In the Name of Gog

Course: English for Specific/ Academic Purposes (M.A.) Fall 1402/2023-2024 - Monday 15:30-17:30
Instructor: Hossein Talebzadeh Kharazmi University
Email: (htmu88@yahoo.com) Office hours: by appointment

English for Specific Purposes as the area of language teaching and learning—which deals with the
specific needs and particular goals of (mostly adult) learners—has a noteworthy status in our country.
This area it is thriving and expanding both nationally and internationally. As the target audience of ESP
courses determines the content and aims of the courses to be designed, there are a number of key issues
that need to be addressed in the teaching of English for specific purposes. This course is an attempt to
familiarize the students with the theoretical underpinnings of ESP, the history of the area, the road taken
so far, the road ahead of us, the relation with other areas of applied linguistics, the scope and major
branches of ESP, research areas in ESP and, of course, some pedagogical considerations. More
specifically, the course will try to help the students engage in and appreciate the actual aspects of ESP
pedagogy and course development including language and genre analysis, needs analysis, course and
syllabus design, materials preparation and evaluation, and assessment. Accordingly, the course adopts
both a (critical) theoretical as well as practical orientation. Recent research and scholarship in the field
along with ideas for your own research and teaching practice are introduced through both the book
chapters and the supplementary articles from pertinent journals. The course is expected to contribute to
your becoming even better and more critical language users, majors, learners, researchers and teachers.

All students are required to:

• attend the class regularly (possible scoring penalty),
• read the assigned sections in advance,
• participate actively in group and class discussions,
• have classroom presentations,
• do and hand in the assignments (including reaction papers) on time,
• Observe a number of ESP classes and report to the instructor,
• Evaluate assigned ESP materials,
• Practice designing an ESP course/material,
• do and hand in the term projects (to be discussed in class) on time,
• be ready for possible quizzes.

Your term evaluation will be based on both the above requirements as well as your final exam.

Week 1: Introduction to the course

Module 1: ESP and EAP: Scope

Introduction (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 1)
Situating ESP in ELT & L (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 1)
Introduction (Basturkmen, 2010: Chap. 1)
Introduction (in P&S, 2013)
Introduction (in H&S, 2016)

Liu & Hu (2021). Mapping the field of ESP (1980-2018): A co-citation analysis
Yayli, (2011). From genre awareness to cross-genre awareness: A study in an EFL context.
Woodrow. (2022). Chapters 1 & 2
Module 2: ESP and EAP: A Historical Perspective
A historical perspective on ESP (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 2)
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 Situating ESP in the world at large (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 2)
Johns. (2013). The history of English for Specific Purposes research (In P&S, Chap. 1)

Hyland & Jiang. (2021). Delivering relevance: The emergence of ESP as a discipline
Hamp-Lyons. (2015). The future of JEAP and EAP.

Module 3: ESP Areas and Contexts

English for Academic Purposes (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 3)
English for Business Purposes (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 4)
Introducing the four pillars of ESP (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 3)
Charles. (2013). English for Academic Purposes (in P&S, Chap. 7)
Ferguson. (2013). English for Medical Purposes (in P&S, Chap. 13)
Hyland & Jiang. (2020). A bibliometric study of EAP research: who is doing what, where and when?
Parkinson. (2017). The student laboratory report genre: A genre analysis.
Conceptions of EAP (H&S, 2016, Part I)
Woodrow. (2022). Chapter 4
Module 4: Language Issues: Vocabulary, Grammar, and the Skills
Language Issues in ESP (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 5)
The skills in EAP and EOP (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 6)
Deciding learning objectives for ESP courses & programs (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 5)

Saadatara, et al. (2023). Bundles to beat the band: LBs and IELTS writing
Wooda & Appel. (2014). Multiword constructions in business & engineering university textbooks
and EAP textbooks.
Bi. (2022). How large a vocabulary do Chinese computer science undergraduates need to read
English-medium specialist textbooks?
Coxhead. (2013). Vocabulary and ESP (in P&S, Chap. 6).
Coxhead. (2016). Acquiring academic and disciplinary vocabulary (in H&S, Chap. 14)

Module 5: Language Issues: Discourse and Genre

Language Issues in ESP (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 5)
Deciding learning objectives for ESP courses & programs (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 5)
Investigating Specialist Discourse (Basturkmen, 2010: Chap. 3)
Paltridge. (2013). Genre and English for Specific Purposes (in P&S, Chap. 18)
Hood. (2016). Systemic Functional Linguistics and EAP (in H&S, Chap. 15)

Hardy & Friginal. (2016). Genre variation in student writing: A multi-dimensional analysis.
Parkinson et al. (2023). Rhetorical features of high vs low graded engineering case study responses
Khan et el. (2021). Theme choice in oral case presentations: medical novices vs. experts.
Staple. (2015). Examining linguistic needs of international nurses: A corpus-based study of lexico-
grammatical features in nurse–patient interactions
Zhou, Li & Lu. (2023). Syntactic complexity features of science research article introductions
Woodrow. (2022). Chapter 3

Module 6: Course Development: Needs Analysis and Evaluation

Needs analysis and evaluation (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 7)
Identifying needs in the design of ESP courses & programs (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 4)
Evaluating learners, instructors, courses, and programs in ESP (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 7)
Analysing needs (Basturkmen, 2010: Chap. 2)
Flowerdew. (2013). Needs analysis and curriculum development in ESP (in P&S, Chap. 17)

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 Soodmand Afshar & Movassagh. (2016). EAP education in Iran: Problem? Where we heading?
Atai, & Shoja. (2011). A Triangulated Study of Needs of Iranian Computer Engineering:
Woodrow. (2022). Chapters 5-8

Module 7: Course Development: Course Design and Materials

Course design (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 8)
The role of materials (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 9)
Deciding materials and methods in ESP (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 6)
Developing the Curriculum (Basturkmen, 2010: Chap. 4)
Stroller. (2016). EAP materials and tasks (in H&S, Chap. 43)

Girón-García & Fortanet-Gómez. (2023). Science dissemination videos for ESP teaching
Tajino et al. (2005). Beyond needs analysis: Soft systems methodology for meaningful
collaboration in EAP course design.
Swales. (2009). When there is no perfect text: Approaches to the EAP practitioner's dilemma

Module 8: Classroom Practice

Classroom practice and beyond (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 10)
Implementing ESP in ideal, opportunistic, and ‘just in time’ settings (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 8)
Dealing with challenges in ESP (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 9)
Hood. (2016). EAP pedagogy in undergraduate contexts (in H&S, Chap. 36)
Feak. (2016). EAP Support for post-graduate students (in H&S, Chap. 37)

Lee. (2016). “There's intentionality behind it …”: A genre analysis of EAP classroom lessons.
Liu. (2023). Suitability of TED-Ed animations for academic listening
Atai & Fatahi-Majd. (2014). Exploring the practices and cognitions of Iranian ELT instructors
and subject teachers in teaching EAP reading comprehension
Liu, et al. (2011). Is what I need what I want? Reconceptualising college students’ needs

Module 9: Assessment and Evaluation

Evaluating learners, instructors, courses, and programs in ESP (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 7)
Assessment: Continuous assessment and testing (Dudley-Evans & St John: Chap. 10)
Douglas. 2013. ESP and Assessment (in P&S, Chap. 19)

Goldsmith et al. (2022). A multi-faceted evaluation of an Australian academic language

development program
Tavakoli & Tavakol. (2018). Problematizing EAP education in Iran
Knoch. (2014). Using subject specialists to validate an ESP rating scale: International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO)
Dimova. (2017). Life after oral English certification: consequences of proficiency Test for Academic Staff
Woodrow. (2022). Chapters 5-8

Module 10: Remaining issues and Future Directions

Moving forward in ESP (Anthony, 2018: Chap. 10)
Woodrow. (2022: Chapters 4, 5, and 10).
Belcher. (2013). The Future of ESP research: Resources for Access and Choice (in P&S, Chap. 28).
Bloch. (2013). Technology and ESP (in P&S, Chap. 20).
Starfield. (2013). Critical Perspectives on ESP (in P&S, Chap. 19).

Swales. (2019). Future of EAP genre studies

Benesch. (2009). Theorizing and practicing critical EAP
Helmer. (2013). Critical EAP-learner, teacher, program strengths
Tribble. (2016). ELFA vs. Genre: A new paradigm war in EAP writing instruction?
Khany Tarlani-Aliabadi. (2015). Studying power relations in an academic setting
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 Yang, Xu, & Swales. (2023). Tracing the development of ESP

Week 17: Final Examination

* More important sources

Course sources and suggested readings

*Anthony, Laurence. (2018). Introducing English for Specific Purposes. London: Routledge.
Atai, Mahmood Reza & Leila Shoja. (2011). A Triangulated Study of Academic Language Needs of Iranian
Students of Computer Engineering: Are the courses on track? RELC Journal, 42(3) 305–323.
Atai, M. R., & Fatahi-Majd, M. (2014). Exploring the practices and cognitions of Iranian ELT instructors
and subject teachers in teaching EAP reading comprehension. English for Specific Purposes, 33,
27–38. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2013.07.007
Basturkmen, Helen. (2006). Ideas and Options in English for Specific Purposes. New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Basturkmen, Helen. (2010). Developing Courses in English for Specific Purposes. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Benesch, S. (2009). Theorizing and practicing critical English for academic purposes. Journal of English for
Academic Purposes, 8(2), 81–85. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2008.09.002
Blaj-Ward, Lia. (2014). Researching contexts, practices and pedagogies in English for academic purposes.
Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Dimova Slobodanka . (2017). Life after Oral English Certification: The consequences of the Test of Oral
English Proficiency for Academic Staff for EMI lecturers. English for Specific Purposes, 46, 45–
58.
* Dudley-Evans, T. & M. J. St John. (1998) Developments in English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Eggins, Suzzane. (1994). An introduction to systemic functional linguistics. London: Print Publishers.
Goldsmith, R., Havery, C., Edwards, E., James, N., Murphy, A., Mort, P., Nixon, D. O'Donoghue, G., Jin
Sug Yang, J. S. & Yeo, J. (2020). A multi-faceted evaluation of the impact on students of an
Australian university-wide academic language development program. Journal of English for
Academic Purposes, 60, 101192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101192
Girón-García, Carolina & Fortanet-Gómez, Inmaculada. (2023). Science dissemination videos as
multimodal supporting resources for ESP teaching in higher education. English for Specific
Purposes, 70, 164-176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2022.12.005
Hamp-Lyons, Liz. (2015). The future of JEAP and EAP. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 20, A1-
A4.
Hardy, Jack A. & Eric Friginal. (2016). Genre variation in student writing: A multi-dimensional analysis.
Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 22, 119–131.
Helmer, K. A. (2013). Critical English for academic purposes: Building on learner, teacher, and program
strengths. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(4), 273–
287. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2013.08.003
Hutchinson, T., & A. Waters (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learning-centred approach.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(H&S) Hyland, Ken & Philip Shaw (Ed). (2016). The Routledge Handbook of English for Academic
Purposes. London and New York: Routledge.
Jordan, R. R. (1997). English for academic purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Khan, M., Chan, M. Y., Mohamad Ali, A., Mohd Isa, M., Narayanan, P., Abu Bakar, Z., … Hod, R.
(2021). Theme choice in oral case presentations: Differences between medical novices and
experts. English for Specific Purposes, 63, 107–119. doi:10.1016/j.esp.2021.05.001
Khany, R., & Tarlani-Aliabadi, H. (2016). Studying power relations in an academic setting: Teachers’ and
students’ perceptions of EAP classes in Iran. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 21, 72–
85. doi:10.1016/j.jeap.2015.12.002
Knoch, Ute. (2014). Using Subject Specialists to Validate an ESP Rating Scale: The case of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rating scale. English for Specific Purposes,
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 33, Pages 77-86.
Lee, Joseph J. (2016). “There's intentionality behind it …”: A genre analysis of EAP classroom lessons.
Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 23, 99–112.
Liu, Chen-Yu. (2023a). Specialized vocabulary in TED talks and TED-Ed animations: Implications for
learning English for science and technology. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 65,
101293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101293
Liu, Chen-Yu. (2023b). Suitability of TED-Ed animations for academic listening. English for Specific
Purposes, 72, 4-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2023.06.001.
Liu, Jin-Yu., Yu-Jung Chang, Fang-Ying Yang, & Yu-Chih Sun. (2011). Is what I need what I want?
Reconceptualising college students’ needs in English courses for general and specific/academic
purposes. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10/ 4, 271-280.
Long, Michael H. (2005). Second language needs analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
(P&S) Paltridge, Brian & Sue Starfield (Ed.). (2013). The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes.
Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
Parkinson, Jean., Watterson, Craig., Sawczuk da Silva, Alexandre., Kithulgoda, Erandi. (2023). Rhetorical
features of high-graded and low-graded engineering case study responses. Journal of English for
Academic Purposes, 61, 101206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101206
Parkinson, Jean. (2017). The Student Laboratory Report Genre: A genre analysis. English for Specific
Purposes, 45, 1–13.
Soodmand Afshar, Hassan & Hossein Movassagh. (2016). EAP Education in Iran: Where does the problem
lie? Where are we heading? Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 22, 132–151.
Staples, Shelley. (2015). Examining the linguistic needs of internationally educated nurses: A corpus-based
study of lexico-grammatical features in nurse–patient interactions. English for Specific Purposes,
37, 122–136.
Swales, John M. (2009). When there is no perfect text: Approaches to the EAP practitioner's dilemma.
Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 8/ 1, 5-13.
Swales, John M. (2019). The futures of EAP genre studies: A personal viewpoint. Journal of English for
Academic Purposes, 38, 75-82, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2019.01.003 .
Tajino, Akira., Robert James & Kyoichi Kijima. (2005). Beyond needs analysis: Soft systems methodology
for meaningful collaboration in EAP course design. Journal of English for Academic Purposes,
4/1, 27-42.
Tavakoli, Mansoor & Tavakol, Mahbube. (2018). Problematizing EAP education in Iran: A critical
ethnographic study of educational, political, and sociocultural roots. Journal of English for
Academic Purposes, 31, 28-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.12.007
Tribble, Christopher. (2017). ELFA vs. Genre: A new paradigm war in EAP writing instruction? Journal of
English for Academic Purposes, 25, 30–44.
Wooda, David C. & Randy Appel. (2014). Multiword constructions in first year business and engineering
university textbooks and EAP textbooks. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 15, 1–13.
Woodrow, Lindy. (2022). Introducing researching English for Specific Purposes. London: Routledge.
Yang, Ruiying, Xu, Liang & Swales, John M. (2023). Tracing the development of English for Specific
Purposes over four decades (1980–2019): A bibliometric analysis. English for Specific Purposes,
71, 149-160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2023.04.004
Yayli, Demet. (2011). From genre awareness to cross-genre awareness: A study in an EFL context. Journal
of English for Academic Purposes, 10, 121–129.
Zhou, Wenhui., Li, Zhi., & Lu, Xiaofei. (2023). Syntactic complexity features of science research article
introductions: Rhetorical-functional and disciplinary variation perspectives, Journal of English
for Academic Purposes, 61, 101212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2022.101212

Good Luck

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