behavioural aspects of teaching EFL and ESP university courses online: A case study of the 2020-2021 curriculum

Taking measures against the coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2021 many universities all over the world had to transform their formal classes into distance or online courses. The article deals with the issues of online EFL and ESP teaching and the learning process in distance format under an instructor’s supervision. The research is based on the feedback data of the survey conducted for the Political Science students who were taking up the English language university course online in the 2020-2021 curriculum instead of formal classes. The aim of the research was to reveal the technical, psychological and behavioural aspects of English language distance learning in a virtual MS Teams classroom as well as to analyse the students’ self-assessment of the efficiency and results of the distance EFL course. Applying quantitative and qualitative data analyses together with the method of involved observation, the authors arrive at conclusions concerning the still existing technical problems preventing students from working effectively, the disruptive character of certain psychological and behavioural patterns in a virtual classroom, as well as discrepancies between the amount of effort students put into their work and their academic achievements. Study results show both the drawbacks of the distance online format compared to the traditional formal classroom and the possibilities of effective implementation of distance forms of education at some stages of the English language educational process or within particular modules of the curriculum.

Developing Local-Based English for Tourism Material for Religious and Cultural Tour Guide Program Students: A Needs Analysis

Teaching ESP requires a thorough and systematic way in developing the materials because the purpose is to help students develop their English competence in specific disciplines. What was found in the teaching of English for Tourism in the Religious and Cultural Tour Guide Program in Tampung Penyang State Hindu Institute (IAHN) of Palangka Raya was the absence of proper materials for the students. This study is a small part of Research and Development (RnD) project for an English for Tourism book of this faculty. It involved the stakeholder and the practitioner in the local tourism industry as the informants in giving insights to local-based material development. Employing a qualitative approach, the in-depth interviews were conducted. The results of this study finally offer some recommendation for English for Tourism materials: 1) speaking and writing as the top priorities of required English skills, 2) language functions included: self-introduction, negotiating, handling tourists at an airport, making an itinerary, writing and replaying an email, and describing tourist destination or place, 3) vocabulary related to tourism industry and especially tour guiding, 4) cross-cultural understanding, and 5) local tourist destinations.