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Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
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Procedia Manufacturing 46 (2020) 308–312

13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering (INTER-ENG 2019)

13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering (INTER-ENG 2019)
Designing Functional ESP (English for Specific Purposes) Courses
Designing Functional ESP (English for Specific Purposes) Courses
Nicoleta Aurelia Marcua, * 0F

Nicoleta Aurelia Marcua, *

*”George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Targu Mures,38 Gh. Marinescu St., Tg. Mures,
0F

Romania
*”George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Targu Mures,38 Gh. Marinescu St., Tg. Mures,
Romania

Abstract

Abstract
This article is a study of the methods and materials used in designing ESP (English for Specific Purposes) courses and its aim is
to identify their functionality when applied to the specific case of English for manufacturing. The main purpose of the article is to
This
offer article is a to
a support study of the methods
the English teacher and materials
in his/her used intodesigning
endeavor design anESP (English
English forinSpecific
course Purposes)
this particular fieldcourses and its aim
of engineering. Theis
to identify
English their functionality
teacher has to producewhen applied to the specific
teaching-learning case ofwhich
experiences English forfrom
start manufacturing. Theneeds
the learners’ mainand
purpose
which of have
the article is to
to render
offer
futureaprofessionals
support to theinEnglish
the fieldteacher in his/her endeavor
of manufacturing to design
that are highly an English
equipped with course in this particular
the functional language field
skillsof engineering.
required by theThe
job
English
market. teacher has to produce teaching-learning experiences which start from the learners’ needs and which have to render
future professionals in the field of manufacturing that are highly equipped with the functional language skills required by the job
market.
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
© 2019 Theunder
Peer-review Authors. Published by the
responsibility Elsevier B.V..committee
This is anof open access article under the CC Interdisciplinarity
BY-NC-ND license
This is an open access article under of scientific
the CC BY-NC-ND the 13th International Conference
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) in
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Engineering
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in
Engineering
Keywords: ESP (English for Specific Purposes); course design; language skills; terminology; functionalism.

Keywords: ESP (English for Specific Purposes); course design; language skills; terminology; functionalism.
1. Introduction

1. Introduction
Communicating in a foreign language is an essential requirement of the present job market and one can notice its
constant pressure on the educational system that is expected to render professionals who can communicate
Communicating
effectively in a foreign
in a foreign languagelanguage
(mainlyis English)
an essential requirement
in their of the present
work settings. job market
This means and one canofnotice
that knowledge its
General
constant pressure on the educational system that is expected to render professionals who can
English is implicit for undergraduates who further on need to be equipped with the ESP language skills so as to be communicate
effectively
able to meetinthe
a foreign
selectionlanguage (mainly
criteria of the jobEnglish)
market. in their workaresettings.
Companies This means
not so willing that inknowledge
to invest of General
fresh graduates who,
English
after completing their degrees, are expected to be ready to compete for jobs and enter the working lifesoinstantly.
is implicit for undergraduates who further on need to be equipped with the ESP language skills as to be
able to meet the selection criteria of the job market. Companies are not so willing to invest in fresh graduates who,
after completing their degrees, are expected to be ready to compete for jobs and enter the working life instantly.

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +40-744-543137

E-mail address: n_medrea@yahoo.com
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +40-744-543137
E-mail address:
2351-9789 n_medrea@yahoo.com
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review
2351-9789 ©under
2019responsibility
The Authors. of the scientific
Published committee
by Elsevier B.V..ofThis
the is
13th
an International Conference
open access article under Interdisciplinarity
the CC BY-NC-ND in license
Engineering
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering

2351-9789 © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 13th International Conference Interdisciplinarity in Engineering.
10.1016/j.promfg.2020.03.045
 Nicoleta Aurelia Marcu / Procedia Manufacturing 46 (2020) 308–312 309
Nicoleta Aurelia Marcu / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000

Thus, one can notice a shift in the pressure that is no longer placed on companies but on educational institutions,
which must ‘produce’ graduates prepared to face the worldwide drive for efficiency and competitiveness.

2. Material methods

The material methods that this study is founded on are both descriptive and analytical. They are based on the
results of language placement tests and needs’ analysis questionnaires applied to university students. These results
have then been interpreted against the theoretical background of language teaching and learning and they have led to
the solutions offered by this article to the ESP teacher.

3. Different levels of language competence

According to the European Language Framework on the level of foreign language competence, the high-school
graduates need to be at B1 level. Thus, university students are supposed to continue from this level with the foreign
language training in the areas of their studies. In reality, on the basis of the placement tests’ results, this scenario is
valid only for a part of the students who enter university. This is because at least half of them are not at the B1 level,
a level which would otherwise ensure a smooth transition to learning and developing ESP skills.
The only solution in this case would be working with different level groups and thus progress could be achieved.
Furthermore, these different level groups can start studying ESP, provided the materials are adapted to their
language level. As Dudley-Evans, T. & ST John M. J. pointed out: “ESP assumes learners have basic knowledge of
the language system, but it can be used for beginners.” [1]. The ESP instructor needs to properly select and adapt the
materials so as to get his learners motivated and finally equipped with the language competencies specific to their
field of study. Thus the ESP teacher needs to focus both on the communication needs but also on the issues related
to professional duties that the learners have to carry out in their future workplaces. In the article on developing
writing skills for engineering students, Dana Rus underlines this idea of adjusting to the level of the ESP learners in
order to achieve the teaching objectives: “A good assessment of the students’ level, of their professional and
personal interest as members of the engineering discourse community and an accurate adjustment of linguistic
objectives are good prerogatives of a successful activity.” [2]

4. ESP characteristics pertaining to English for engineering/manufacturing and the selection of functional
teaching materials

The first step in a correct identification, selection and use of materials for teaching ESP in an efficient way is to
have a clear theoretical background of ESP. What is ESP after all and in what ways is it different from General
English?
ESP is generally related to teaching English for use in a particular area of activity, for example business or
science. Yet, in relation to general English, as pointed out by Holme, “the ESP process of specialization should not
result in the complete separation of one part of the language from another. One cannot simply hack off pieces of a
language or of skills and then expect them to exist independently of anything else. Every discipline refers to others
and each draws on the same reservoir of language.” [3]
According to Barnard and Zemach, “ESP should not be regarded as a discrete division of ELT (English Language
Teaching), but simply an area (with blurred boundaries) whose courses are usually more focused in their aims and
make use of a narrower range of topics.” [4] These topics are usually work or study related and they are not focused
on the personal needs or general interests. Therefore, the difference starts from the profile of the learners and their
needs. We can have different work or study roles, such as office workers, business people, engineering students,
nurses or doctors etc. with their very specific learning goals. These goals mark the dividing line between ELT
courses and ESP courses. According to Helen Basturkmen “In ESP the learner is seen as a language learner engaged
either in academic, professional or occupational pursuits and who uses English as a means to carry out those
pursuits. External goals suggest an instrumental view of language learning and language being learnt for non-
linguistic goals.” [5] The ESP learners expect materials that teach them about their real world objectives, otherwise
they can easily get demotivated.
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In Developments in English for specific purposes, Dudley Evans and St.John indicate that there are two types of
characteristics that need to be taken into account when referring to ESP: absolute and variable. According to the
absolute characteristics,”ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of the learner; ESP makes use of the underlying
methodology and activities of the disciplines it serves; ESP is centered on the language, skills, discourses and genres
appropriate to these activities.” [1]. According to the variable characteristics, ESP is related to specific disciplines
and it may use methodologies different from those of the General English (mention here should be made of the fact
that ESP classes, in our case, that of English for engineering/ manufacturing, may involve another type of interaction
between the teacher and the learners, with the teacher acting more like a consultant, thus being on an equal position
with the learners who possess the expertise in the domain of the ESP course.).
Both the absolute and the variable characteristics of ESP are to be considered as guidelines in the selection and
use of ESP materials as they both provide strict rules to be followed but they also offer the ESP instructor flexibility
in adapting the materials to the learners’ age group and language level. These characteristics are traceable also in the
two major approaches to ESP, one that focuses on the specific needs of the learners and the other which includes the
skills and competencies of language usage in different contexts [6].The key word here is needs. What are they? Do
learners actually know their needs? This greatly depends on the characteristics of the target learners.
Take the example of an ESP course in the manufacturing sector for business executives, for shop-floor workers
or one for university students. For the first two categories the needs are very specific and easily identifiable after
completing a needs analysis. Therefore such a course could include very specific topics such as health and safety,
product development, using numbers and statistics, describing production processes, QA, compliance to industry
standards, logistics, planning, etc. [7] However, for the case of the first year students, their needs are more what
Hutchinson and Waters identified as “not the existence of a need, but rather as awareness of the need” [8], thus the
line that separates ESP from General English seems thinner. In this situation, so common for the ESP teacher, the
materials should not get too specialized because these students have to learn first what may be called General
English for Specific Purposes, the purpose being to equip them with the expected flexibility in the foreign language
communication.
Therefore, the materials should not be focused on a too specialized professional context. This principle should be
followed with the first year students who need to be trained in their maternal language in their specialization and
only after they acquire specialist knowledge they can start an ESP course in the respective domain as could be the
case of English for manufacturing. If the ESP course is too specialized in the first year it is also too difficult for the
lower-level students who can easily lose their motivation in learning.
Imagine a scenario with a first year engineering student learning about lifting procedures at the English class and
not having studied them in his/her maternal language before; or analyzing an MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet),
without any prior knowledge about it. Teaching too early very specialized terminology is also like reaching a dead-
end that leaves students only with some lists of words that are too specific and cannot be transferred to other
contexts. As W. Crombie pointed out, “learners need to be flexible and function in a wide range of situations-both
professional and social” [9].
Thus, for the first year students focus should be more on broader contexts such as describing the wider economy,
describing different types of business sectors and commercial activity, describing the culture and ethics of an
organization. Topics should be also job-related, such as looking for a job, preparing for a job interview, drafting a
good CV and an application letter. The first year students should develop their communication skills (which are
basic selection criteria in recruiting new employees) and the ESP teacher can introduce topics that are related to
these and do not require a too specialized terminology. To mention a few: team work, business small talk, making
presentations, speaking on the phone, negotiations, writing emails, reports, proposals and recommendations,
participating in meeting, teleconferences or videoconferences etc.
There are different opinions regarding the methodology to be used when selecting materials for the ESP. Some
researchers consider that ESP courses should focus on teaching language usage and not on a limited repertoire of
language units. Thus, the ESP courses should include materials that are organized according to pedagogically
appropriate activities and they should not be restricted by a certain number of required language units [10]. Other
theoretical approaches assert that ESP does not have its own methodology, and thus the ESP courses should be
include authentic learning materials, which are likely to be used by the students [11]. We consider them as being
like the ‘business cards’ of the ESP teachers as they play a major role in delivering a successful ESP course. Along
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with the other course components, the materials used in any course are the key elements that stir the interest of the
learners, keep them focused and motivated and generate learning. Dudley Evans and St.John identify four reasons
why materials are significant in the ESP context: “1. as a source of language; 2. as a learning support; 3. for
motivation and stimulation; 4. for reference.” [1]

5. Results of the analysis of the functional materials for teaching English to engineering students

As sources of language, materials have to present real language and in full range. Diversity needs to be
considered but it has to fit learners’ requirements and needs. This is the reason why every course, no matter what
level, undergraduate, postgraduate, or as part of company development training, needs to be designed according to
the results of a needs analysis that has to be applied to make sure that materials are properly selected for the purpose
of meeting the learning objectives. Learners need to be exposed to the language and this can also be achieved by
reference to additional materials which the learners will use according to their particular needs. For example, if the
topic is about using machines safely, the materials may include pictures of the real machines and language exercises
should be based on those pictures; for introducing the language of instructions for using those machines, transfer
could be made from general language to the particular instructions related to those machines. Additional work such
as out of class tasks could be identifying any manufacturing process work instructions for the jobs they do or would
like to do. These activities can further their language skills and they can also help students become more and more
independent learners.
The second reason for using materials is that they serve as a learning support. According to Dudley Evans and
St.John materials have to follow a certain pattern, yet using a fixed format is not productive. These materials have to
make learners think about the language and not to turn them into passive students who engage in a mechanic transfer
of language patterns. Thus the questions following a text should be organized as a study, an inquiry into the
meanings of the text and stimulate critical thinking. It is only this way that the process of language acquisition turns
into a productive one, the information acquired carrying with it the language units that can be transferred to other
contexts. For example, if the topic is manufacturing process work instructions and the learners need to present their
jobs, one way of doing this is to first draw the steps of their jobs, have the others guess what their jobs are, and only
after present in detail the work instructions.
Materials also need to be motivating and stimulating. Students get motivated if we relate the materials to their
language needs, if we identify potential situations where these language materials could be used, namely, if we
convince the learners about the applicability of these materials. In order to stimulate learners we also have to use the
novelty element, yet this new element should be anchored in the reality of the learners’ needs. The key elements in
stimulating and motivating learners, the spices that give flavor to any course are the elements of fun and creativity.
This can be achieved by using games or even by using funny facts or stories. Creativity can be stimulated by
including problem-solving situations, by project work that can be completed both individually and in teams. For
instance, when describing a manufacturing process one needs to comprehend the space relationship terms related to
understanding a process. One way of doing this could be by playing a game with groups of 3 or 4 learners. Each is
given a set of TPR (total physical response) cards placed upside-down in a pile. The students need to take turns
selecting a card and reading it to the other members of the team and they have to follow the directions. The whole
group needs to assess the accuracy of their actions. This game both stimulates team work and gets students
motivated by demonstrating the applicability of the acquired information.
When we refer to the materials as a source for reference we have the image of textbooks projected in front of us.
“For self-study or reference purposes, materials need to be complete, well laid out and self-explanatory. Given the
predominantly practical characteristic of their field of study, the engineering students will want to have access to
explanations (possibly in an L1, as well as in English), examples and practice activities that have answer and
discussion keys.” [1] The ESP textbooks that have also proved useful in our teaching experience “provide a matrix
(or grid) of objectives, skills, language, activity and topic.” [1] Such a combination that is common to all English
textbooks is also expected to match the different learning profiles of the students, irrespective of their field of study.
Thus, a student can be an explorer, another, a browser, and, another one, a systematic. The learning profile of the
student is another challenge faced by the ESP teacher and one can imagine that it actually takes a large team of ESP
teachers and specialists in order to produce sustainable textbooks that could match so many requirements.
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This idea brings us to the estimate of 15:1 that Dudley Evans and St.John speak about when referring to the time
ratio required for preparing one hour of good learning material. Thus the myth that the ESP teacher is a good
designer of course materials is challenged. ESP instructors are and should focus on being good providers of
materials. This involves the selection of materials, being creative with what is available, adapt activities to the
learners’ needs and supplement by providing extra activities. [1]
When selecting materials, the best method is to get on the other side and play the role of the engineering student.
It is the only way we can get the real picture of the materials required and see if they really work for the students.
Thus we can see if these materials motivate, inspire and finally produce learning. It is often the case that one
textbook does not fully match the learning objectives and the learners’ profiles. Thus the English for engineering
teacher needs to be creative and supplement with necessary materials or leave out irrelevant information. If
necessary the instructor can also change the activities in order to achieve the desired objectives. For instance, there
could be an unbalanced distribution of activities that could result into boredom. Some activities can get repetitive
and take too long time at the expense of others that may need an in-depth study. The teacher can use the repetitive
activities with the lower-level students and skip them in the case of higher level students who could be required to
complete more challenging activities. Change is also when the English for engineering instructor supplements with
extra input and activities. When doing so he has to consider the level of the students, he has to connect the materials
with the real content, has to avoid following patterns and has to provide variety in order to stir the interest of the
learners. Therefore, the teacher should be flexible and should not be afraid to modify or supplement the activities as
long as the focus is on the core objectives.

6. Conclusions

The criteria in the selection of teaching materials for English for engineering should not be restrictive and they
should function more like a scaffold where the English for engineering instructor can find inspiration and thus
generate interesting and motivating materials that produce efficient learning. The English for engineering field may
seem limitative (take the example of language related to manufacturing processes), yet, given its real content, it is
actually very resourceful in terms of materials. The burden lies on the ESP instructor who has to properly identify
the materials, to select and adapt them in order to motivate learners and to actively engage them in the act of
learning. Selection means making choices and this implicitly involves the existence of criteria. This article has tried
to identify such criteria and by making reference to theoretical approaches and practical examples it has set certain
guidelines that the ESP instructor may use in his/her activity.

References

[1] T. Dudley-Evans, M.J John, Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach, Cambridge, Cambridge
University Press, (1998), 4-5, 171-173.
[2] D.Rus, A Didactic Approach to Writing Skills in a Technical Learning Environment, Procedia Technology, 22 (2016) 1191-1196.
[3] R. Holme, ESP Ideas, Harlow, Essex, Longman, (1996), p 4.
[4] R. Barnard, D. Zemach, Materials for Specific Purposes, in B. Tomlinson (ed.)Developing Materials for Language Teaching, London,
Continuum, (2003) 306–307.
[5] H. Basturkmen, Developing Courses in English for Specific Purposes, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, (2010), p.8
[6] A. Belyaeva, English for Specific Purposes: Characteristic Features and Curriculum Planning Steps, in Sustainable Multilingualism, 7
(2015) 73-91.
[7] ***, The Language partnership: English for manufacturing: http://www.thelanguagepartnership.com/courses/english-for-manufacturing.
[8] T. Hutchinson, A. Waters, English for Specific Purposes: a Learning Centered Approach, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1987,
18.
[9] W. Crombie, E.S.P.: Fact or Fiction?, Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, Alicante, 4 (1991) 25-36.
[10] R.L. Allwright, Perceiving and pursuing learners’ needs, in M. Geddes, G. Sturtridge (Eds.), Individualisation, Oxford, Modern English
Publications, (1982) 24-31.
[11] D. Belcher, English for specific purposes: Teaching to perceived needs and imagined futures in worlds of work, study, and everyday life,
TESOL Quarterly, 40 (2006) 133–156.