ESP ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND USE

1. Applied linguistics
ENGLISH FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSES
BY==== ADNAN BALOCH

2. Introduction:
 English has become the internationally
accepted language of almost all fields
of knowledge. Therefore, in some
cases, people in English need to be
taught to handle specific jobs. To fulfill
the needs of these learners, specific
courses were designed and introduced.
English for a specific purposes (ESP)
is one of these specific courses.

3. Background:
 ESP emerged in the 1960s and become one of the prominent areas of EFL
teaching. ESP is a learning-centered approach.
Definitions:
According to Strevens (1977)
"ESP concerns the emergence of several activities, movements, and subjects that are carried out prominently(though)not
exclusively in English across the world".
Hutchinson and Waters (1992)
Emphasize:
"ESP to be an approach and not a product which means language learning, not language use in highlighted".
Coffey (1985) observes that:-
"ESP is a quick and economical use of the English language to pursue a course of academic study(EAP)or effectiveness in
paid employment(EOP).

4. Main reasons for the emergence of ESP
There are three main reasons for the emergence of
ESP:
• World war II
• Development in educational psychology
• Need analysis

5. Types of ESP:
David Carter (1983) identifies three types of ESP:
English as restricted
language
English for academic
and occupational
purposes
English with specific
topics

6. 1- The absolute characteristics are those ESP courses which are:
 Designed to meet the specific needs of the learner.
 Related in content to particular disciplines or occupations.
 Centered on language specific to those disciplines or occupations.
 In contrast to general English.
Characteristics:
According to
Strevens (1988):
There are two
of characteristics of
ESP
.
1 - Absolute
characteristics
2 - Variable
characteristics
2- The variable characteristics are those courses
Which may be restricted in the skills to be learned not to
be taught according to a particular methodology.

7. Branches of ESP:
Conventionally ESP has two main divisions.
English for academic purpose:
The purpose of EAP curriculums is to assist learners in
developing particular study skills. Such that
• Listening to academic course
• Making presentations
• Writing academic texts
• Composing reports in specific academic premises, stay in
contact with their recent researchers.
English for occupational purpose:
The purpose of English for occupational use is to address the
employees related to their environment. It can be:
• Pre-professional
• Post-professional

8. Common features:
• Authentic materials
• Purpose related orientation
• Self-direction
Common abbreviations:-
• EFL: English as a foreign language
• ESP: English for specific purposes
• EAP: English for academic purpose
• ELP: English for legal purpose
• ESW: English for social work.

9. Significant
questions for
ESP
What is ESP in teaching?
How do you manage to successfully teach in ESP?
What is need analysis in ESP?
What is ESP course design?
What are the factors affecting ESP course
Design?
What is ESP methodology?
ELT is an umbrella term and ESP is a part of it.

10. Qusestions!
Q1: what is ESP in teaching?
ESP for specific purposes is a subset of
English as a second or foreign language. It
usually refers to teaching the English language
to university students or people already in
employment, with reference to the particular
vocabulary and skill they need.
Q2: how do you manage to successfully teach in ESP?
The responsibility of the teacher in ESP:
 Organizing courses
 Settings goals and objectives.
 Creating a learning environment.
 Evaluating students.
 Interest in learning.
 Subject-content knowledge.
 Learning strategies.

11. Qusestions!
Q3: What is the need for analysis in ESP?
Need analysis can be a vital asset for
teachers of English for the specific purpose to
identify their learner's key requirements or
needs and determine the areas in which they
are lacking skills.
Q4: what is ESP course design?
Course design refers to the planning and
structuring of a course to achieve the
needed goals. It is the outcome of several
elements, the result of the need analysis, the
course designer's approach to syllabus and
methodology, and existing materials.
(Robinson: 1991)

12. Qusestions!
Q5: What are the factors affecting ESP course
design?
 Language description
 Learning theories
 Need analysis
The interdependence of these factors in the course
design process is very important. The course
design must bring the leader into play at all stages
of the design process.
Q6: what is ESP methodology?
Most ESP courses assume some basic
knowledge of that language system. ESP is
centered on the language appropriate to
these activities in terms of grammar, lexis,
register, study skills, discourse and genre.

13. How is ESP different from English as a second language (ESL) also known as general English?
The most important difference lies in the learner and their purposes for learning
English. ESP students are usually adults who already have some acquaintance with
English and are learning the language to communicate a set of professional skills and
to perform particular jobs related to an assessment of purposes and needs and the
functions for which English is required.
Role of teacher
An ESP teacher should:
 Set goals and objectives
 Organize courses
 Prepare material
 Evaluate students

14. Conclusion:
The English for specific purposes has
emerged as a significant field in applied
linguistics. It is mostly concerned with the
learners needs for a specific field of
academics or occupation.
References:-
1. T. Hutchinson & a. Waters (1987) ESP: a learning-centered approach.
Cambridge university press and technology.
2. P. Strevens (1988) ESP after twenty years: a re-appraisal.