UNIT 1

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC

PURPOSES
DOCENTES A CARGO
Magister Andrea Insaurralde
Magister María Mercedes Sempé

VERSIÓN X
MES-AÑO
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Unit 1 English NOMBRE DE LA ASIGNATURA

for Specific Purposes (ESP)

Introduction:

What is ESP? Why is it popular nowadays? How does it affect the use of English in the related
professions? This lesson aims at defining the field of ESP, discussing its evolution, and the challenges
it poses to the traditional conceptualization of the English language. Any expert of English as an
international medium for global interaction nowadays should be aware of the impact of ESP on
international cultural affairs.

Layout:

1. A definition of ESP
a. Absolute characteristics
b. Variable characteristics
2. The domains of ESP
3. Reflections on the evolution of English, ESP and EGP: current challenges.

1. A definition of ESP

English for Specific Purposes may be defined as a particular trend in English Language Teaching
(ELT) whose rise parallels the emergence of English as the language for international interaction.

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Absolute Characteristics

● ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learner;

● ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline
it serves;
● ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis, and register), skills,
discourse and genres appropriate to these activities.

b. Variable Characteristics

● ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;

● ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology than
that of general English;
● ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level
institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for
learners at secondary school level;
● ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students;
● Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system, but
it can be used with beginners. (1998, pp. 4-5)

As it can be observed, the learner’s needs, the field-oriented methodology and the treatment of
language as functional to the previous categories are the three fundamental aspects. Within the
variable characteristics, the authors include the difference with the methodology of English for
General Purposes (EGP), the adult orientation and the tendency to apply ESP in a context where the
students already have some linguistic background in the English language. Since the learner’s needs
are the driving force and the organizing principle for everything done in a class- and these vary greatly
in professional, academic, scientific and other contexts- the distinctions with EGP are at times blurry.

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(1983) further analyses the field of ESP by

proposing a difference between ‘restricted language, language for Academic and Occupational
Purposes and English for Specific topics.’ In the first case, he intends to describe the limited linguistic
repertoire necessary for behaving in certain social functions, such as air traffic control or waiting at a
table in a restaurant. By ‘limited’, he actually means to define the target situation as made up of a few
set of functional linguistic patterns. English for Academic and Occupational Purposes embraces what
is usually understood by ESP, whereas English with specific topics aims at describing those situations
where teaching is organized on the basis of topics, to anticipate future needs, as in the case of tertiary
level programs. This last distinction, objected by Gatehouse (2001) is nonetheless interesting since it
depicts the ‘intermediate zones’ between General English and ESP, which do exist and need proper
attention.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ESP

Te recomendamos ver un video donde se hace una síntesis del tema

escaneando el código Qr o haciendo clic aquí.

What is ESP, then? It is a label to single out the English language when it is merely instrumental
to academic, professional or scientific endeavors. The special issue in ESP is not the language
but rather the needs of those who seek instruction. It is better depicted in contrast with English
for General Purposes (EGP), since the latter implies the building of a comprehensive
communicative competence that would enable the learner to operate in a wide range of
situations in the target language. ESP, on the other hand, stems from the very social need for
which behaving linguistically well in English is a must. English becomes then a means to

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academic, commercial or professional goals,

and not something to learn for its own sake or for prospective contexts.

As many authors claim (Hutchinson and Waters, 1996; Gatehouse, 2001), ESP is not restricted to the
lexical sets or jargons in a field. Although typical features are recurrent in certain situational contexts,
there is a common underlying basis of linguistic competence and thus ESP should not be divorced
from its broader linguistic setting. The distinctive trait of ESP seems to be related to the
methodological reflections that have arisen as different approaches are apparently needed for ESP
and EGP.

2. The domains of ESP

Below is a diagram of the common branches in ESP. It is not necessarily exhaustive, since
developments, proliferation and specialization of human knowledge and activities permanently create
new varieties and present new challenges. It is, however, representative of the main original
tendencies in the approach to making English accessible to the commercial, scientific and
professional endeavors of modern societies.

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Source: Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 17)

DOMAINS OF ESP

Te recomendamos ver un video donde se hace una síntesis del tema

escaneando el código Qr o haciendo clic aquí.

It will be noticed that the main distinction addresses the primary orientation of ELT by considering
its audience: the native speaker, the person that learns English for international use and the users of
English as a second language. They are wisely located at the basis, since all decisions taken in ELT
are determined by the purpose that triggers such teaching, and each situation calls for different
approaches and methods.

Our main concern, naturally, lies in English for international communication, so we follow the EFL
route, which divides in two fundamental orientations: General English (EGP) and English for Specific
Purposes. ESP further divides as it addresses particular sub-fields or fields of application and it may
become blurry, overlapping and messy as the tree displays some of its newest branches and leaves.
Two considerations must be made at this point: in the first place, the divisions are infinite and
necessarily ill-defined, since they respond to needs which vary greatly; then, the approach to language
teaching in some cases accommodates to the disciplinary field and the subsequent teaching of English
responds to the traits of these fields rather than to the traditions in learning and teaching.

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The most common applications of ESP are EST (English for Science and Technology), EBE (English
for Business and Economics) and ESS (English for the Social Sciences). EAP (English for Academic

Purposes) is usually considered within ESS, though some authors believe it deserves a tag of its own.
In fact, it will be treated in detail in this course.

3. Reflections on the evolution of English, ESP and EGP: current challenges

World affairs have become increasingly complex in the last decades. Political, cultural and
ideological changes, whose effects are becoming apparent in this early phase of the new millennium,
are radically modifying the settings and conditions for the use of English that surrounded the
development of the ELT field and the original scenario for ESP. This implies the necessary
reformulation of the disciplinary corpus and poses interesting challenges for the professional activity.
Some of those challenges are stated below.

a) Exponential growth: the immense proliferation and fragmentation of knowledge implies the
diversification of both language and needs. Textbooks naturally fail to address the specificity
of the particular need. Most research for teaching or translating nowadays must rely on a wide
variety of sources and a multiplicity of registers and uses. Although the existence of world
data-bases greatly eases access to such sources, specializing in one field seems too ambitious
nowadays.

b) Time constraints: the new becomes old in a matter question of days, so to keep up with the
developments in any field, it is essential to commit to long-life learning. Materials are obsolete
the minute they are published and the content of any ESP activity must be defined and
redefined on a regular basis.

c) Redefinition of the profession: the role of the teacher of English may sometimes appear
inadequate, partly due to his/her insufficient training in the teaching of ESP, partly because of
the unconscious reluctance some teachers may experience when invited to construct the
teaching proposal with others- the students are experts and thus teaching is much more
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collaborative, and power more distributed. The teacher in ESP co-authors the course; she/he
assists a professional in the attainment of his/her goals, which are not restricted to issues
related to the language learning but situations where proper linguistic behavior in English
becomes instrumental to a true academic, commercial or scientific aim. In the case of
translators, most have been trained in an ‘encyclopedic’ fashion; they often dealt with content
areas in their training, with the intention of developing a certain mastery of the terminology
and patterns common in each field. This is becoming less frequent nowadays since there are
multiple onlineon line sources to rely on and tools for translation, such as forums for
collaborative work and corpus studies. Training on strategies and traditions in translation is
becoming increasingly popular instead.

d) From ESP to EGP: English for General Purposes is being reviewed on the basis of the
development and application of ESP. Motivation, which is so hard to develop and maintain in
the classrooms in countries like ours, appears in ESP as naturally residing on the student’s
need to know. English for General Purposes is facing the current challenge of having to
“manufacture” possible linguistic settings of application and creating artificial needs to ensure
motivation, thus considering certain approaches – such as Content Integrated Teaching (CIT)
- as a way out. CIT implies learning meaningful content and using English as the naturally
medium for such content. By restoring interest in the issues discussed, language acquisition
may be eased, since the motivation is expected to naturally flow from the student’s eagerness
to learn something new. And, as Ian Mackenzie (2008) says, the future for ESP practitioners
in this changing scenario is much brighter.

e) The relocation of authority: English was almost exclusively related to the Anglo-Saxon
countries. The current role of English as a genuine means of international intercourse has
moved the native speaker from the privileged position of target model and admits models of
users of English from varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds. English is becoming a world
property. ESP has always been closer to this instrumental use of English and will thus need
less to adapt.

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This introductory lesson has provided the definitions and main features of ESP and its fields of
application, as well as the disciplinary concerns of our times. The intention is to give an overview of
ESP as a particular focus for the English language expert, both for reflection and for professional
practice. Much of what is changing nowadays in the view of the English language is related to its
application to human activities and thus, to ESP.

Watch the following video on the structure of a paragraph.

STRUCTURE OF A PARAGRAPH

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escaneando el código Qr o haciendo clic aquí.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

If you can answer the questions below, then you are ready to move on.

What is ESP?

What is the relation between ESP and English as a lingua franca today?

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References NOMBRE DE LA ASIGNATURA

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