Chapter 2

Needs analysis and ESP

course design

Woodrow, L. (2018). Introducing course design in English for specific purposes.

Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315143279

Needs analysis is the backbone of ESP course design. This chapter aims
to provide an up-to-date overview of current thinking in needs analysis in
relation to course design and guidance on how to conduct an appropriate
needs analysis. The chapter addresses how to identify needs, whose needs
should be considered and which methods can be used to collect needs data.
The chapter traces the development of a course based on needs analysis.
Examples of needs-based courses are presented in Part 3, and examples of
needs analysis are included in Chapter 15. This chapter covers the following
topics:

• What is needs analysis?

• Types of need
• Stakeholders’ perspectives
• Methodologies of needs analysis (reflecting on how needs can be
identified)

◦ quantitative methods
◦ qualitative methods

• From needs analysis to course design

Defining needs analysis

Needs analysis is the first step in the course-design cycle in ESP and refers
to the systematic analysis of what learners need in order to operate in the
target communicative situation. This is contrasted with the learner’s cur-
rent communicative ability. The ESP course is usually based on the gap
between these two. A present-situation analysis may be conducted to dis-
cover the learners’ immediate needs. These are likely to differ from target
needs. Brown (2016, 4) defines needs analysis in ESP very succinctly as “the
systematic collection and analysis of all information necessary for defining
and validating a defensible curriculum”.
22 Essential aspects of ESP

Reflection 2.1

Experience with needs analysis

All language courses are informed by a needs analysis to a greater or
lesser extent.
If you have teaching experience, give an example where you tried to
accommodate learners’ needs in your teaching.
If you do not have teaching experience, how do you think you might
be able to reflect student needs in your teaching?
To what extent do you think the needs of the student can be reflected
in an ESP course?
Whose needs are important?
How do you think needs can be assessed?
When do you think needs analysis should be carried out?

A focus on needs analysis emerged in the early 1970s with the work of the
Council of Europe (Richterich & Chancerel, 1977), driven by the language
needs of the European Union. In this early work, needs were conceived as a
‘target situation’ analysis. This refers to the language required to function in
the discipline setting – for example, in EBP, an analysis of the language and
vocabulary of a business report may be conducted. Based on this idea, John
Munby investigated how needs could inform course design in a systematic
way. His communicative needs processor (CNP) is a text-based model that
identifies parameters of processing to produce a profile of needs. It analyses
needs with a high level of precision by considering variables of interlocu-
tor, setting, content, variety of English, attitude and purpose. Munby’s work
has been extremely influential in the area of ESP course design. Any course
designer who plans to engage in a form of needs analysis will find food
for thought in Munby’s classification of needs by language and pragmatics.
However, the micro-focus of the CNP is rather complex and not easily
applied to practice.
Much of the early work in needs analysis tended to focus on an analysis
of the language used in the target situation (Trimble, 1985). This contin-
ues today in a much more contextualised manner with work in genre (see
Chapter 9), discourse analysis (see Chapter 10) and the use of corpora
(see Chapter 11). Huchinson and Waters (1987) were the first to focus on
the learner rather than exclusively on the discourse of the target situation,
making ESP more relevant to the individual.
In addition to considering the end goal – the target communicative
situation – it is necessary to consider where the learners are currently in
terms of language competence. This is referred to as ‘present situation’
 Needs analysis and ESP 23

wants gaps requests

desires motivations pre-requisites
necessities deficiencies essentials
lacks requirements x + 1 (x = what the students
know already)

Figure 2.1 Synonyms for needs analysis

Source: adapted from Brown (2016).

analysis (Robinson, 1991). Further considerations include the analysis of

‘lacks’ (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987); this focuses on the difference in skills
between the current situation and the target situation. West (1994) also con-
siders learners’ pedagogic needs: the learning strategies required to follow
an ESP course. We can also consider what a learner ‘wants’ or thinks he
or she needs; and it should be noted that this perception of needs may
not be accurate, as the student may not be fully aware of what the target
situation requires. The final part of this puzzle is consideration of ‘con-
straints’ (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987), also referred to as ‘means analysis’
(Holliday, 1994). This refers to possible resources, such as staff, materials
and classrooms.
Brown (2016) lists some of the large number of synonyms for needs, as
shown in Figure 2.1.

Stakeholders’ perspectives
The early view of ESP tended to view needs analysis as objective and neu-
tral. However, in any ESP course there are a number of stakeholders: the
students, teachers, governing bodies, sponsors and employers. The percep-
tions of needs, wants, lacks and constraints may differ between the different
stakeholders and with the actual requirements of the target communica-
tive situations. Varying levels of power within the stakeholder network can
impact on the ESP course that eventuates. For example, Jasso-Aguilar’s
(2005) seminal study into the needs of hotel maids in Hawaii found that
the stakeholders had different perceptions of the target situation and thus
of needs and wants. This was in opposition to the actual communica-
tive needs of the maids themselves, which were identified by participant
observations. This study highlighted the critical perspective in ESP, whereby
the rights of students are also taken into consideration (Benesch, 2001).
A further perspective is that stakeholders may not know what the students
need. For example, a student who enrols on an EAP course prior to post-
graduate study at an English university may have limited knowledge of
24 Essential aspects of ESP

Executive Human Resources

housekeeper manager

Supervisors

Hotel maids
Co-workers Hotel guests
(am and pm) shift

Housekeeper
trainers

ESP course Housekeeper

ESP teachers
designer assistants

Figure 2.2 Network of stakeholders in ESP course: needs analysis

Source: based on Jasso-Aguilar (2005).

the writing skills required during the postgraduate course. Conversely, the
subject specialist on the postgraduate course may have limited knowledge
of the language needs and limitations of international students. Hutchinson
and Waters (1987) make the distinction between student needs and wants.
For example, in Jasso-Aguilar’s (2005) study, the hotel maids did not really
need much English, but the hotel wanted them to have English skills to
enhance the hotel’s image. The communicative situation can be conceptu-
alised as a network with all members impacting on the needs. As an example
I have used Jasso-Aguilar’s (2005) study to generate a network of stakehold-
ers who may impact on a needs analysis. Figure 2.2 shows the network of
interlocutors in this situation.
As well as the immediate network of interlocutors in the target situation,
a course designer may consult current practitioners, domain experts, past
students and past teachers. Inherent in a broad view of needs analysis is
research methodology. In addition, the published and unpublished litera-
ture on needs analysis of similar courses and the work of researchers in the
field should be consulted. Considering needs and data from a large range of
sources will make it more likely that the needs identified for analysis will
be met.

Methodologies used in collected data about needs

Information about learner needs can be collected using quantitative meth-
ods, such as questionnaires, language audits and language tests, and/or
qualitative methods, such as interviews, observations and discourse analysis.
 Needs analysis and ESP 25

Questionnaires and surveys

Text analysis
Language assessment
Previous research filed
Discussions with stakeholders
Interviews (unstructured, semi-structured and structured)
Target-situation observations (participant, non-participant)
Learning-situation observations
Learner diaries, logs and journals
Language audits
Expert and non-expert intuitions
Role-plays and simulations
Corpus analysis
Ethnography

Figure 2.3 Some methods that can be used to collect needs-analysis data

Traditionally, data is collected from stakeholders using questionnaires. Typi-

cally, a single questionnaire is given to the sponsor and the intended students.
The data is then analysed according to frequency. However, rather than
using a universal approach, Long (2005) recommends that data should be
collected from a range of sources including research in the area, previous
students and courses and domain experts. He argues for triangulation of
data sources and methods.
Needs-analysis data may be collected in a range of ways (Figure 2.3)
and may involve the students, teachers and domain specialists. This type of
data collection would also include information about the present situation,
reflecting what the students already know and their preferred learning styles.
While these methods provide essential information to help with course
design, there is a need for empirical data, too. Empirical data can be collected
from target communicative events using methods such as discourse analysis,
text analysis and authentic target task observation. Such data is very useful
in accurately identifying the actual linguistic and pragmatic requirements of
the target situation.
An example of how different methods may be used to collect data is that
of Wozniak’s (2010) study of the language needs of French mountain guides
(see the needs-analysis example in Chapter 15). The analysis started with
unstructured interviews with different stakeholders which led to the genera-
tion of a needs-analysis questionnaire. In addition, the students’ proficiency
and issues relating to certification were collected. Such triangulation can
minimise the occurrence of error and enhance the credibility of the data
(Cowling, 2007).
26 Essential aspects of ESP

Task 2.1

Methods of needs analysis

Choose a potential or existing ESP course. Using the list of methods in
Figure 2.3:

1 Discuss which of the methods would be most appropriate.

2 Who would you consult?
3 How would you collect the data?

How could you achieve triangulation? (sources and methods)

Settings of needs analysis

The setting of an ESP course influences needs analysis and subsequent course
design.
In an academic setting the focus of ESP tends to be on skills. Read-
ing and writing are often highlighted, as these are the major vehicles for
the transmission of information and for academic assessment in the target
situation. Needs analysis in this setting is often less likely to involve the
learners, as institutional demands tend to be inflexible. What this means
is that the students are obliged to adhere to norms laid down by the
institution rather than be involved in the negotiation of needs as may be
the case in other types of ESP course. Benesch questions the power bal-
ance inherent in this type of EAP and suggests a critical approach to EAP
by proposing a rights analysis. She defines this as “a theoretical tool for
EAP teachers and students to consider possible responses to unfavourable
social, institutional and classroom conditions” (Benesch, 1996, 102). In
critical EAP, the context is viewed as an instrument of social change
(Macallister, 2016).
EOP may occur in different settings. It may happen in universities and
training institutions or in the workplace. Needs in such settings will dif-
fer: in universities and training institutions the present-situation needs of
the students will differ greatly from the target-situation needs as students
are in the process of learning about the subject and need to fulfil course
requirements. As the students are also likely to be pre-experienced, they
will be less able to contribute to needs analysis as they have limited
knowledge of the communicative situations they will experience in the work-
place. In workplace ESP needs analysis can be very focused as the content
field may be narrow. Typically, a workplace needs analysis involves the
 Needs analysis and ESP 27

analysis of authentic tasks through on-site observations and ethnographic

research.

The learner and needs analysis

It seems only common sense to place the learner at the centre of any
needs analysis. Such analysis should take into consideration the learn-
ers’ lacks and present-situation and target-situation communication needs.
However, learners are not always aware of their needs. For example,
EGAP students enrolled on a pre-sessional course may be unaware of
their academic needs in relation to their chosen degree programme as
the educational settings of their prior experience may be quite different.
However, it is a good idea to include learners in the needs-analysis pro-
cess because then they have a sense of ownership and responsibility which
can be a motivating force. Holme and Chalauisaeng (2006) refer to needs
analysis as an iterative process and formulate a series of qualitative tech-
niques focusing on participatory appraisal to involve learners more in
the process of identifying needs and solutions to learning problems. The
methods focused on reading and involved class and group discussions and
brainstorming.

Task 2.2

Application of methods in needs analysis

Chapter 15 shows three needs analyses:
Example 1 Mountain guides’ needs analysis
Example 2 English for engineering
Example 3 Academic Legal English

1 What areas do the instruments target?

2 What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of each
instrument?
3 What would you do with the information gained from these needs
analyses?
4 Could these instruments be used or adapted to suit your ESP
teaching situation?

Figure 2.4 presents a framework comprising the major areas that can be
used to inform needs analysis as a basis for ESP course design.
28 Essential aspects of ESP

Why?

Who? What?
students necessities
managers needs
supervisors lacks
sponsors constraints
governing bodies target communicative event
gate keepers target communicative skills
teachers target discourse
colleagues present situation
domain experts communication
past students learning strategies

Where? When?
workplace pre-service
language school in-service
university
training institution

How?
intuitions
interviews
questionnaires
observations
literature review
ethnography
language audit
language test
task analysis
discourse analysis
corpus analysis
text analysis diaries,
journals and logs

Figure 2.4 A framework for needs analysis

Task 2.3

Needs-analysis framework
Using Figure 2.4, discuss the framework in relation to a potential or
existing ESP course
 Needs analysis and ESP 29

Identify stakeholders

Consult previous needs analysis and current research in the area

Devise best methods of collecting data

(triangulate from multiple sources, situations and methods)

Collect and analyse data

(needs, wants, necessities, analysis of specialist discourse)

Translate findings into list of communicative events

Determine syllabus items based on the above

Evaluate courses

Figure 2.5 Steps in needs analysis in ESP course design

Moving from needs analysis to course design

Needs are the basis of most courses in ESP. Needs-analysis data is translated
into course objectives and teaching aims though a series of steps. A suggestion
of how needs can be translated into syllabus items is outlined in Figure 2.5.
Figure 2.5 presents a linear process of course design; however, the needs
of learners do not remain static but vary over the duration of the ESP course.
This means that needs analysis is an ongoing process and that the rela-
tionship between needs analysis and course design is cyclical. Information
obtained from the evaluation of courses by major stakeholders can then
lead to further refinements in the course itself.

Summary
In this chapter the role of needs analysis in ESP has been discussed. The chap-
ter has covered the emergence of needs analysis in ESP in the last century,
which focused on purely linguistic needs and viewed ESP as essentially
neutral, to current thinking, which considers a range of learner needs
and a critical perspective on those needs. The chapter has discussed the
sources from which needs information can be obtained, presented a range
30 Essential aspects of ESP

of methods for collecting needs-analysis data and suggested that triangu-

lation is an essential aspect of current analysis of needs. The chapter has
highlighted the relationship between needs and course design that will be
explored in the following chapters. In Chapter 15 there are three examples
of needs-analysis instruments.

Further reading
James Dean Brown has a book in the Introducing ESP series, Introducing needs anal-
ysis and English for specific purposes, which is essential reading for those interested
in designing needs-based courses in ESP. For a very practical perspective on design-
ing an ESP course from needs see Marjiatte Huhta et al. (2013). Richard’s West’s
seminal article on needs analysis provides a state-of-the-art portrait of needs anal-
ysis relevant in the 90s. It gives a good historical overview. Michael Long’s edited
book on second-language needs analysis considers the topic from a wide range of
perspectives and may be classed as essential reading in the area.

References
Benesch, S. (1996). Needs analysis and curriculum development in EAP: An example
of a critical approach. TESOL Quarterly, 30(4), 723–38. doi:10.2307/3587931.
Benesch, S. (2001). Critical English for academic purposes: Theory, politics, and
practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Brown, J. D. (2016). Introducing needs analysis and English for specific purposes.
Oxford: Routledge.
Cowling, J. D. (2007). Needs analysis: Planning a syllabus for a series of intensive
workplace courses at a leading Japanese company. English for Specific Purposes,
26(4), 426–42.
Holliday, A. (1994). Appropriate methodology and social context. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Holme, R., & Chalauisaeng, B. (2006). The learner as a needs analyst: The use of
participatory appraisal in the EAP classroom. English for Specific Purposes, 25(4),
403–19.
Huhta, M., Vogt, K., Johnson, E., & Tulggi, K. (2013). Needs analysis for language
course design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning
centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jasso-Aguilar, R. (2005). Sources, methods and triangulation in needs analysis in
a case study of Waikiki hotel maids. In M. Long (Ed.), Second language needs
analysis (pp. 127–68). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Long, M. (Ed.) (2005). Second language needs analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Macallister, C. J. (2016). Critical perspectives. In K. Hyland & P. Shaw (Eds.), The
Routledge handbook of English for academic purposes (pp. 283–94). Oxford:
Routledge.
 Needs analysis and ESP 31

Munby, J. (1978). Communicative syllabus design. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-

sity Press.
Richterich, R., & Chancerel, J.-L. (1977). Identifying the needs of adults learning a
foreign language. Oxford: Pergamon.
Robinson, P. (1991). ESP today: A practitioner’s guide. Oxford: Pergamon.
Trimble, L. (1985). English for science and technology: A discourse approach.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
West, R. (1994). Needs analysis in language teaching. Language Teaching, 27(1),
1–19.
Wozniak, S. (2010). Language needs analysis from a perspective of international
professional mobility: The case of French mountain guides. English for Specific
Purposes, 29(4), 243–52.
Chapter 3

Language and skills in English

for specific purposes

This chapter addresses language and skills in designing an ESP course. More
in-depth consideration of language issues in course design can be found
in Chapter 4, about vocabulary, and in Part 2 about the use of genre
(Chapter 9), discourse analysis (Chapter 10) and corpora (Chapter 11).
Many ESP courses focus on skills and content rather than on language
forms. An explicit focus on grammar tends to play a lesser role in ESP than
in general English, where it may be the central organisational strand in the
course. This chapter introduces the role of the following language areas in
ESP course design:

• Grammar
• Reading
• Writing
• Speaking
• Listening

Reflection 3.1

Language and ESP

As a teacher or learner of ESP:

1 How important is a focus on grammar in ESP?

2 What model of grammar should be used in ESP?
3 How important is a focus on skills?
4 Which skills are important in ESP?

It stands to reason that language plays an essential role in any ESP course,
but how is language conceptualised? That is to say, what is language?
The central issue is what the course designer believes language competence
is, and this should be based on evidence. For example, does language
 Language and skills in ESP 33

competence mean a good knowledge of grammar? Or a wide range of vocab-

ulary? Or an ability to deal with a range of communicative situations?
Perhaps the most influential view of language competence is the notion
of communicative competence put forward by Canale and Swain (1980).
The term ‘communicative competence’ was coined by Dell Hymes (1966)
in an attempt to extend Chomsky’s 1965 distinction between competence
and performance. Canale and Swain’s conceptualisation of communicative
competence comprises the following sub-competences:

1 Grammatical competence, which refers to knowledge of grammar, lexis,

morphology, syntax, semantics and phonology.
2 Sociolinguistic knowledge: knowledge of the socio-cultural rules of
language use.
3 Discoursal competence: knowledge of coherence and cohesion that
connect spoken and written text.
4 Strategic competence: knowledge of verbal and nonverbal communica-
tion strategies.

Douglas (2000) neatly summarises ESP language knowledges as being

made up of linguistic, textual, functional, communicative and sociolinguistic
knowledge. Canale and Swain (1980) and Douglas (2000) provide a useful
starting point for ESP course designers in terms of conceptualising language.

Task 3.1

Communicative competence and ESP

1 Canale and Swain (1980) identify four components of communica-
tive competence:
Grammatical competence
Sociolinguistic knowledge
Discoursal competence
Strategic competence
What do you think each aspect refers to?
2 Find an example of ESP materials.* Look at the course syllabus
and a sample unit. Think about how each type of competence is
reflected in the materials. Think about how this might be reflected
in an ESP course.

* Sample units and course overviews are freely available online from
ESP book publishers. For example, Garnet: www.garneteducation.com/;
and Cambridge: www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog/
business-professional-and-vocational/.
34 Essential aspects of ESP

Specificity of content and language

The next important issue that needs to be addressed in relation to the treat-
ment of language in ESP course design is one of specificity. In ESP specificity
can refer to language and to content. In terms of language, the course
designer needs to consider to what extent particular examples of language in
the ESP discipline are unique to the field and to what extent particular forms
are generic across all areas. Early course designers analysed target texts in
terms of lexico-grammar and used these as syllabus items in the belief that
the grammar and vocabulary used are unique to the setting. However, there
is general agreement that there is a large body of generic language knowl-
edge. This is referred to by Bloor and Bloor (1986) as the common core.
This common core overlaps varieties of language common in all types of
communication with those specific to particular communicative situations.
The notion of a basic command of language necessary to be able to com-
municate in a given language emerged through the conceptualisation of
the threshold level in work leading to the Common European framework
(van Ek, 1975, 1980). The taxonomy of communicative objectives prepared
for the Council of Europe (van Ek, 1975) is based on a functional/notional
conceptualisation of language described in the section below.
From an ESP perspective, the threshold level is conceived of as a level
at which specific language instruction can optimally commence. For exam-
ple, most university pre-sessional courses in university language centres start
EAP at an intermediate or upper intermediate level. Typically, ESP courses,
which are informed by needs analysis, are more expensive than general English
courses, so there is a financial advantage to both the student and the provider
to introduce ESP courses at a time when they can be comparatively short.
In terms of specificity of content in ESP, there are two perspectives con-
nected with the notion of the common core of ESP language in relation
to the specificity of language. ESP courses can be classified as English for
general specific purposes and English for specific purposes (Dudley-Evans
& St. John, 1998). Thus we have courses in English for general academic
purposes (EGAP) or English general business purposes (EGBP) and courses
in English for specific academic purposes (ESAP) or English for specific
business purposes (ESBP). The level of generality is usually dictated by the
homogeneity of the students and the resources available, such as materi-
als, courses designers and specialised teachers. A general ESP course will
be applicable to a much wider range of students and purposes, and it
can use published materials and be taught by ESP practitioners without
subject expertise. At the most specific end of the continuum of specificity
are content-based courses taught in English. This has developed into an
approach in its own right, labelled by some as ‘content-based instruction’
(CBI) and others as ‘content and language integrated learning’ (CLIL),
depending on the setting. These are discussed in more detail in Chapter 13.
 Language and skills in ESP 35

ESP and grammar

In EGP courses there is generally an emphasis on grammar, this typically being
one of the major sequencing strands in the syllabus. Traditionally, grammar
focuses on syntax, tense and aspect, and syllabuses usually begin with the sim-
plest forms of these and continue through to the most complex – for example,
from the verb ‘to be’ and the simple present tense to the use of gerunds. The
assumption is that learners acquire these structures in this fashion. However,
this belief has been challenged on a number of fronts. For example, as expe-
rienced English teachers know, the acquisition of verbs using the third person
‘s’ form often takes learners a very long time. This lockstep approach reflects
the fact that what is taught is not always what is learned (Nunan, 1998). In
communicative-language teaching this often resulted in shifting the primary
focus on to meaning rather than grammar. However, this does not mean gram-
mar teaching has been rendered useless. A recent perspective on grammar
teaching is a ‘focus on form’ (FonF). In contrast with ‘focus on forms’, which
focuses on the deductive, explicit teaching of specific grammatical rules and
forms (Doughty & Williams, 1998), FonF emphasises a communicative and
inductive approach to grammar.
A course designer needs to decide to whether a focus on grammar will be
included in the course and, if so, which aspects of grammar it will focus on and
which description of language will inform the course. The decision about which
grammatical items should be included in an ESP course can be informed by
discourse analysis (see Chapter 10) that can indicate common linguistic forms
in the target situation. In addition, diagnostic procedures such as a grammar
test or language audit conducted at the needs-analysis stage can identify areas
of language and grammar that learners need to be included in the course.
There is not just one grammar of English. Typically, a traditional gram-
mar is used in English-language courses. However, a functional grammar
based on systemic functional linguistics (SFL) may be used (Halliday, 1976).
Systemic functional grammar (SFG) is more common in ESP than in EGP
courses. SFG attempts to account for communicative settings, register, genre
and interlocutors in the language description. The description focuses on
field (what’s going on), tenor (who’s involved) and mode (channel of com-
munication). This is very popular in some parts of the world, notably
Australia, where SFG is the grammar taught in mainstream schools and is
often referred to as the Sydney School. In practice, however, SFG may be
complex to include in course design, both from the perspective of the course
designer and, more importantly, that of the student.
Despite moves within mainstream EFL on FonF, ESP courses do not always
include a grammar strand in the syllabus. There are a number of reasons for
this. Perhaps the most significant is that learners are often heterogeneous.
Classes may be grouped according to job or academic discipline, in contrast
to EGP courses, where students are usually grouped according to language
36 Essential aspects of ESP

level. This means that learners with varying levels of language proficiency may
be in the same class. Further, because ESP courses often commence once the
threshold level is attained, some (students and instructors) may believe that a
focus on grammar is no longer essential as the basic forms have already been
acquired by the learners. In published ESP courses there may not be a focus on
grammar or a grammar syllabus strand. This does not mean that grammar is
not important in ESP, but it is often left to the ESP practitioner to supplement
a given ESP course with frequent and common grammar forms taken from the
target communicative situation and as the need arises.

ESP and functions and notions in language

In the latter part of the twentieth century, which saw an emphasis on
communicative-language teaching, course designers focused less on gram-
mar in favour of functions and notions. A function represents language that
can achieve communicative aims, defined by White as “the intentional or
purposive use of language” (White, 1988, 75) – for example, the request
“could you open the window please?”. A notion refers to concepts such
as time, movement and cause. The functional–notional conceptualisation of
language has been hugely influential on approaches to ESP course design and
is the basis of the work on the levels of the Council of Europe framework
(CEF). van Ek and Trim’s taxonomy of functions (1998) is a very useful tool
for course designers. This is an in-depth list of possible functions needed in
everyday communication and is divided into the levels of the CEF.

Task 3.2

Grammar, functions and notions in published ESP

materials
Using some ESP materials – for example, a coursebook or in-house
materials – consider to what extent the materials focus on:
Functions
Notions
Grammar

Skills
A focus on skills is central to ESP course design and often takes precedence over
a focus on linguistic form(s). One reason for this may be that skills and texts are
central to many areas of ESP and are relatively easy to identify in ESP settings.
 Language and skills in ESP 37

The first consideration is whether skills are receptive (reading and listening) or
productive (speaking and writing). Figure 3.1 presents a taxonomy of receptive
and productive texts commonly found in an EAP setting.
ESP skills are referred to and discussed extensively in many of the other
chapters in this book – for example, Course 5 – in Part 3 – is a postgraduate
course in academic writing.
The starting point for course designers in terms of skills is to ascertain what
view of the construct or skill is adopted. For example, what do we mean by read-
ing ability? Does it refer to a bottom-up type of processing whereby the reader
moves from the smallest unit in the text to the overall meaning of the text?
Or does the reader use top-down processing whereby the reader works from
whole text meaning to smaller units of comprehension? Or some of both?
Spoken and written texts form the mainstay of ESP course design. Based
on needs analyses, texts are identified and collected from the target situa-
tions by key stakeholders. This is usually the ESP practitioner and/or course
designer, but contributions can also be made by employers, subject spe-
cialists and the students themselves. Texts are collected and analysed using
varying methodologies – for example, discourse analysis – and incorporated
into course objectives and ultimately into classroom activities.

Writing
Very often writing plays a very important role within ESP. In EAP, for
example, academic writing is extremely important because the majority of
academic assessment is made though the vehicle of writing. The notion of
academic literacy has received a lot of attention in recent years. Today liter-
acy is considered as plural literacies (this is discussed in Chapter 13) and is
something that members of an academic community do rather than acquire
(Hyland, 2013). In EAP there is a rich tradition in writing approaches and
theorising: a product approach to writing focuses on the technical aspects
and the correctness of a final text, whereas a process approach incor-
porates drafting and re-drafting of writing; a genre approach to writing
focuses on identifiable types of text and how these are typically struc-
tured (see Chapter 9); and an academic literacies approach to writing views
writing being informed by context, setting, purpose and interlocutor (see
Chapter 15). These approaches are not mutually exclusive and can be com-
bined. For an excellent overview of approaches in EAP see Paltridge (2004).
ESP writing using different approaches is addressed in Part 2 of this book.

Reading
The focus on reading in ESP has followed a similar trajectory to writing,
with a move from a sentence-level focus to one on larger chunks of text, such
as the moves within a business report. Selecting texts to use in an ESP course
38 Essential aspects of ESP

is very important. Central to this is the notion of authentic materials. This

refers to texts which are used by the target interlocutors in communication.
For example, an EAP course designer would probably include texts from
academic journals in the students’ discipline. Ideally the selection of texts is
done in cooperation with major stakeholders in the field, such as subject lec-
turers. It is important to reflect the reciprocity between reading and writing
in course design. Hirvela (2016) proposes a reading into writing perspective.
This reflects the process of reading, extracting information, interpreting this
information and using it in an academic written text. This is the usual pro-
cess students follow when producing an academic assignment. Authentic
materials are discussed throughout this book.

essays
reports class discussion
projects pair and group discussion
class asking and responding
dissertations questions
theses participating in supervisions
research proposals presentations
practical assignments transactional
case studies study defence (viva)
seminar papers participating in seminars
notes

productive WRITING SPEAKING productive

receptive READING LISTENING receptive

books lectures
research articles tutorial discussions
literature review supervisions
screen-based reading seminars
notes presentations
handouts videos
abstracts podcasts
summaries

Figure 3.1 EAP receptive and productive skills: some examples

 Language and skills in ESP 39

Speaking
Speaking is a central aspect of many ESP courses. English has become the
language of business and international communication (Kankaanranta &
Louhiala-Salminen, 2010) and speaking is a vital tool to execute com-
merce. It is important in international settings that norms are established
and adhered to. These norms are not necessarily native-speaker norms. For
example, in aviation English lives may depend upon the accuracy and fluency
of communication (Wang, 2007). The development of corpora of spoken
texts has done much to enhance our understanding of spoken English, par-
ticularly in academic settings (see, for example, the Michigan Corpus of
Academic Spoken English (MICASE)).

Listening
As between reading and writing, there is a close relationship between speak-
ing and listening. Interaction involves both speaking and listening. Listening
can be one-way, based on a monologue, as is the case with talks, presentations
and lectures, or interactive, or dialogic, as is the case with conversations, inter-
views and discussions. Vandergrift and Goh (2012) distinguish between the
core comprehension skills which can be used individually or in combination:

1 Listen for details

2 Listen for main ideas
3 Listen for global understanding
4 Listen and infer
5 Listen and predict
6 Listen selectively

These listening skills apply to all language, whether EGP or ESP. However, in
ESP there is a focus on the strategies experts use in decoding typical texts in
the field. For example, in EAP a course may focus on methods of extracting
the most important points in an academic lecture and translating these into
comprehensible notes.

Task 3.3

Skills and ESP

1 Based on your experience as a teacher and/or learner, what are the
receptive and productive skills needed in EAP?
2 Using the classification presented in Figure 3.1, draft a chart for
an area of ESP you are familiar with.
40 Essential aspects of ESP

3 Look at an ESP course or textbook and make a list of the skills

and subskills featured.
4 Compare this list with another ESP coursebook or with a fellow
teacher. Are they the same or different? In what ways?

Summary
This chapter has examined the role of language and skills in ESP. It has
looked at the role of grammar and functions in ESP courses. The four lan-
guage skills have been discussed in relation to ESP course design. Unlike
EGP, ESP courses can vary in the importance given to language and skills.
EAP, for example, needs a greater emphasis on writing skills as this is the
major medium for assessment.

Further reading
van Ek and Trim (1998) provide a large taxonomy of functions which can be very
useful for course designers. For an analysis of the characteristics and major issues in
teaching spoken and written business English see Nickerson and Planken (2016)
in this series. Paltridge and Starfield (2013) has a chapter on each of the skills:
Feak, Chapter 2 (pp. 35–54), ESP and speaking; Goh, Chapter 3 (pp. 55–76), ESP
and listening; Hirvela, Chapter 4 (pp. 77–94), ESP and reading; Hyland, Chapter 5
(pp. 95–114), ESP and writing.

References
Bloor, T., & Bloor, M. (1986). Languages for specific purposes. Dublin: Trinity
College.
Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches
to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1–47.
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Doughty, C., & Williams, J. (1998). Focus on form in second language acquisition.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Douglas, D. (2000). Assessing languages for specific purposes. Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press.
Dudley-Evans, T., & St. John, M. (1998). Developments in English for specific
purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1976). System and function in language: Selected papers. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Hirvela, A. (2016). Academic reading into writing. In K. Hyland & P. Shaw
(Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English for academic purposes (pp. 127–38).
Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Hyland, K. (2013). ESP and writing. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The
handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 95–114). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
 Language and skills in ESP 41

Hymes, D. H. (1966). Two types of linguistic relativity. In W. Bright (Ed.),

Sociolinguistics (pp. 114–58). The Hague: Mouton.
Kankaanranta, A., & Louhiala-Salminen, L. (2010). “English? – Oh, it’s just work!”:
A study of BELF users’ perceptions. English for Specific Purposes, 29(3), 204–9.
Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE). Accessed 12 April 2017 at
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/c/corpus/corpus?page=home;c=micase;cc=micase.
Nickerson, C., & Planken, B. (2016). Introducing business English. Abingdon:
Routledge.
Nunan, D. (1998). Teaching grammar in context. ELT Journal, 52(2), 101–9.
Paltridge, B. (2004). Academic writing: The state of the art. Language Teaching,
37(2), 87–105.
Paltridge, B., & Starfield, S. (2013). The handbook of ESP. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
van Ek, J. A. (1975). The threshold level. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
van Ek, J. A. (1980) Threshold level of English: Council of Europe Modern
Languages Project. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
van Ek, J. A., & Trim, E. M. (1998). Threshold 1990. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. Retrieved 28 February 2017 from www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/
Threshold-Level_CUP.pdf.
Vandergrift, L., & Goh, C. C. M. (2012). Teaching and learning second language
listening: Metacognition in action. London: Routledge.
Wang, A. (2007). Teaching aviation English in the Chinese context: Developing ESP
theory in a non-English speaking country. English for Specific Purposes, 26(1),
121–8.
White, R. W. (1988). The ELT curriculum. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Chapter 4

Vocabulary and English for specific

purposes

The area of vocabulary has received more attention within ESP in recent
years due to the availability of large-scale corpora and user-friendly text-
analysing software. This chapter addresses the nature of ESP vocabulary
and the role it plays in course design. The chapter touches on the use of
corpora, but this is explored in more detail in Chapter 11. The following
areas are explored in this chapter:

• What is ESP vocabulary?

• Vocabulary levels
• Sources of ESP vocabulary
• Teachers and vocabulary knowledge
• Teaching vocabulary
• Learners and vocabulary

Vocabulary is essential in any area of language learning. As with the issue

of language discussed in the previous chapter, ESP attempts to focus on
the most essential elements of the target communicative events to deliver
a course in the most efficient way. With vocabulary in ESP, the important
task for the course designer is to identify the vocabulary ESP learners need in
order to communicate effectively in the target situation. Once identified, this
vocabulary needs to be included systematically in the course design along
with the most effective method of teaching and promoting learning.
Vocabulary can be the major organisational strand in a syllabus. Willis
and Willis (1988) introduced lexical syllabuses in EGP. This approach
included a grammatical focus, but syllabuses were organised according to
the frequency of lexis. The frequencies were based on one of the first
English-language corpora, produced by the publisher Collins and reflected
in their COBUILD dictionary (they published a series of coursebooks based
on the COBUILD dictionary). The approach had limited success when it
was introduced in the 1980s; however, the approach and the corpus are very
popular today. Collins have a free online dictionary which is a very useful
resource for both teachers and students (Collins, online).
 Vocabulary and ESP 43

Reflection 4.1

Vocabulary and ESP

What experiences have you had teaching and/or learning foreign lan-
guage vocabulary?
What do you think is the best way to learn vocabulary?
How do you think vocabulary can be selected for inclusion in an ESP
course?

What is ESP vocabulary?

There is a range of terms used to talk about the types of ESP vocabulary, reflect-
ing the degree of specialisation. ESP vocabulary may be classified in three main
types. The first type is technical vocabulary, also called specialist, or specialised,
vocabulary; this refers to vocabulary specific to the discipline and not widely
used or understood outside this area. The second type is semi-technical vocab-
ulary, also called sub-technical vocabulary; this refers to terms commonly used
in the discipline which may have a specific usage or meaning. These terms may
be used or understood outside the field but may be used in a different way
(Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). The third type is general vocabulary: com-
mon everyday vocabulary necessary for any communication in the language.
Table 4.1 provides some examples of these types of vocabulary. All three types
are necessary for the learner to successfully integrate into the target commu-
nity, be that an academic, legal or business setting. Communities use lexis in
ways unique to them, and usage identifies participants in that community. For
example, the use of the term ‘prac’ in a pre-service teachers’ course in Australia
refers to the practicum. This is the term used for the practice teaching students
undertake in government schools as part of their assessment.

Task 4.1

Technical, semi-technical and general vocabulary

Using Table 4.1, think of some examples of technical, semi-technical
and general vocabulary and definitions in a field of ESP or a subject
discipline you are familiar with.

As well as individual vocabulary items it is important to include lexi-

cal patterning in an ESP course. Lexical patterning refers to words which
44 Essential aspects of ESP

Table 4.1 Some examples of technical, semi-technical and general vocabulary and
definitions in ESP

Field Technical Semi-technical General

Law alienability – possibility duty – obligation by clerk – person who

to be transferred in law takes records, files
legal usage
Tele- photoresist, etching – loop – closed circuit resistant
communications technical in
telecommunications
Linguistics speech act – utterance syntax – arrangement discourse
as a function of of words and phrases
communication in a sentence
General academic conferment – gaining seminar – presentation lecture
an academic degree of student paper

commonly occur together. Again, there is a range of terms used to describe

vocabulary clusters – for example, ‘multi-word units’ refer to words linked
together in an idiomatic way, while ‘collocations’ refer to two or more words
commonly used together (for example, fast food, fast track), and ‘lexical
bundle’ is the term used to refer to chunks of language such as ‘Can I have?’
and ‘I don’t know’. Using corpus analysis, Hyland (2008) investigated lex-
ical bundles in EAP and produced a frequency list. While he found many
similarities across different subjects, the frequency of three-word, four-word
and five-word lexical bundles varied in occurrence and use across disci-
plines. This is an important aspect to remember when considering which
vocabulary to include in a course.

Task 4.2

Multi-word units and collocations

Using Table 4.2, think of some examples of multi-word units and
collocations in a field of ESP or a subject discipline you are familiar with.

As mentioned, beyond collocations there is formulaic language. Formulaic

language refers to chunks of language commonly used in the field that have a
single meaning or function (Martinez & Schmitt, 2012). Learning such phrases
can be an efficient way to learn vocabulary and usage within an ESP field.
With the aid of technology it is now quite easy for researchers, teachers and
even students to be able to make, use and exploit specialist corpora. Martinez
 Vocabulary and ESP 45

Table 4.2 Some examples of multi-word units and collocations in ESP

Field Multi-word unit Collocation

Law By the book Acquired company

Business Cash cow Work–life balance
General academic Keep tabs on Trial and error

and Schmitt (2012) established a bank of phrasal language, the PHRASal

Expressions List, relevant to general English. In contrast, corpora can reflect
usage within a narrow field. Such focused corpora can identify connections
between vocabulary patterns and context of use. For example, Grabowski
(2015) established a corpus of key words and lexical bundles within cer-
tain pharmaceutical texts (patient information leaflets, summaries of product
characteristics, clinical-trial protocols and chapters in academic textbooks).
Chapter 15 includes a list of corpora useful to ESP course designers.

Vocabulary levels
One important consideration in vocabulary is the notion of vocabulary
levels. Vocabulary is often classified into levels according to frequency of
occurrence. Nation (2001) proposed four levels of frequency, with the top
level accounting for the most frequent 2000 words. This level covers around
80 per cent of words in academic texts and newspapers and 90 per cent of
novels and conversation (Chung & Nation, 2003).
The Academic Word List (AWL) developed by Coxhead (2000) is organ-
ised by levels of frequency. The list emerged from the categories in West’s
1953 General Service List (GSL) and is based on a written academic corpus
of 3.5 million words. Since its development, the AWL has made a significant
contribution to EAP course design. The list has been exploited to produce
further, more specialised lists (Hyland & Tse, 2007; Ward, 2009; Wang et al.,
2008). It has also been exploited pedagogically (Coxhead, 2006), with a
large number of materials available for teachers and students. See, for exam-
ple, the materials made available by the University of Nottingham (online),
and Cobb’s Compleat lexical tutor (online).
The AWL is based on the concept of a common core of vocabulary
required to process discipline-specific spoken and written texts. Specific tech-
nical vocabulary tends to occur in the lowest level of common core lists of
academic vocabulary, if at all, yet it is essential for learners to acquire these
terms to be able to function in their target discourse community.

Teacher vocabulary knowledge

Technical vocabulary can present a great challenge for the ESP practi-
tioner. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) claim that it is not the role of the
46 Essential aspects of ESP

ESP practitioner to teach technical vocabulary but the role of the subject
specialist. However, it is the ESP practitioner’s job to ensure that students
can operate in the target communicative situation; therefore he/she needs to
ensure the essential vocabulary is mastered. Students often have far fewer
problems with technical vocabulary than with other types of vocabulary
as it is within their field of knowledge and may be similar to terms they
have already learned. ESP practitioners should attempt to understand the
technical vocabulary so they can facilitate mastery of it.

Sources of ESP vocabulary

The ESP course designer needs therefore to access both technical and semi-
technical vocabulary. This may present a challenge for the course designer,
who is probably not an expert in the disciplinary field. Sources of vocabu-
lary that may be used are subject specialists, subject dictionaries, vocabulary
lists and corpora. These sources are valuable to the course designer and each
has its advantages and disadvantages. Subject specialists have a deep knowl-
edge of the subject and the genres required therein. However, they are not
usually language specialists and may not be able to identify the most impor-
tant vocabulary that students need to learn. Subject dictionaries can be very
helpful for course designers; however, these do not indicate the significance
of the frequency of the vocabulary. Vocabulary lists are very useful for course
designers, especially those that are very focused on the subject area (exam-
ples of available vocabulary lists are presented in Chapter 15). For example,
Ward (2009) produced a basic engineering English word list for foundation
engineering undergraduates.
Perhaps the most appropriate source of vocabulary is a corpus. With
computer technology, corpus-analysis techniques are now accessible with-
out the need for sophisticated analytical skills. This means that course
designers, teachers and students can collect a corpus and analyse this
corpus for lexis within very specific areas. Corpora are discussed in
Chapter 11. Figure 4.1 summarises the sources of vocabulary available to
ESP course designers, using an example of graduate EAP in the field of
education.

Teaching vocabulary
In the syllabus-design process it is necessary to think beyond which vocabu-
lary items and vocabulary clusters need to be included. Any ESP course has
an implicit view of how vocabulary is learned, which influences the teaching
and learning activities.
A distinction is usually made between receptive and productive vocab-
ulary. That is, vocabulary an individual understands and the vocabu-
lary an individual can produce. Obviously, the former is much larger.
 Vocabulary and ESP 47

specialised lists (AWL)

glossaries (EduBase 2; Wikipedia glossary of education)

Sources of ESP subject dictionaries (Dictionary of Education)

vocabulary

general (BNC)

published
specific (TELEC)

Corpora specifically generated

Figure 4.1 Sources for vocabulary with graduate education students as an example
Key: AWL: Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000); BNC: British National Corpus; TSLC TELEC:
secondary learner corpus (Allan, 2002); Dictionary of Education (Wallace, 2015); https://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_education_terms (accessed 1 March 2017).

Nation (2001, 2007) proposes four strands to provide balanced vocabulary

instruction:

• Meaning-focused input (reading and listening)

• Meaning-focused output (speaking and writing)
• Language focused learning (linguistic study of item)
• Fluency development

Task 4.3

Using Nation’s strands for course design

How can Nation’s four strands be reflected in an ESP course? Pick
a specific course – for example, business English (BE) or English for
academic purposes (EAP).
What types of ESP vocabulary-language-learning tasks exemplify these
strands?

1 Meaning-focused input (reading and listening)

2 Meaning-focused output (speaking and writing)
3 Language-focused learning (linguistic study of item)
4 Fluency development
48 Essential aspects of ESP

Vocabulary and learners

In addition to the selection of vocabulary and how to teach it, attention needs
to be given to how vocabulary is learned. Vocabulary learning may occur
incidentally through exposure – for example, by watching movies and listen-
ing to music – or explicitly, where the learner sets out to acquire a particular
word or vocabulary set. While comprehensible input is one of the essential
components of language acquisition, explicit learning of vocabulary is con-
siderably more efficient. In order to explicitly learn vocabulary, learners need
to use strategies. These are typically considered as cognitive, which refers to
conscious efforts to learn words, or metacognitive – that is, focusing on how
to learn words. Teachers may present a range of learning strategies which can
help students learn vocabulary. These range from memory and retrieval strate-
gies, such as remembering vocabulary in semantic networks, to metacognitive
strategies, which refer to consideration of preferred learning techniques and
planning learning (see the work of Schmitt (2000), and Nation (online) for
more information). Harding (2007) recommends the use of personal learn-
ing dictionaries for learners of specialist vocabulary, whereby learners develop
their own dictionaries of the most useful words in their field and include infor-
mation valuable to them – for example, definitions, pronunciation, synonyms
and authentic example of use.

Task 4.4

Using vocabulary lists

Look at one of the sources of ESP vocabulary listed in Chapter 15.
How do you think this could be used in course design and teaching?

Summary
This chapter has presented the major issues in ESP vocabulary. It has pro-
vided possible sources of ESP vocabulary and offered advice as to how these
could be incorporated into course design. It has also considered issues in
the teaching and learning of ESP vocabulary. Many of the issues covered
in this chapter are further explored in Chapter 11, about ESP corpora, and
Chapter 15 provides resources for vocabulary.

Further reading
For a good overview of issues in ESP vocabulary and discussion about the AWL see
Averil Coxhead’s chapter in Paltridge and Starfield (2013).
 Vocabulary and ESP 49

Paul Nation’s webpage (Nation, online) is a valuable resource for EGP which con-
tains many of his publications available for download.
The Academic Word List (Coxhead, online) is available for download. It contains
570 word families, excluding the most frequent 2000 words. Discussion about the
development of the list can be found in Coxhead (2000, 2011).
Tom Cobb’s Compleat lexical tutor (Cobb, online) is a very useful source for
vocabulary. It includes concordances, lists tests and exercises.

References
Allan, Q. G. (2002). The TELEC secondary learner corpus: A resource for
teacher development. In S. Granger, J. Hung, & S. Petch-Tyson (Eds.), Com-
puter learner corpora, second language acquisition and foreign language teaching
(pp. 195–211). Amsterdam: John Benjamin.
Chung, T. M., & Nation, P. (2003). Technical vocabulary in specialised texts.
Reading in a Foreign Language, 15(2), 103–16.
Cobb, T. (online). Compleat lexical tutor. Retrieved 1 March 2017 from
www.lextutor.ca/.
Collins, online. Accessed 12 April 2017 at www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/
english.
Coxhead, A. (2000). A new Academic Word List. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213–38.
Coxhead, A. (2006). Essentials of teaching academic vocabulary. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
Coxhead, A. (2011). The Academic Word List 10 years on: Research and teaching
implications. TESOL Quarterly, 45(2), 355–62. doi:10.5054/tq.2011.254528.
Coxhead, A. (2013). Vocabulary and ESP. In B. Paltridge, & S. Starfield (Eds.), The
handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 115–32). Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Coxhead, A. (online). The Academic Word List. Accessed 1 March 2017 from
www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist/.
Dudley-Evans, T., & St. John, M. (1998). Developments in English for specific
purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Edubase 2. Retrieved 1 March 2017 from www.education.gov.uk/edubase/glossary.
xhtml.
Graboswski, L. (2015). Keywords and lexical bundles within English pharmaceuti-
cal discourse: A corpus-driven description. English for Specific Purposes, 38(1),
23–33.
Harding, K. (2007). English for specific purposes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning
centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K. (2008). As can be seen: Lexical bundles and disciplinary variation.
English for Specific Purposes, 27(1), 4–21.
Hyland, K., & Tse, P. (2007). Is there an ‘academic vocabulary’? TESOL Quarterly,
41(2), 235–53.
Martinez, R., & Schmitt, N. (2012). A phrasal expressions list. Applied Linguistics,
33(3), 299–320. Accessed 12 April 2017 at www.norbertschmitt.co.uk/resources.
html. doi10.1093/applin/ams010.
50 Essential aspects of ESP

Nation, P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.
Nation, P. (2007). The four strands. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching,
1, 2–13.
Nation, P. (online). Webpage. Accessed 1 March 2017 at www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/
about/staff/paul-nation.
Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2010). Researching vocabulary: A vocabulary research manual.
London: Palgrave.
University of Manchester. (online). Academic phrasebank. Retrieved 1 March 2017
from www.click2go.umip.com/i/academic_phrasebank/appe.html.
University of Nottingham. (online). Accessed 12 April 2007 at www.nottingham.
ac.uk/alzsh3/acvocab/index.htm.
Wallace, S. (2015) Dictionary of education (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Wang, J., Liang, S. I., & Ge, G. (2008). Establishment of a medical academic word
list. English for Specific Purposes, 27, 442–58.
Ward, J. (2009). A basic engineering English word list for less proficient foundation
engineering undergraduates. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3), 170–82.
West, M. (1953). General Service List. Retrieved 1 March 2017 from www.
academia.edu/4791005/Gsl-the-general-service-list-by-michael-west-1953.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (1988). Collins CoBUILD English course. London: Collins.
Chapter 5

Teaching English for specific

purposes

This chapter deals with pedagogical issues of teaching ESP. It addresses the
expected qualities of ESP teachers, often referred to as ESP practitioners,
and discusses the issue of specialist subject knowledge in teaching ESP. This
chapter is directed towards both new and practising English-language teach-
ers who are making the transition to ESP. It covers the following aspects,
including major distinctions between EGP and ESP and appropriate and
inappropriate general classroom practices:

• Differences between teaching ESP and English for general purposes (EGP)
• ESP teachers vs EGP teachers
• Roles of ESP practitioners
• Qualities of ESP practitioners
• Need for subject knowledge

Differences between teaching ESP and English

for general purposes (EGP)
In Chapter 1 Table 1.1 presented the typical characteristics of ESP and
EGP courses. These characteristics influence the way that ESP courses are
taught – those approaches and activities that are appropriate and those that
are not. The characteristics are summarised and discussed below in terms
of what this means for ESP teaching. From a teaching perspective, the
main differences between EGP and ESP are the learners themselves, teach-
ing methodology and classroom activities. These differences are not always
clear-cut, and Campion (2016) presents an interesting account of EGP
teachers moving into EAP. She emphasises the need for further research
concerning these differences.

ESP learners are goal-driven

To motivate learners EGP teachers often have to work hard, including fun
activities such as games, songs and puzzles. These activities can take up a lot
52 Essential aspects of ESP

of time for minimal gain other than the fun factor. ESP learners, in contrast,
usually have common goals and are arguably more highly motivated, partic-
ularly in terms of extrinsic motivation. Cook (2002) divides communication
goals as being internal or external to the classroom. ESP focuses very firmly
on out-of-class communication as a goal, while in EGP classes, particularly
in an EFL setting where English is not a means of communication outside
the classroom, the only communication in the target language may be in the
classroom.

ESP learners may have varying levels of linguistic proficiency

Usually, EGP classes are organised into language levels, starting with begin-
ners and moving through the levels to advanced. In ESP this is often not
the case. Class groupings may be made based on the students’ specialisa-
tion, resulting in groups of mixed ability. ESP practitioners need to bear this
in mind when selecting material and making assumptions about students’
knowledge. A further distinction is that ESP classes usually begin once a
certain threshold of linguistic proficiency is reached.

Focus on skills rather than grammar

Typically, EGP courses have a strong focus on grammar. This can be seen in
the majority of EGP coursebooks, where grammar is often the main organi-
sational strand in the syllabus. This can be explicit, where grammatical terms
are referred to, such as the present perfect tense. Or it can be implicit, where
grammar terms are not explicitly referred to. In ESP, however, needs anal-
ysis usually identifies skills which emerge from the target communicative
situations. While grammar is still important, it is not considered useful to
systematically work through the English grammatical system as is often the
case with EGP courses.

Classroom management
EGP lessons are typically organised in stages, starting with a warm-up. Staging
a lesson is considered one of the basic skills of an EGP teacher and is assessed
in training and development courses. In ESP this is less usual. Generally in ESP
teaching, continuity throughout the whole course is emphasised, so teachers
can pick up where they left off in the previous session (Martin, 2015).

Relationship with students

The relationship between students and the teacher in ESP is likely to be differ-
ent from that in the EGP classroom. Where the focus is entirely on language,
as is the case with EGP, the teacher has a very high status, as he or she is the
 Teaching ESP 53

expert, whereas in the ESP classroom language per se is only part of the picture.
This means the ESP practitioner is an expert in one of the areas covered in the
teaching. The ESP practitioner is rarely an expert in the disciplinary field. This
may influence the relationship with the students, with ESP practitioners feel-
ing insecure because of their lack of subject knowledge. Wu and Badger (2009)
reported that teachers felt a lack of knowledge reflected badly on their compe-
tence. Campion (2016) reported a lack of knowledge as the major challenge
facing new EAP teachers. This is discussed further below.

Appropriate teaching methodology

As mentioned in Chapter 1, disciplines in ESP have their dominant method-
ologies and these may be applied to the ESP classroom. For example, medical
students may be familiar with problem-based learning and business students
may be familiar with a case-study approach. These methodologies can be
usefully employed in the ESP classroom and are discussed in Chapter 12.
In EGP the current, widely adopted methodologies are communicative-
language teaching (CLT) and task-based learning (TBL). CLT emerged in
the 1970s and focuses on communication – meaning and interaction – as the
major aim of language teaching. TBL develops the communicative notion to
reflect classrooms that focus on the use of the target language to complete
meaningful tasks, which then facilitates acquisition of the language (Van den
Branden, 2012).

Roles of ESP practitioners

The term ‘ESP practitioner’ has been used throughout in this book rather
than ‘ESP teacher’. This terminology attempts to capture the range of
demands within the profession (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). Figure 5.1
illustrates some of the many roles an ESP practitioner may need to adopt.

Reflection 5.1

Role of ESP practitioners

What roles do you think an ESP practitioner should have? Discuss
those in Figure 5.1.
Have you encountered further responsibilities as an ESP practitioner?
Are there any drawbacks in assuming these responsibilities?
54 Essential aspects of ESP

Classroom
teacher

Needs
Evaluator
analyst

ESP
practitioner
Discourse Course
analyst designer

Materials
Collaborator
provider

Figure 5.1 Roles of the ESP practitioner

The teacher as a course designer

An ESP practitioner does not usually follow an established ESP course with
a set of materials. More often than not the ESP practitioner is expected to
play a central role in all aspects of course design, from needs analysis and
materials preparation to evaluation.
Starting with needs analysis: at the very least, the ESP practitioner will
supplement a needs analysis with a short survey of his or her own focus-
ing on the areas he or she feels need to be included in the course outline.
Some ESP practitioners play a central role in course design by collecting and
analysing needs data and collaborating with stakeholders; course aims and
objectives are then generated.
Published materials very rarely meet the specific needs of students, so
ESP practitioners are likely to be involved in course design and materials
selection and/or adaptation of existing materials (Menkabu & Harwood,
2014; Grammatosi & Harwood, 2014). The ESP practitioner may choose
to use an established coursebook as a starting point and supplement this.
Often a coursebook provides a syllabus in the form of a grid of areas
of focus. Table 5.1 shows a section of such a grid from a published EAP
coursebook.