English for Specific Purposes

1. 1
Lecture 7
Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP
- Orientation
- Resources
The Role of the ESP Teacher

2. 2
Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP
What is the role
of ESP Teacher?
ResourcesOrientation
SECTION 4:
The ROLE OF
THE ESP TEACHER
Swales, (1985) and Dudley-Evan and St. John (1998) prefer the
term ESP practitioner.
 In addition to the normal functions of a classroom teacher (EGP),
the ESP teacher has to deal with needs analysis, syllabus design,
materials writing or adaptation and evaluation.
The great majority of ESP teachers have not been trained as such
they need to orientate themselves to a new environment for which
they have been ill-prepared.

3. 3
Dudley-Evan and St. John (1998) define five key roles for the
ESP practitioner:
- Teacher: the sameasa role of ´GE´ teacher
-Collaborator: connected with working (collaborating) with specialists
tomeetthespecificlearners´ needs;
-Course designer and materials provider: to provide the most
suitable materials in the lesson to achieve set goals;
-Researcher: to find out whether the choice of materials meets
learners’ and teachers’ expectations ; and
-Evaluator: give feedback to the concerned students about their
Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

4. 4
Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP
Orientation
Three problems/hindrances facing ESP teachers:
1- the lack of an ESP orthodoxy to provide a ready-made guide;
2- the new realms of knowledge the ESP teacher has to cope with;
3- the change in the status of ELT.

5. 5
Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP
The Syllabus
1) the lack of an orthodoxy:
it refers to the lack of a long tradition that might give stability
and guidelines. The problem lies in the relative existence of
ESP in the form of authentic materials. Teachers need to
arm themselves with a sound knowledge of both theoretical
and practical developments in ELT to be able to cope with
such a problem.

6. 6
Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP
2) New realms of knowledge:
- Teachers have to master language and subject matter
beyond the bounds of their previous experience.
- Important questions to be considered:
a) Does the content of ESP materials need to be highly
specialised?
b) Why do so many ESP teachers find it difficult to
comprehend ESP subject matter?
c) What kind of knowledge is required of the ESP teacher?

7. 7
Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP
3- The change in the status of ELT
Compared to EGP, the status of English changes from being a
subject in its own right to a service industry for other speciaisms.
The ESP teacher is considered as a negotiator with regard to the
learners, themselves, as he is faced with a group of learners with
certain expectations as to the nature, content, and achievement of
the course.
 The teacher has become accountable to other parties-sponsors,
subject specialists, learners- and as such takes on the additional
role of negotiator.

8. 8
Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry
- Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes:
a learning-centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Swales, J. (1988). Episodes in ESP. Prentice Hall.
Reading materials:
ESP