ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES
After World War 2 in 1945
The expansion of Scientific, Technical, and
Economic Activity on international scale-
dominated by technology and commerce.
Effect of the Expansion
International language was demanded and
English was chosen as the economic power of
USA at that time.
Development in ELT
 Massive people learned English
 English became subject to the wishes
A Paradigm Shifting
"Tell me what you need English for and I will tell
you the English that you need"
 English for Specific Purposes is a learner
approach to learning English as an extra
language.
 According to International Teacher Training
Organization. (2005) “English for specific
Purposes is a term that refers to teaching or
studying English for a particular career (like law,
medicine) or for business in general.”
ESP IS DIFFERENT FROM ENGLISH AS A
SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) ALSO KNOWN AS
GENERAL ENGLISH
Characteristics of ESP
 Absolute (Fixed and Invariable) &
 Variable (case-to-case basis)
ABSOLUTE
 ESP is defined to meet specific needs of learners.
 ESP makes use of the underlying methodology
and activities of the discipline it serves.
 ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis,
and register), skills, discourse and genres
appropriate to these activities.
VARIABLE
 ESP may be related to or designed for specific
disciplines.
 ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a
different methodology from 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.
Types of ESP
 English as a Restricted Language
 EAP and EOP
 English with Specific Topics
English as a Restricted Language
 It would not allow its speaker to communicate
effectively in a novel
 It is extremely limited which allows the learners
learn English language for very restricted
purposes
ESP is broken down into three branches:
a) English for Science and Technology (EST).
b) English for Business and Economics (EBE).
c) English for Social Studies (ESS).
Each of these subject areas is further
divided into two branches:
 English for Academic Purposes (EAP).
 English for Occupational Purposes (EOP).
DEVELOPMENT OF ESP
Register Analysis
The aim of the register analysis was to produce a
syllabus which gave high priority to the language
forms students would meet in their Science
studies and in return would give low priority to
forms they would not meet.
Rhetorical or Discourse Analysis
Focused on understanding how sentences were
combined in discourse to produce meaning.
Target Situation Analysis
 Aimed to take existing knowledge and set it on a
more scientific basis, by establishing procedures
for relating language analysis more closely to
learner's reasons for learning.
 ESP course will first identify the target situation
and then carrying out a rigorous analysis of the
linguistic features of that situation. The process
is usually known as Needs Analysis.
Skills and Strategies
 An attempt to look below the surface and to
consider not the language but the thinking
processes that underlie language use.
 Emphasized on reading or listening strategies.
ESP: Approach not Product
UNIT 2
LANGUAGE DESCRIPTIONS- The way in which
language system is broken down and described as
the purpose of learning.
LANGUAGE THEORIES- Provides the theoretical
basis for methodology by helping us how people
learn.
6 Main stages in describing language
development:
- Classical or Traditional Grammar
- Structural Linguistics
- Transformational Generative(TG) Grammar
- Language Variation and Register Analysis
- Functional/Notional Grammar
- Discourse (Rhetorical) Analysis

Theories of Learning
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a
lifetime.
-Chinese Proverb
Behaviorism
Learning is a habit formation.
Mentalism
Noam Chomsky. He rebutted behaviorist’s
opinion. He pointed out that thinking must be
rule-governed: a finite, and fairly small, set of
rules enables the mind to deal with the potentially
infinite range of experiences it may encounter.
Cognitive Theory
This theory views the student as an active
processor of information.
Affective Theory
This theory completes the previous theory in
which humans especially the students do not just
think but also have feelings.
Learning and Acquisition
These two terms are different. Learning occurs to
the students consciously. Acquisition, on the other
hand, occurs unconsciously.

Needs analysis in ESP

Target Needs hide several important distinctions
in terms of necessities, lacks, and wants.

A Working Model...
1.Target Situation Analysis
Learners, genres, tasks, activities using English,
genre knowledge & skills** (necessities)
2. Present Situation Analysis
Previous learning experiences, language
proficiency, cultural information; Means analysis –
resources, time, physical environment, etc.
(lacks)
3. Learning Situation Analysis
Reasons for attending course and expectations,
attitude to English, preferred ways of learning,
styles, strategies (wants)