Chapter 1 Summary4

Name : Fatin Azmi Rohma
Class : BIG A/VII
Group : 10
SUMMARY
Chapter 1
OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSE

What is ESP?
ESP may be considered as an approach to course design and teaching that targets groups of
learners who have a common goal or purpose in learning English. This may be an educational or
occupational focus. ESP theorising is informed by teaching and learning contexts, with
curriculum and course design at its core. Essentially, ESP courses are focused on the needs of the
learners and other stakeholders, such as employers and universities. The focus of an ESP course
may be narrow or broad.
Types of ESP
a. English for science and technology (EST)
This branch of ESP was the first area of ESP to evolve. Generally, the focusof EST is on the
technical and semi-technical vocabulary of scientific texts, the commonly found grammatical
structure in them and their genres – for example, a laboratory report.
b. English for occupational purposes
English for occupational purposes (EOP) covers a broad range of types of ESP, some of which
are explored below (other terms are ‘English for vocational purposes’ (EVP) and ‘English for
professional purposes’ (EPP)).
c. English for medical purposes
English for medical purposes (EMP) may be considered as a branch of EOP, it represents a large
sector of ESP. There are two main considerations in EMP research. The first focuses on English
as the international language of medical research. The second consideration stems from the large
numbers of migrant medical workers needing English to execute their work.
d. English for nurses
English for nursing is a somewhat recent phenenomen, which
contrasts the use of English of doctors and other healthcare professionals with that of nurses.
e. English for legal purposes
The final section in this chapter concerns English for socio-cultural purposes. It should be
remembered that all ESP benefits from a sociocultural focus. This means taking into
consideration the social and cultural setting in which the communication occurs.
Classification of ESP
ESP is usually classified into two main branches: English for academic purposes (EAP)
and English for occupational purposes (EOP). Within these two main divisions there are many
subdivisions and overlaps based on the setting, level of experience and field of ESP.
EAP is primarily classified as English for general academic purposes (EGAP) and
English for specific academic purposes (ESAP). In EGAP, the learners may come from a range
of specialisations. So, for example, students who will study medicine, mathematics and history at
university may be in the same English class. In this case, materials that are of general academic
interest are used. The generally held belief of course designers and practitioners of EGAP is that
academic English comprises a range of general academic language abilities that can be
transferred to a range of different academic situations regardless of the setting or subject area. In
ESAP, the learners are from similar backgrounds – for example, business. In this case, materials
are directly relevant to the learners’ intended area of study. This notion of specificity is a central
theme in ESP and is discussed in detail in later chapters. ESP courses may also be classified by
when they occur. For example, EAP courses may be pre-sessional, occurring before the students
engage in academic study.
History of ESP;
ESP is a relatively recent branch of English-language teaching (ELT). It originated in the
1960s, driven by an accelerated world economy, itself driven by the increase in the demand for
oil and an overall increase in international trade. There was a need to communicate on a global
scale to facilitate and participate in this economic surge. English became the language of choice.
This led to an increase in international students at universities in English-speaking countries.
ESP was a response to this need, and its aim was to equip learners with a command of English in
an efficient manner by basing courses on what students actually needed rather than teaching the
whole language system.The earliest ESP was in the area of science and technology. The
approach used for course design was labelled register analysis. It was sentence-based and
focused on the grammar and vocabulary of scientific texts.
The 1970s saw a move towards rhetorical functions. This approach saw a focus on
functions such as comparison, definition and cause and effect. There was also a move away from
the sentence as the unit of language. Again, the focus was mainly on science and technology,
with an emphasis on how grammar and vocabulary relate to the rhetorical purpose of texts. It is
from this background that ESP discourse analysis emerged in later years.
The 1970s also saw the advent of needs-based ESP courses with Munby’s (1978)
Communicative syllabus design. The model sought to capture a wide range of contextual
influences – for example, by taking into account the status and background of the speakers and
the intended purpose of communication. However, the CNP was not practical enough for
application to the average ESP teaching course. The 1980s saw a focus on study skills in EAP for
the first time with the University of Malaya project Skills for learning (1980). The approach
emphasised skills such as “getting to know the parts of a book”. These were accompanied by the
rationale for the skill. The work of Hutchinson and Waters (1985) has had a significant impac on
ESP. Their work in the 1980s was characterised by an emphasis on the target situation of the
learners.This encompassed both immediate learning needs and future needs. They proposed a
‘learning centred’ approach to ESP, which they claim is based on “the principle that learning is
totally determined by the learner”.They also claimed that there was no such thing as ESP
language, which, again, has been contradicted in recent years through corpus studies that have
investigated patterns of language in large-scale corpora (Handford, 2010).
The 1990s saw a diversification of research in ESP, with a wide range of courses

emerging. For example, there was more focus on vocational types of ESP (Johns, 2013). A key
scholar during this era was John Swales. Swales focused on identifying genres with an emphasis
on generic stages or moves within a given type of text. Genre as the basis of course design
remains very significant in current research and practice in ESP. By establishing a corpus of texts
and analysing these with the help of technology, regular features of texts can be identified and
translated into an ESP syllabus.
The role of English

English plays a special role in the world today. It is often referred to as‘English as a
lingua franca’ (ELF), as it is frequently used as a means of communication between non-native
speakers of English. English is the language of communication of business, of professions and of
academia. In the early days of ESP, the model of English promoted was that of native- English-
speaking countries. This model of English privileged speakers from native-speaker cultures over
non-native speakers of English. However, in a seminal work, Kachru (1992) outlined a
framework of world English that acknowledged models of English that are used in countries
other than native-English-speaking countries such as the UK, USA and Australia. For example,
Indian English has its own characteristics, which are entirely appropriate in the setting in which
it is used.
Vocabulary : English for Medical
1. A bruise : Memar
2. Convulsion : Kejang
3. Stratch : Tergores
4. Accident and Emergency Department : Unit Gawat Darurat
5. Nosebleed : Mimisan
6. Heart attack : Serangan jantung
7. Surgical Operation : Operasi
8. Infusion : Infus
9. Injection : Suntikan
10. X-Ray : Ronsen

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Name : Fatin Azmi Rohma

Class : BIG A/VII

OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSE

b. English for occupational purposes

c. English for medical purposes

d. English for nurses

English for nursing is a somewhat recent phenenomen, which

e. English for legal purposes

The 1990s saw a diversification of research in ESP, with a wide range of courses

The role of English

Vocabulary : English for Medical

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