English for Specific Purposes
Essential sessions:
ESP Today
In this session teachers will explore the background to ESP, looking
at definitions, developments, and the inter-relation with areas such
as Business English, EAP, and General English. This is done
through a series of practical tasks and activities, in order to discover
the theoretical underpinning to the sessions that follow.
Function and Grammar
This session explores the ‘nuts and bolts’ of English language
teaching, looking in particular at the way grammar and function
work in ESP. Other important elements such as language skills,
genre, and register, will be looked at in the next two sessions, but
this session starts by defining all these terms. It then moves on to
some practical activities to focus on the role of function and
grammar. There are not necessarily big differences with General
English teaching, so much of the session may be familiar to
experienced teachers, but there are often different areas of
emphasis.
Vocabulary in ESP
This session explores the way that we need to approach vocabulary
learning/teaching. Concern about ‘technical’ vocabulary is a natural
concern for the teacher, but for the learner semi-technical and
general/enabling vocabulary can be more of a problem. The
session will demonstrate this, as well as look at a number of
activities and tasks for ordering, practising, and storing vocabulary.
Optional sessions:
The ESP Syllabus and Principles of Course Design
In this session teachers will build on the work of the previous
session on learner needs, and consider the principles behind
syllabus and course design. Through a series of activities we will
see what makes a successful ESP course and how it contrasts with
General English and Subject courses.
© Oxford University Press 2012
| Summary of Abstracts
Learner Needs
Identifying, understanding, and using learner needs is important in
all teaching; in ESP teaching it is absolutely paramount, and this
session is devoted to this topic. Activities focus on: how to do an
effective but simple needs analysis for ESP learners; how ESP
specialisms have a lot in common; and how learner needs can be
used in teaching.
Designing a Course (after previous two sessions if selected)
In this session teachers will build on the work of previous sessions
(on learner needs and the principles behind syllabus and course
design) and design an actual course – or at least a shortened
version of one. This is approached initially through the idea of ‘the
customer journey’ and then through an extensive practical activity
centred around the idea of ‘target events’. A final activity looks at
how the ‘skeleton’ of the course can be dressed with authentic
materials.
Classroom Activities with a Purpose
This session is very practical in that it looks at a number of activity
types that are particularly suited to the ESP classroom (some of
them may also be useful in the General English class).
The demonstration activities relate to a variety of specialisms, but it
will be very important for participants to relate all the activities to
specialisms that they have taught or are likely to be teaching.
This session is good as either a final session or a link between the
generic sessions and the more specific (i.e. The Management Mind,
Service and Care, and The Scientific Mind).
Evaluation and Review
This session looks at the role of evaluation, review, and testing in
ESP, and includes a mixture of theory, discussion, and practical
activities.
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English for Specific Purposes
The ESP Learner, the ESP Teacher
This session explores some of the characteristics of the ESP
learner (although obviously it is impossible to generalize), and
some of the concerns that ESP teachers have and the challenges
they face, particularly when they come from a General English
background. The practical activities and tasks in this session
therefore aim to build a greater understanding of ESP from the
perspective of both the learner and the teacher.
Motivation, Differentiation, and Other Practical Problems
This session looks at some of the practical problems that are
common in ESP classes (but not unknown in other classes). In
particular it will explore the areas of motivation (or lack of) and
differentiation. The content will largely depend on what comes up in
an initial brainstorm. Trainers will need to adapt accordingly, but the
areas of motivation and differentiation are explored in detail through
discussion and tasks.
The Management Mind
This session focuses on management, and incorporates many
aspects of what is usually called ‘English for Business’. However,
we are not going to give a comprehensive analysis of EBP, but
instead focus on the areas and skills which it has in common with
many other ESP specialisms, of which ‘management’ is one very
significant theme. This will be brought out through a number of
discussions, tasks, and activities.
Skills, Genre, and Appropriacy in ESP
This session continues to look at the ‘nuts and bolts’ of English
language teaching, focusing on language skills, genre, and
appropriacy in ESP teaching. Arguably, these elements have a
greater importance in ESP than they do in General English.
Practical pair and group tasks focus on areas including: reading
skills and sub-skills, genre identification and practice, and
appropriacy of style.
© Oxford University Press 2012
| Summary of Abstracts
The Scientific and Technical Mind
Experience has shown that scientific and technical specialisms are
often the ones that cause most concern for ESP teachers (if they
are not from a scientific background). This session aims to dispel
some of these worries by looking at the characteristics and needs
of science and technology ESP learners, and by looking at the type
of activities and the type of language work that works best with the
‘scientific and technical mind’.
Service and Care
The service sector is a growing area in ESP teaching, and
encompasses a range of areas including retail, hairdressing,
hospitality, and tourism. All of these involve interacting and dealing
with the customer in some form or other. Allied to these customer
service areas are specialisms with a more direct care aspect, such
as nursing. This session is directed at all of these specialisms, and
in a sense it affects all ESP, even where the customer presence is
not very apparent or even non-existent, because at root it relates to
how we deal with, and work with people in everyday interactions,
including colleagues and members of the public.
Pulling it all Together (Final session if selected)
This session is a reflective summary session, giving an opportunity
to go over and clarify any areas that the group would like to re-visit.
It’s also a chance to look forward, and discuss how the ideas might
be implemented in the individual practices of the participants.
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