1. ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CHAPTER 2 A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON ESP

2. Various influences generate ESP courses
the economic development in the 1950s and 1960s
the growth of science and technology ( EST )
English is the instructional language of science, technology and business
the economic power of certain oil-rich countries
international students in the UK, USA and Australia

3. Trends in EAP (English for Academic Purpose)
Register analysis
Rhetorical analysis/discourse analysis
Analysis of study skills
Analysis of learning needs

4. Register analysis
Register analysis focuses on grammar and voc. of scientific and technical English.
The semi-technical voc. items are likely to occur in scientific writing.
(Ex. consist of, contain)
The first significant ESP (EST) textbook: A. J. Herbert’s The structure of technical English (1965).

5. The weaknesses of the register analysis approach (p236-7)
1 The description of the long text on a technical topic is based on a description from an encyclopedia. This leads to many exercises of grammar and semi-technical language.
2 The exercises focuses on a restricted range of voc. and the linguistic form (semi-technical language, grammar, the passive voice), ignoring the comprehension of the reading passage or reading skills and authenticity.

6. The possible advantage of the register analysis approach (p236-7)
The long text may be aware of the value of a functional-notional approach to voc. teaching.
(It focuses on voc. of one technical topic.)

7. The possible advantage of the register analysis approach (p236-7)
Swain:
The structure of technical English is an EST textbook, which is however difficult to use because of:
1 dense passages lacking authenticity
2 no visual support (ex. diagrams)
3 repetitive exercises without variety
This restricted concentration on form needed to be replaced by concentration on language use and communication.
The weaknesses of the Register Analysis led to Rhetorical/ Discourse analysis.

8. Rhetorical / discourse analysis
Rhetoric was defined as the process a writer uses to produce a desired piece of text.
(Trimble, 1985)
Trimble suggested that besides focusing on the presentation of facts and hypotheses, an EST writer needs to organize a text, relate language form to language use, and focus on the communicative aspect of language.

9. The advantage of the rhetorical and discourse analysis (p. 238)
Avoids the laboriousness and predictability of EST textbooks
Contains good visual support
(a picture speaks louder than words.)
Focuses language effectively through the use a functional-notional syllabus
Contains a good range of exercise types

10. The weakness of the rhetorical/discourse analysis ( p. 238)
primarily focuses on teaching language
neglects the development of specific study skills

11. Analysis of study skills (LSRW)
Due to a lack of the development of specific study skills, work on study skills became the major focus in EAP work in the late 1970s.

12. Skill-based courses
Skill-based courses are consistent with the ideas of the functional-notional approach and communicative approach.

13. Principles of skill-based courses
Learners, such as tertiary levels, business people, practicing engineers, need to be able to perform the tasks, not just focus on the development of their linguistic ability.
The thought process that support language use is very important.
The thought process may be general, relating to academic activities, or specific, relating to a particular discipline.
The aim of each lesson is made clear through the statement of why the skill is needed.
Reading/listening passages were chosen based on general academic interest and authenticity.

14. The advantages of the skill-based approach (p 240)
Certain specific reading skills were focused:
1. getting to know the gist of the book,
2. getting familiar with non-linear texts,
3. learning to accept difficult words,
4. reading for relevant information,
5. using contextual clues,
6. assessing how much to read.
2009/2/26

15. The advantages of the skill-based approach
Ss need the underlying competence, which enables them to reach the target performance.
The underlying competence consists of semi- technical and colloquial language.

16. Analysis of learning needs
Hutchinson and Waters stated that ESP is not:
1. teaching specialized varieties of English.
2. science words for scientists, hotel words
for hotel staff, and so on.
3. different from general English teaching.

17. Analysis of learning needs
Hutchinson and Waters:
ESP had concentrated too much on the product, linguistic analyses of lectures, and textbooks, but too little on the learning skills, which enable ss to reach their desired goal.
Johns and Davies:
the text should be taken as a vehicle for information rather than as a linguistic object.

18. Analysis of learning needs
A learning-centered approach to ESP values the process of learning process and student motivation in order to help ss reach the end target.
Learning skills developed from learners’ academic study or work experiences can be used in ESP classrooms.

19. Analysis of learning needs
Different learners learn in different ways.
Group / pair work and problem-solving approaches allow the differences.
The comprehension questions encourage ss to think independently and to use their knowledge of the subject and of the world.

20. An example of the learner-needs approach ( p 241-3)
Introduce the topic that the learners may feel interested
Comprehension questions ( Step 1)
Involves ss in converting written information into a visual representation by asking ss to draw and label (Step 4)

21. Authenticity of text and of purpose
Q: Should texts used for reading, listening and writing exercises be authentic in ESP courses?
The exact meaning of ‘authenticity’ has remained unclear.
A text is authentic if it reflects the real world use. In other words, authenticity of purposes is as important as genuineness of text.

22. The advantages of authentic texts
Authentic texts and strategies for reading authentic texts help ss develop independence in their study skills.
Simplified texts may be misleading models of texts for ss, because the ESP teachers may misconstrue the carrier content or write in inappropriate language.

23. Alternative views on authentic texts
In contrast, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) argued: It’s more important to ensure that activities based on the text reflect the learning process than to use genuine texts from the target situation.

24. Alternative views on authentic texts
Using the appropriate level of authentic texts is also important. EX.
An authentic text on a science topic designed for pupils is a genuine text, but is not an authentic text for university level ss.

25. Alternative views on authentic texts
Authentic exercises ask Ss to use information from the text in a problem-solving activity.
Exercises that ask Ss to answer comprehension questions by finding relevant sentences in the text are not really authentic.
Authenticity lies in the interaction between the reader and the text.

26. Trends in EOP late 1960s and early 1970s:
EOP courses focused mainly on written language. Glossaries of specialized and difficult voc./terms and comprehension questions were largely seen in EOP materials.
However, it’s the approach to linguistic teaching rather than to the language use.

27. Trends in EOP Mid-1970s into the 1980s:
Spoken interaction based on a functional construct was more valued.
The Bellcrest File (1972) is a landmark video-based course book, which emphasized the four skills.

28. Trends in EOP
From 1987:
Practical EOP textbooks were published, including the topics of telephoning, meetings, discussions.

29. Trends in EOP Nowadays:
The need for cross-cultural communication increases; and because of the development of technology, the books on telecommunication, computer networking, and video conferencing have been published.

30. ESP now
Materials production and text analysis(written and spoken) still predominate in ESP.
Early ESP work EST
In the 1990s academic EBP
ESP instructional language (English/ non-English)
approaches (EAP/ EBP)

31. Summary ESP focuses on procedures and practical outcomes.
The development of ESP:
Grammatical and
functional-notional
syllabuses
An eclectic and
task-based approach
EST
EBP