The Development and Concepts of English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

Flashcards covering the theoretical foundations, historical evolution, classifications, key differences from General English, and practitioner roles in English for Specific Purposes (ESP).

Traditional English Teaching (Pre-1960s)

A grammar-translation and literature-focused approach to General English that utilized a 'one-size-fits-all' curriculum for educational prestige rather than immediate occupational utility.

Register Analysis Stage

An early phase of ESP in the 1960s-1970s that focused on the technical vocabulary and grammatical features (such as passive voice) in scientific and engineering texts to improve reading comprehension.

Needs Analysis Revolution

A major paradigm shift in ESP during the late 1970s and 1980s that shifted focus from analyzing language 'registers' to understanding learner needs and determining why the student is learning English.

Corpus Linguistics in ESP

A modern ESP methodology involving the analysis of millions of authentic academic or workplace texts to discover recurring language patterns.

General English (GE)

A broad, grammar-focused approach to language instruction that relies on standard level placement tests, broad topics, and generic vocabulary across all fields.

English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

A narrow, learner-centered language approach tailored through needs analysis to meet specific professional, vocational, or academic goals using role-specific skill mapping.

English as a Restricted Language

A category of ESP identified by Carter (1983) and Mackay & Mountford (1978) describing rigid language repertoires used in highly specific settings (e.g., air-traffic controllers or waiters) that cannot be adapted to novel contexts.

English for Academic and Occupational Purposes (EAOP)

A category defined by Carter (1983) that serves precise, goal-oriented language needs for professional and vocational domains like medicine, business, and technology.

English with Specific Topics (EST)

A concept suggested by Carter (1983) where focus shifts from general purpose to specific professional topics (e.g., acoustics, lab equipment) based on learners' probable future needs.

ESP Definition (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987)

An approach to language teaching rather than a product, defined not by specialized materials or methodology, but by the key question: 'Why does this learner need to learn a foreign language?'

Absolute Characteristics of ESP (Strevens, 1988)

Core defining features specifying that ESP must be tailored to specific learner needs and related in content to particular disciplines, occupations, or activities.

Variable Characteristics of ESP (Strevens, 1988)

Features that may vary in ESP, such as restricting specific language skills to be learned or employing teaching methods distinct from General English.

Tri-Pod of ESP Emergence

The three foundational forces identified by Hutchinson & Waters (1987): post-WWII economic and technical expansion, a revolution in communicative linguistics, and an educational psychology shift toward learner needs.

The Concept of 'Special' in ESP

Refers to the target purposes for which learners study English and a restricted repertoire of relevant expressions, rather than a fundamentally unique nature or grammar of the language itself.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

A primary branch of ESP designed to teach language and communication skills needed for study within higher education and academic disciplines.

English for Occupational Purposes (EOP)

A primary branch of ESP focused on training learners in communication skills directly required in workplace, business, professional, or vocational settings.

Pre-Experience Learners

ESP learners who are currently preparing for an academic or professional career but lack prior practical work experience in that domain.

In-Service Learners

Learners who receive ESP instruction while actively working in their professional jobs to improve their on-the-job language performance.

ESP Practitioner

An ESP educator who fulfills five distinct professional roles: Teacher, Course Designer/Materials Developer, Collaborator, Researcher, and Evaluator.

Primary Knower

The traditional instructional role of being the supreme expert on subject matter content, a role an ESP teacher typically does not hold relative to specialized discipline content.

Carrier Content

Subject-matter content drawn from a specific professional or academic field that an ESP teacher uses as a context to present language skills.

Target Situation Analysis (TSA)

A research procedure in ESP used to identify target situations in work or academic fields and analyze their specific linguistic requirements to build a syllabus.

Simple Cooperation

A baseline level of collaboration where an ESP teacher learns about the subject syllabus in an academic context without deep integration of teaching activities.

Specific Cooperation

An advanced level of collaboration where ESP teachers and subject specialists work together to integrate discipline content with language instruction, review materials, or team-teach.