English for Specific Purposes Reviewer PDF

English for Specific purposes reviewer Needs analysis: Vander Viana and Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters VIANA’S KEY CONCEPTS 1. Target Situation Analysis - It focuses on identifying what learners will need to do with the language in future contexts. 2. Teaching Learning Procedure...

English for Specific purposes reviewer Needs analysis: Vander Viana and Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters VIANA’S KEY CONCEPTS 1. Target Situation Analysis - It focuses on identifying what learners will need to do with the language in future contexts. 2. Teaching Learning Procedures - Selecting appropriate teaching methods and techniques that algin with learners’ need and learning styles. 3. Learning Needs - Recognizing the individual preferences and learning styles of learners to tailor instruction accordingly. 4. Language Skills: Viana focuses on identifying the particular language skills (speaking, writing, reading, and listening) required in specific professions. HUTCHINSON AND WATER’S KEY CONCEPTS 1. Learners - Centeredness - Their model prioritizes the needs and experiences of learners, focusing on how they learn rather than merely what they need to learn. 2. Target Situation Analysis: It includes analyzing the linguistic features and communicative functions of the target environment. 3. Language Use vs. Language Learning: Hutchinson and Waters argue that needs analysis should consider both the description of language use and how students learn that language. 1. ESP COURSE AND SYLLABUS DESIGN (learner centered approach) Curriculum: A broad concept encompassing the philosophical, social, and administrative factors involved in planning an educational program. It refers to the totality of learning experiences within an educational setting, including both planned and unplanned activities. Syllabus: A more specific term referring to the content and organization of a particular course or subject. It outlines the specific units to be taught, learning objectives, and the sequence of instruction. Course: An instructional program with a specific name and focus, such as "English for Engineering Students 1." It encompasses a series of lessons delivered over a specific time period. Course Design: The process of planning and structuring a specific course, taking into account learner needs, learning objectives, and teaching methods. Syllabus Design: The process of determining the content, organization, and sequence of a syllabus, considering the theoretical underpinnings of language learning and the specific needs of the learners. 2. Distinguishing between Curriculum, Syllabus, and Course: Curriculum is the broadest term, encompassing the overall educational program, while syllabus focuses on the content and organization of a specific course. Course is a concrete instance of a syllabus, delivered to a specific group of learners over a specific time period. 3. ESP CURRICULUM - ESP curriculum differs from general English curriculum by focusing on practical application of language in specific job-related situations. Key aspects of ESP curriculum include: - Specific tasks, vocabulary, and language in context - Starting point based on learners' background knowledge - Operational, communicative, and notional syllabus 4. Needs analysis in ESP: - Needs analysis is crucial in ESP, as it helps determine the specific language skills and knowledge required by learners for their particular field or profession. - The results of needs analysis inform the design of the ESP syllabus and course. VANDER VIANA’S GENRE Genres are relatively stable types to specific careers. - Genres are relatively stable types and we recognize them on the basis of our previous experiences. - The stability of genres allows individuals to recognize a specific written/spoken texts. - Genres can evolve and change but the core features of this should be consistent. A Genre is a type of communication with a specific purpose, recognized and understood by the people in a particular field. - A genre is a type of communication with a specific purpose - A genre can vary from different purpose from a different field. - Genre can be specific or different in which manner it can be used to communicate Significance of Genres for ESP teachers and learners. - Understanding genre redefines communication rules, aiding educators and learners in mastering various formats. - knowledge of discourse communities and genres enhances the effectiveness of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction. - Implementing genre-based approaches with authentic materials improves learning relevance and engagement. Limitations of a genre-based approach - Over emphasis on form and structure over meaning. - Genre is presented as fixed and predictable category, in reality, genre are more complex and can vary depending on the situation and the people involved. - The chapter does not address the diverse learning style of the students, which makes genre-based approach not suitable for everyone. - Lack of technological integration: the chapter does not explore how technology can enhance genre understanding and make the learning experience more engaging and effective. With the use of Genre, Teachers can better understand the specific language - To better understand what is the specific language patterns, rules and structures that define communication in these specialized fields by using genre analysis of Viana. - It is true that this Genre Analysis helps you more aware what specific language you will use in choosing different fields. - When we know what specific language, we will use it can improve our communication skills. Definition of Genre Genre studies the rules of reasoning of a text, also known as its linguistic structure. (Allen) Genre is a class of communicative events, driving "social action." (Swales) Connection to Genre Analysis Unlike register and discourse analysis, which analyze sentences or phrases, genre analysis examines the entire text, focusing on its structure, purpose, and how it fulfills audience expectations. It explores how texts adhere to accepted practices within specific contexts, identifying how reasoning is organized to meet communicative goals. Key Contributions Genre analysis helps teachers systematically teach text-writing by analyzing how different types of texts serve their specific purposes. (Dudley-Evans ,1987) Breaking texts into phases or moves reveals how each part serves a function within the text, aiding in understanding structure and effectiveness. (Johnson 1993) Effective communication in professional settings depends on understanding and using appropriate structure, tone, and language that are accepted within specific communities. (Dudley-Evans & St. John 1998) ESP (English for Specific Purposes) & Genre Analysis ESP focuses on learners' reasons for learning, requiring mastery of genre conventions, including structure and language use, for effective communication. (Hutchinson and Waters 1987) The goal of genre analysis is not to enforce rigid rules but to encourage learners to creatively exploit norms and conventions to their advantage. (Bhatia 1993) Benefits of Genre Analysis in ESP Connects language learning to real-world, specialized contexts. Encourages active participation in professional communities, not just language proficiency. Integrates product, process, and communicative purpose in meaningful ways. Key Concepts: The Role of the ESP Teacher There are important practical ways in which the work of the General English teacher and the ESP teacher differ. Swales (1985) - prefers with some justification to use the term 'ESP practitioner' rather than 'ESP teacher' in order to reflect this scope. It is likely that in addition to the normal functions of a classroom teacher, the ESP teacher will have to deal with needs analysis, syllabus design, materials writing or adaptation and evaluation. The second way in which ESP teaching differs from General English teaching is that the great majority of ESP teachers have not been trained as such. Three problems which consistently arise in discussions with teachers of ESP: 1. The Lack of an Orthodoxy The question of authentic texts will illustrate the kind of problem that arises. A. J. Herbert (1965) - created their own texts to highlight language features much in the same way as was done in General English.  Allen and Widdowson (1974) - defend the use of composed texts in order to 'avoid syntactic complexity' and to '"foreground" features of language which have particular communicative value'. Phillips and Shettlesworth (1978) - support the use of the authentic text 'as a repository of natural language use and... as the stimulus for a variety of communication skills'. Authentic - 'taken from the target situation and, therefore, not originally constructed for language teaching purposes'. Authenticity - is not a characteristic of a text in itself: it is a feature of a text in a particular context. The question should not be: 'Is this text "authentic"?' but 'What role do I want the text to play in the learning process?' We should be looking not for some abstract concept of 'authenticity', but rather the practical concept of ‘fitness to the learning purpose'. 2. New Realms of Knowledge a) Does the content of ESP materials need to be highly specialised? ‐ The linguistic knowledge needed to comprehend the specialist text is little different from that required to comprehend the general text. The difference in comprehension lies in the subject knowledge, not the language knowledge. ‐ As Hiillen (1981) - '... it is not the usage of technical terms per se which distinguishes language for special purposes from general language, but the factual knowledge necessary for understanding these words.’ - The only real justification for having highly specialised texts is to achieve face validity. ‐ And if the use of such texts makes work in the classroom difficult, learners will soon lose their liking for such texts. -Texts, in other words, should not be selected as texts, but as elements in a learning process. ‐ Materials must take proper account of the knowledge and competence of the teacher and negotiate a workable relationship. ‐ The teachers' competence is an essential ingredient in the teaching-learning process and must, therefore, be able to influence such matters as the choice of texts. b) Why do so many ESP teachers find it difficult to comprehend ESP subject matter? - Separating the Humanities and the Sciences; English teachers often receive little or no education in the Sciences. - They would prefer to be teaching Literature and Social English in the comfortable environs of ELT - Little effort has been made to retrain teachers or to at least allay their fears. c) What kind of knowledge is required of the ESP teacher? - They require three things only: i) a positive attitude towards the ESP content; ii) a knowledge of the fundamental principles of the subject area; iii) an awareness of how much they probably already know. - The ESP teacher should not become a teacher of the subject matter, but rather an interested student of the subject matter. - Many ESP teachers are surprised at how much knowledge of the subject matter they' pick up' by teaching the materials or talking to students. 3. Change in the Status of English Teaching English changes from being a subject in its own right to a service industry for other specialisms.  Johns (1981) - Lists five problems that EAP teachers complain of: low priority in timetabling; lack of personal/professional contact with subject teachers; lower status/grade than subject teachers; isolation from other teachers of English doing similar work; lack of respect from students. The role ESP teachers are called on to play here is obviously one of adaptability and flexibility. In contrast to the General English teacher the ESP teacher is faced by a group of learners with certain expectations as to the nature content an achievement of the course. There are only two ways in which the subject has any kind of influence on the language content; a) Vocabulary. ‐ structural: e.g. are, this, only, however; ‐ general: e.g. table, run, dog, road, weather, cause; ‐ sub-technical; e.g. engine, spring, valve, acid, budget; ‐ technical; auricle, schistosome, fissure, elecrrophoresis. b) Certain subject areas show a higher proportion of particular grammatical or structural forms The reasons for having a subject-specific approach rest almost entirely on two affective factors generated by the learners themselves: a) Face validity. Subject-specific materials look relevant. b) Familiarity. If learners have got used to working with a particular kind of text in the ESP classroom they will be less apprehensive about tackling it in the target situation. We can try to work out a strategy for dealing with the problem. a) The first step is to try and establish groupings along broad subject lines: commerce and economics, physical sciences, medical and biological sciences etc. b) Avoid highly specific materials and try to give everyone's specialism some chance. c) Look for topics which give access to a number of different specialist d) Make learners aware of the lack of specificity of their needs. You will not achieve this by simply telling them that they do not need subject-specific materials. e) If people are having fun, they are far less likely to complain.