Teachers’ beliefs and practices about ESP teaching a case study at hanoi university of industry

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI
UNIVERSTITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES
---***---

ĐÀO THỊ MAI HƯƠNG

TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ABOUT ESP TEACHING:
A CASE STUDY AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY
MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ QUAN NIỆM VÀ VIỆC GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH
CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field

: English Teaching Methodology

Code

: 60.140.111

HANOI - 2015


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI
UNIVERSTITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES
---***---

ĐÀO THỊ MAI HƯƠNG

TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ABOUT ESP TEACHING:
A CASE STUDY AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY
MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ QUAN NIỆM VÀ VIỆC GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH
CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field
Code
Supervisor

HANOI - 2015


CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT
I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:
TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES ABOUT ESP TEACHING: A CASE
STUDY AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY
is the result of my own work for the Degree of Master of Arts at University of
Languages and International Studies, Hanoi National University. The material in this
thesis has not been submitted for assessment in any other courses of study.
Hanoi, March 2015
Signature

Đào Thị Mai Hương

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to present my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Ms. Mai
Thi Loan, for her generous guidance, constant encouragement and precious advice
which take important part in accomplishing the study.
I am most thankful to all the lecturers of the M.A course at ULIS-VNUH for
providing me foundation knowledge through their invaluable lessons.
I would also like to send my sincere thanks to my colleagues at the English
Department of Hanoi University of Industry who were enthusiastic about participating
in my research and willing to share their experience.
Last but not least, I owe a big debt to my loved family who always stand by me as
well as give me strength and encouragement during my three-year course and during
the time I fulfilled the research.

ii


ABSTRACT

The study aimed at investigating teachers’ beliefs and practices about ESP teaching
at Hanoi University of Industry. The objectives were to investigate teachers’ beliefs
about teaching strategies applied to ESP classes, to find out the most common ESP
teaching strategies used by teachers and to explore the relationship between teachers’
beliefs and practices when teaching ESP. Interviews and classroom observations were
used as the instruments to collect the data. The interviews were delivered to seek
teachers’ beliefs about ESP teaching strategies and classroom observations were applied
to explore their actual practices. The findings revealed that the teachers’ actual practices
did not always correspond to their beliefs.

iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
1.

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

2.

ELT: English Language Teaching

3.

ESL: English as a Second Language

4.

ESP: English for Specific Purposes

5.

HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry

6.

GPE: General Purpose English

7.

EAP: English for Academic Purposes

8.

EEP: English for Educational Purposes

9.

EOP: English for Occupational Purposes

10. EFL: English as a Foreign Language

iv


LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: ESP classification by experience ...................................................................
Figure 2: ESP classification by professional area (Hutchison and Waters, 1987:6) .......
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Ten techniques applied to ESP lesson. (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987:139142) ...........................................................................................................................
Table 2: Strategies used to lead into the lesson ..........................................................
Table 3: Teachers’ beliefs about strategies used to present problems .........................
Table 4: Teachers’ beliefs about strategies used in practice........................................
Table 5: Strategies used to lead into the lesson ..........................................................
Table 6: Strategies used to present problems in ESP .................................................
Table 7: Strategies used in practice part .........................................................................
Table 8: Description of exercises used in actual practice ...........................................

v

LIST O
Excerpt 1[Data extracted from the class on 2014/5/22] ............................................
Excerpt 2 [Data extracted from the class on 2014/5/22] ..........................................
Excerpt 3

[Data extracted from the cla

Excerpt 4

[Data extracted from the cl

Excerpt 5

[Data extracted from the cl

Excerpt 6

[Data extracted from the cl

vi


TABLE OF CONTENT
CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT.......................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................ iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................ iv
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES.................................................................................................. v

LIST OF EXCERPTS......................................................................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENT.................................................................................................................... vii
PART I: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................ 1
1.1. Rationale................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2. Aims and objectives of the study........................................................................................ 1
1.3. Research questions................................................................................................................. 2
1. 4. Scope of the study................................................................................................................. 2
1.5. Methods of the study.............................................................................................................. 2
1.6. Significance of the study....................................................................................................... 3
1.7. Design of the study................................................................................................................. 3
CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................ 4
1.1. Theory of ESP..................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.1. Some basic concepts................................................................................................... 4
1.1.2. Definition...................................................................................................................... 4
1.2. Roles of ESP teacher....................................................................................................... 13
1.2.1. The ESP practitioner as a teacher.......................................................................... 13
1.2.2. The ESP practitioner as a course designer and material provider.................14
1.2.3. The ESP practitioner as a researcher.................................................................... 14
1.2.4. The ESP practitioner as a collaborator................................................................. 14
1.2.5. The ESP practitioner as an evaluator.................................................................... 15
1.3. Teachers’ beliefs............................................................................................................... 15
1.4. Relationship between teachers’ beliefs and classroom practices..........................16
1.5. Review of previous related studies.............................................................................. 17
1.6. Summary............................................................................................................................ 18
2.1. Restatement of the research questions........................................................................ 19
2.2. Context of the study......................................................................................................... 19
2.2.1. The setting of the study........................................................................................... 19
vii

2.2.2. Participants................................................................................................................. 20
2.3. Instruments........................................................................................................................ 20
2.3.1. Pre- observation interviews.................................................................................... 20
2.3.2. Classroom observations........................................................................................... 21
2.3.3. Post-observation interviews.................................................................................... 21
2.4. Data collection procedure............................................................................................... 22
2.5. Data analysis procedure.................................................................................................. 22
2.6. Summary............................................................................................................................ 22
3.1. Interview............................................................................................................................. 23
3.1.1. Teachers’ beliefs about strategies used to lead into the lesson.......................23
3.1.2. Teachers’ beliefs about strategies used to present problems in ESP.............25
3.1.3. Teachers’ beliefs about strategies used to help students practice................... 29
3.2. Classroom observation.................................................................................................... 30
3.2.2. Strategies used to present problems in ESP........................................................ 31
3.2.3. Strategies used in practice part.............................................................................. 34
Table 8: Description of exercises used in actual practice........................................... 36
3.3. Findings.............................................................................................................................. 37
3.3.1. Strategies used to lead into the lesson.................................................................. 37
3.3.2. Strategies used to present problems in ESP........................................................ 37
3.3.3. Strategies used in practice part.............................................................................. 38
3.4. Summary............................................................................................................................ 38
PART III: CONCLUSION................................................................................................................ 39
1.1. Summary of the thesis..................................................................................................... 39

1.2. Implication from the study............................................................................................. 40
1.3. Limitations and suggestions for further study........................................................... 41
APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................... I

viii

PART I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale
There is a fact that English is needed for every field such as technology, medicine,
business and education. As a result, the demand for ESP is increasing in many countries
where people speak English as a foreign language. Besides, people need English for
passing the exams, promoting at work and developing their career. Therefore, ESP has
been taught in most of universities in Vietnam for recent years.
Teaching ESP has become one of the most important features of English teaching
process, which is necessary to meet the demand of the changing world. According to
Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 19), ESP is an approach for language teaching in which
all decisions regarding content and methods are based on the learners’ reasons for
learning. They can use English effectively in different fields like economics, literature,
law, and medicine. Compared with General English, ESP has both similarities and
differences. Although teaching ESP has much been concerned by researchers who have
tried to develop its own methodology, it is still really hard for teachers to decide the
effective strategies for their students.
In context of Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), students start learning ESP in the
second semester of the third year. In fact, with the students’ low proficiency of English,
it is extremely challenging for teachers to provide a successful ESP course. Besides,
Vietnamese students keep a passive way of studying which makes the teachers’
methodology become the most important factor in teaching ESP. In spite of long
duration of 60 class hours, ESP teaching and learning quality has still been far from
satisfaction. Therefore, the teachers’ beliefs and practices in teaching ESP should be
worked out as soon as possible to improve the situation.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims to do research on teachers’ beliefs and practices about ESP
teaching. The objectives of the study were:

1


(1)

To investigate teachers’ beliefs about teaching strategies applied to ESP

(2)

To find out the most common ESP teaching strategies used by teachers,

classes,

(3)

To explore the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices when

teaching ESP.
1.3. Research questions
In dealing with the above aims, the thesis should be clarified with the following
questions:
(i)
What are teachers’ beliefs about teaching strategies applied to ESP
classes?
(ii)

What are the most common ESP teaching strategies used by teachers?

(iii) Is there a relationship between the teachers’ beliefs and practices in terms of
ESP teaching strategies?

1. 4. Scope of the study
The research focuses on investigating the teachers’ beliefs towards teaching
strategies applied to ESP classes and their practices. It was conducted among ESP
teachers who work for Ha Noi University of Industry.
1.5. Methods of the study
The study was conducted following these stages:
Firstly, the pre-observation interviews were delivered to seek teachers’ beliefs about
teaching strategies used to lead into the problem, teaching strategies used to present
problems in ESP and teaching strategies used to enhance practice as well as production
of students.
Secondly, the classroom observations were made by the author to investigate
teachers’ teaching strategies they actually used in their ESP class and find out whether
these practices were consistent with the beliefs or not.

2


Thirdly, the post-observation interviews were carried out to find out the reasons for
any inconsistence between teachers’ beliefs and practices.
Finally, the data was gathered and analyzed to disclose the main findings and
answer the research questions.
1.6. Significance of the study
In terms of theory, the author expected to contribute to perfecting theories about ESP
and teachers’ beliefs and practices. On the other hand, the findings of this study can be
used as a reference by ESP teachers in general and teachers at HaUI in particular to
improve their practices in ESP class.
1.7. Design of the study
The study is divided into three main parts.
Part one is the INTRODUCTION which consists of rationale, aim and objectives of
the study as well as research questions. It also covers scope, methods, significance and

design of the research.
Part two is the DEVELOPMENT separated into three chapters:
Chapter one provides theoretical background regarding as theory of ESP, roles of
ESP teachers, teachers’ beliefs and practices. Added to this, previous related studies are
summarized in brief.
Chapter two is concerned with methodology used in the thesis. In the first place, the
author restates the research questions and emphasizes the context, setting, participants,
instruments, data collection and analysis procedure in process of conducting the thesis.

Chapter three shows the main content with findings as well as discussion based on
the results from observations and interviews.
Part three is the CONCLUSION offering a summary of the issues mentioned,
implication from the study and suggestions for further study.

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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Theory of ESP
1.1.1. Some basic concepts
In literature on theories of foreign language teaching, such terms as “practices”,
“activities”, “techniques” and “strategies” are widely used. Followings are a brief
distinction between them.
Practices include what teachers do and behave in the classroom.
Activity refers to what learners actually do in the classroom and it implies the active
performance of the learners.
Technique, in the most general sense, include all tasks and activities which are
almost always planned, deliberate and are the product of a choice made by the teacher
(Anthony, 1963:63); practice, behavior, exercise, procedure, strategy are described, in

varying degrees of intensity, as technique.
Strategy, in general, is a well-planned series of actions for achieving an aim. Thus, a
teaching strategy is a conscious plan comprising a wide range of selected skills and
techniques, which is targeted at the achievement of an objective. In other way, strategy
is connected with how different types of learning and teaching activities are carried out
in the classroom.
1.1.2. Definition
In the past few decades, many researchers have been working to define ESP which
has remained a controversial topic. Those definitions should be classified into three
categories. The first group based on learners’ needs. Typically, Hutchison and Water
(1987:19) believed that ESP should be regarded as “an approach to language learning,
which is based on learner need.” Understood properly, students should aim at acquiring
both language proficiency and occupational skills in process of learning a second
language. According to Anthony (1997:1), the researchers were divided into
4


two groups. The former considered ESP as teaching English for any purpose that could
be specified. On the other hand, the latter held the view that ESP was “teaching of
English used in academic studies or the teaching of English for vocational or
professional purposes” (Anthony, 1997: 1). Mackay and Mountford (1978:2) both
referred it as the teaching of English to the learners who have specific goals and
purposes. They were academic, professional and scientific that depends on the learners’
needs.
Besides, the second group of studies identified ESP by its absolute and variable
characteristics. For example, Strevens (1988:1) made a comprehensive definition of ESP
that was distinguished between absolute and variable characteristics of ESP related to
design, content, activities, learning skills to be learned and methodology. Similarly,
other researchers (e.g. Strevens, 1980; Robinson, 1980; Dudley-Evans and St John,
1997 etc.) have agreed on the following qualities of an ESP course:

1/ The goal is performing job-related and educational roles successfully.
2/ It is designed particularly based on the students’ needs to meet the demand.
3/ Compared with a general language course, it has differences in selection of skills,
themes, topics, situations, functions, language and methodology.
However, the third group discussed “S” standing for specific as the core to teaching
ESP. Hadley (2006:3) agreed that “the key to teaching ESP is to focus on the “S” for
specific. ESP can be differentiated from general ELT by its concern with specialized
language and practice”. Mackay and Mountford (1978:4) clarified the point “special
language” as follows:
“The only practical way in which we can understand the notion of special
language is as a restricted repertoire of words and expressions selected from the
whole language because that restricted repertoire covers every requirement within a
well-defined context, task or vocation”.
Barron (1994:3) also confirmed the place of ESP “within the multidimensional
space that constitutes the students’ chosen disciplinary culture”. Added to this, Fiorio
(2005:1) stated that “the ESP focal point is that English is not taught as a subject
5


separated from the students' real world (or wishes); instead, it is integrated into a subject
matter area important to the learners.” On the other hand, “specific” also interpreted as
“special aim” which connected to the learners’ special purpose of learning English as a
second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) rather than their
intention to learn nature of the English language (Mountford, 1978:4).
In summary, the author assumes that ESP is a very flexible approach of teaching
English as a second language or a foreign language. It is not only connected with special
disciplines and professions but also meets the specific needs in the field of EAP.

1.1.3. Characteristics of ESP
Strevens' (1988) definition makes a distinction between four absolute and two

variable characteristics:
1. Absolute Characteristics:
ESP consists of English language teaching which is:
- designed to meet specified needs of the learner;
- related in content to particular disciplines, occupations and activities;
-

centred on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse,

semantics, etc., and analysis of this discourse;
- in contrast with General English.
2. Variable characteristics:
- restricted as to the language skills to be learned (e.g. reading only);
-

taught according to any pre-ordained methodology (Gatehouse, 2001 cf.

Strevens, 1998:1-2).
Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998:4-5) have presented a modified definition of ESP
which is also comprised of absolute and variable characteristics of ESP that are as
follows:
1. Absolute Characteristics
- ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learner;

6


-

ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it

serves;
-

ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and

genres appropriate to these activities.
2. Variable Characteristics
- ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;
-

ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of

general English;
-

ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution

or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary
school level;
- ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students;
-

Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system, but it

can be used with beginners”.
1.1.4. Principles of ESP
It is said that ESP is a "reaction against conventional foreign language instruction"
(Strevens, 1977:145). Therefore, it is assumed that any ESP course should obey a
strategy of predetermined objectives based on a needs analysis of students learning

English, to find out for what they are requiring the language which in turn leads to
define as specifically as possible what the students need to learn in that language.
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), the approach to ESP should be based
on the learner's needs in their respective specialized subjects. Hutchinson and Water's
view of ESP points to the importance and roles of learners both in the design of the
course and its implementation in the teaching and learning processes. To recognize
specific needs of students one would have to carry out some kind of assessment or
evaluation of the existing textbooks. The types of modifications of learning resources
are made accordingly to meet the kinds of individual differences with regard to time,
goals, mode, or expectations of learning (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). The discussion
of the importance of needs analysis focuses on its roles as a starting point or a guide for
course design, syllabus design, materials selection, assessment or even
7


classroom activities. With the information at hand of learner needs a course designer
will be able to produce a detailed description of language skills, functions, and forms as
determined in the learner needs profile, which in turn leads to design a course.
According to Robinson (1991:3), needs analysis is a predominance process in ESP
programming procedure. For him the key criteria of ESP is its goal directedness, and its
development from needs analysis to design courses with the "aims to specify as closely
as possible what exactly it is that students have to do through the medium of English".
Needs analysis is neither unique to language teaching nor within language training but it
is often seen as being the corner stone of ESP and leads to a very focused course
(Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998:122).
1.1.5. Classification of ESP
For many decades, ESP has been separated into two major fields: English for
Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). The
classification is presented as in the following tree diagram:

ESP

Figure 1: ESP classification by experience


(Robinson, 1991, taken from Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998:6)
The above classification of ESP into EAP and EOP is important because it “affects
the degree of specificity that is appropriate to the course” (Dudley-Evans and St John,
8


1998:6). According to the diagram, an EOP course has professional purposes and
vocational purposes; meanwhile, an EAP course aims at education.
According to the above traditional classification, the scope of ESP is extremely
limited because the learners are able to learn English for only restricted purposes and
cope with particular situations within extremely limited linguistic settings. Therefore,
“Tree of ELT” (Hutchison and Waters, 1987:6) broadened the scope of ESP as the
following figure:
English for specific purposes

English for Academic purposes

English for Occupational Purposes

English for

English for

(Academic)

(Academic)

Science and

Medical

Technology

Purposes

Figure 2: ESP classification by professional area (Hutchison and Waters, 1987:6)
Hutchison and Waters (1987:16) believed that EOP and EAP could not be
separated because “people can work and study simultaneously; it is also likely that in
many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a study environment will be used
later when the student takes up, or returns to, a job”.
In general, it is impossible classify ESP clearly without overlap and potential
confusion as a matter of fact. Consequently, ESP teachers need to consider different
models given by those authors to decide which type of ESP course they are in charge.

9


1.1.6. ESP teaching strategies
There were numerous discussions among well-known researchers in the realm of
language teaching in general and ESP teaching in particular such as Brumfit (1984),
Nunan (1988), Dickinson (1987), Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Robison (1991),
Brown (1994), Dudley and St John (1997). However, the ideas may fall into two major
groups.
In the first place, Hutchinson and Waters (1987:142) supposed that “at the level of
techniques, the ESP teacher can learn a lot from General English practice” so “the

classroom skills and techniques acquired in General English teaching can be usefully
employed in the ESP classroom.” Therefore, they suggested ten techniques which are
able to apply to almost any lesson.
Table 1: Ten techniques applied to ESP lesson. (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987:139-142)

Techniques

1. Gaps


Techniques

1. Gaps

2. Variety

2. Variety

3. Prediction
4. Enjoyment


Techniques
5.An integrated
methodology
6.

Coherence

7.

Preparation

8. Involvement
9.

Creativity

10. Atmosphere
In the second place, the recent discussions raised by other authors such as Robinson
(1991), Martin (1992), Dudley Evans and St John (1997) and Jordan (1997) concluded
that tasks and activities in ESP classroom should reflect the learners’ specialist world
(Dudley Evans and St John, 1997: 187). More specifically, they can “involve people
undertaking communication work for a purpose” (Martin, 1992: 189). Among those,
case studies and project work are strongly recommended to teach ESP because of their
outstanding advantages.
Case studies
Case studies were emphasized as an appropriate activity in teaching ESP because it
offered students a chance to work out “realistic, complex, ill-defined problem that has
many possible solutions, none of them ideal” (Huckin, 1988, quoted in Jordan,
1997:114). Thus, this kind of activity aims at presenting “students with some aspect of a
real life scenario, through which they can apply and integrate knowledge, skills, theory
and any experience” (Dudley-Evans and St John, 1997:192). A case study consists of
three stages which are data input (data presented through texts, audio and video
recordings), data processing (understanding and manipulating data) and output
12


presentation (oral presentation or written reports for feedback) (Dudley-Evans and St
John, 1997, quoted in Yen, 2001:52).

Project work
Jordan (1997:195) assessed project work as a reward but also a high-risk activity
because students had to take responsibility for collecting information needed to
complete the project. In spite of that, project work is still “particularly appropriate to
ESP/EAP since doing a project may well be a requirement for a university student,
especially at the graduate level” (Robinson, 1994:50). Bloor and St John (1988, quoted
in Robinson, 1994:51) categorized project into three major types composed of group
project which requires the group members to do real research, mini-research project
used for individuals to conduct questionnaires, surveys as well as interviews and
literature-based project involving individuals in reading extensively.
In my opinion, ESP teachers should be adaptable and flexible in teaching
(Hutchison and Waters, 1987:165). ESP lessons would be more effective if they choose
strategies suitable to their students’ levels and ability. The combination between
techniques in general English and special skills in teaching ESP seems to be the best
way to teach ESP.
1.2. Roles of ESP teacher
In fact, ESP teaching is really diversified so some researchers (Dudley-Evans and St
John, 1998:13) call an ESP lecturer by the term “practitioner” rather than “teacher”. It
refers that ESP work requires much more than teacher. ESP practitioner can play a few
roles as the following:
1.2.1. The ESP practitioner as a teacher
ESP is a practical discipline with the most important objective of helping students to
learn. However, the ESP teacher is not the primary knower of the content of the material
(Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998:13). In the situation that the course focuses on the
subject content or work the students are involved in, they may more master the content
than the teacher. Therefore, the teacher can take advantage the students’
13


knowledge to generate communication in the class. The role of ESP teacher changes into

one-to-one consultant to the students. ESP teachers need to be flexible, good at listening
to learners and interested in the disciplines or professional activities the students
participate in.
1.2.2. The ESP practitioner as a course designer and material provider
According to Dudley-Evans and St John (1998:14), it is almost impossible to use a
particular textbook without the need for supplementary material. Added to this,
sometimes no really suitable published material exists for identified needs. As a result,
ESP practitioners often have to provide the material for the course. They need to select
the published material, adapt material to be more suitable or even produce it. In order to
do these jobs well, “ESP teachers also need to assess the effectiveness of the teaching
material used on the course, whether that material is published or self-produced” (Evans
and St John, 1998:15).
1.2.3. The ESP practitioner as a researcher
Research has been particularly strong in the realm of English for Academic
Purposes. For example, research into English for Business purposes focusing on
investigating the genres, the language and the skills related to business communication
has increased. “ESP teachers need to be aware of and in touch with this research”
(Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998:15). Teachers carrying out a needs analysis, designing
a course, or writing teaching materials need to be capable of incorporating the findings
of the research, and those working in specific ESP situations need to be confident that
they know what is involved in skills such as written communication (Dudley-Evans and
St John, 1998:15).
1.2.4. The ESP practitioner as a collaborator
Collaboration with subject specialist is believed to be often the best way to approach
subject-specific work. It may need the cooperation helping ESP teachers set syllabus in
academic context or the real tasks. Another possibility is that specific collaboration
creates some integration between specialist studies or activities and the language. It
might be the story of the language teacher specifically providing students
14