How to prepare materials for ESP teaching

1. Preparing Materials
for ESP teaching
Practice II – 2017
Assad, Blanco, Fernández,
Monge, Morán, Sarmiento

2. People from all parts of the world
exchange information daily
 WhyisEnglish themainmedium?
(Harmer,2007)
Britain’scolonialhistory
• EconomicpoweroftheUnitedStates
PopularityofAmericanfilmsandmusic

3. As a consequence…
 QualityEnglishLanguageTeachingneedsto
increaseconstantly.
Division of English as Foreign Languague into:
 General English (GE)
 English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
 For studying - English for Acamedic Purposes (EAP)
 For working/training - (EOP/EVP/VESL: English for
Occupational Purposes/English for Vocational
Purposes/Vocational English as a Second Language).
Hutchison and Waters (1994:16)

4. English for Specific Purposes
began to emerge because…
xGeneral English was not always helpful in real-
lfe situations of different areas of specialism.
such as engineering, tourism, science and
technology, medicine, etc.
 Pay attention to individual learners
Growing demand for English courses tailored
to students’ specific needs

5. ESP today
 English has become an integral part of modern
professions.
 It’s focused on what students will need in their
working environments.
 Technical specialized vocabulary and
documentation, specialized texts and interactionon.
 Language skills, structures, functions and
vocabulary needed.
ESP “is not a particular kind of language or
methodology” but “an approach to language
learning, which is based on learner need”.
HutchinsonandWaters(1994:19)

6. ESP TEACHERS
❑ They do not need to be experts in the subject in
question, nor having specialized subject
knowledge.
❑ They have to know about the language and
language teaching, being experts in presenting and
explaining the language.
❑ When selecting the materials, teachers should
have some basic knowledge about the subject and
a genuine interest in it.

7. ESP LEARNERS
➢ PRE-EXPERIENCE LEARNERS:
• They just finished secondary school.
• They rely mostly on their theoretical knowledge.
• Their expectations are to a great extent based on their
former educational experience.
• No working experiences.
➢JOB-EXPERIENCED LEARNERS:
• They have some practical experience of using foreign
language in business life.
• They are focused on fluency and being able to understand
the people from other countries they have to deal with.
BOTH: MOTIVATION, DESIRE AND NEED TO LEARN

8. ESP MATERIALS
•Materials selection, adaptation or writing constitute an
important area in ESP teaching.
General Materials one´s general ability to communicate
Subject- specific Materials particular job or industry.
• Both types will equip the S with skills and knowledge.
But! Subject –specific materials :
 cater for ESP learner´s specific needs.
Relevant Textbooks /materials for individuals with different
needs, styles and interests.

9. Related to central traits of Cognitive Theory which are the
followings:
 It focuses on purposeful learning.
 Learner is an active processor of inf.
 Learning is a process in which the Learner tries to make sense
of the info. by a meaningful interpretation.
 Problem-solving as a basic teaching technique.
 It is associated with a focus on deliberate acquisition of a
language.
 A carefull selection of rules so as to improve the learning
process.
• Materials should be used as sources rather than pre-
constructed courses.

10. • The choice of materials has a major impact and it is shown
in:
 It ¨determines what kind of language the Learner will be
exposed to and what they will learn¨
It has ¨implications for the methods and techniques¨
¨the subject of the content of the materials is an essential
component.¨ (Ellis & Johnson)
•The selection of ESP materials depends on the L´s needs
(student-centered), on the L´s specific skills and content
needs.
MATERIALS SELECTION

11. • The level of language knowledge students have already
acquired ad the target level they will need to communicate
successfully in their jobs.
•According to Lewis & Hill, Student´s considerations include:
 Will the materials be useful to students?
Do the materials stimulate Student´s curiosity?
Are the Materials relevant to Student´s needs?
Are the materials fun to do?
Will the students find the tasks and activities worth
doing?

12. Readily available textbooks
vs. tailor-made materials
Decision based on the learners’ subject area
→ General subject areas: higher probability of finding suitable
published materials.
→ More specific subject area:
1º) Question whether the learners’ needs are significantly
different from those of other groups.
2º) Select from existing printed materials (if possible) and
resort to writing materials when all other possibilities of providing
materials have been exhausted.
• Adapt textbooks to the specific needs of the specific subject
area and to the level of students’ language knowledge.
• Prepare in-house materials if no suitable printed materials are
available in the markets.
ALSO: consider the institution's view on materials writing

13. Tailor-made materials
→ Provide students with activities that suit the specific needs of their
future or current jobs.
→ Are more valuable as they are more precisely geared to the students’
needs than published materials.
When designing ESP materials:
• Select tasks that will stimulate the learner’s real-life business
situations as closely as possible.
• Be flexible: be able to respond to the needs of individual learners.
• Encourage students to share their thoughts and experience.
• General considerations:
• The length of the course;
• The target audience of the course;
• The appropriate structural grading;
• Useful vocabulary items;
• The appropriate idiomatic English;
• Visually alive and well presented materials.

14. ESP Materials for English in
Logistics
• Logistics is a relatively new science
• There are very few materials available for teaching
English in Logistics
• The tailor-made materials they prepared are in
electronic form
• EU’s E-learning initiative proposed b the European
Commission
“To accelerate the use of internet and promote multimedia
technologies in European Education”
• E-learning programme (2004)
“Aims to use technology to support lifelong learning, and to
foster the modernisation necessary to achieve this”

15. Electronic form of materials
for English in Logistics
Teachers will opt for designing electronic materials
when possible
ADVANTAGES
• Greater independence and choice in learning and
so on, as well as greater flexibility
• Include intrinsic entertainment characteristics
• The learning process will be more effective when
the materials are motivating and relevant
• Offer the opportunity to use wide range of media
resources

16. English in logistics for first-
year students
These materials comprise subject-specific topics
All these materials follow the same pattern:
• Each chapter includes an introduction to the topic
• Questions for revision
• A glossary
• Related grammar and vocabulary exercises
• References to relevant materials on the World Wide
Web
Another invaluable advantage of electronic materials is
flexibility.
Electronic materials can be changed and updated on a daily
basis, which enables us to include up-to-up date sources
and adapt materials to a particular group of students.

17. Materials evaluation
• Evaluation is mainly “concerned with relative merit”.
• ESP materials evaluation→ the materials that will best suit the
learners’ needs for their future.
• Tailor-made materials → to improve their quality and suitability
to the target learners’ needs.
• Textbook evaluation → three-phase pattern:
1. Pre-use evaluation: before their implementation, the
materials are evaluated by other language teachers,
2. In-use evaluation: during use they are evaluated by the
teachers using them.
3. Post-use evaluation: at the end of the academic year, they
are evaluated by the students.

18. Student feedback
• Questionnaire based on grading their success and
progress in: the English course in general, in
lectures and the overall opinion of blended English.
Answers: insufficient, sufficient, average, good,
excellent.
• Results: the teacher is provided with useful
information on strengths and weaknesses of the
English course she/he has taught, and it will serve
for further development and revision of the
materials.

19. Conclusion
• ESP teachers can always opt for designing tailor-
made, subject-specific materials, which can be used in
combination with readily available textbooks or on
their own.
• These materials will best fit the students’ need and
specific subject areas, and thus enhance their
motivation for learning.
• Although it is very demanding and time-consuming,
writing materials allow the teacher to be actively
involved in developing and teaching courses.