Developing Electronic ESP Book for Information Systems Students

This study was conducted to determine how to motivate technical college students to learn English for specific purposes (ESP) courses through corpus building and enhance their language proficiency during the coursework for their majors. This study explores corpus building skills, how to simplify ESP courses by corpus building for English as second language learners, and ESP course evaluations. Although ESP programs have been implemented in technical colleges in Taiwan for several years, many students and educational practitioners feel frustrated regarding the academic achievement of learners’ ESP courses. Corpus building is crucial for implementing an ESP program and its subsequent success. Designing appropriate teaching materials enables learners to overcome their fears when taking ESP courses. Numerous linguistic professionals have mentioned that ESP courses are aimed at advanced learners. However, the vocabulary size of most technical college students is below 2000 words in Taiwan. Teaching an ESP course at a technical university is challenging work for ESP teachers. Constructing an ESP corpus and selecting appropriate ESP vocabulary to meet learner needs is essential. Building a localized corpus and designing appropriate ESP materials based on student language proficiency is the future trend for ESP courses. In this study, we discuss basic rules for developing linguistics corpora, how to build localized corpora, and the most commonly used tutorials for corpus building.

This paper attempts to explore the benefits and how Project Based Learning (PBL) is actually applied in ESP course. It also aims to investigate the problems arising in ESP course for pre-service teachers in English Education in IAIN Raden Intan Lampung. Teaching ESP course should cover both theoretically and practically. Pre-service teachers in IAIN Raden Intan Lampung tend to understand the theory but have no idea in applying it in real situation. PBL can be an alternative in teaching ESP course in which students are not only learning the theory but also making the project to implement the theory they have gotten. Besides presenting theories, the students of ESP course were asked to design course books for certain field of study. The books were designed based on the target need analysis that they have done by interviewing and observing the target situation. Assigning the book project enabled to raise the students’ creativity in designing an ESP course book both content focus and language focus. It can also stimulate the students’ ability in creating book design and template all at once. However, the lecturers’ guidance is necessary since some students are confused in determining and arranging exercises on the book.

The need for English language teaching to address specific language needs for a discipline has instigated growing demands for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses in higher education institutions in Malaysia. In the context of a university which focuses on engineering programmes, monitored by an engineering professional body, ESP courses designed and developed for higher education are expected to include learning outcomes which reflect integration between English language and engineering fields. In other words, these English language courses need to address the language needs in the engineering field. Thus, English language educators within this context need to have relevant knowledge and skills to enable them to design and develop appropriate ESP courses. Questions arise in relation to how English language courses developed have addressed this expectation. This paper examines the extent to which this expectation is translated into the ESP courses at one technical university in Malaysia. The findings showcase how this expectation is disseminated to the English language educators. This paper provides insight into the complex process of designing English language courses that could address the language needs of the engineering field. In addition, this paper highlights aspects to consider when designing an ESP course for a specific discipline.

This research article presents results of an educational experiment that was based on the application of an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course tailored for university students of engineering majors using professionally oriented situational tasks. The distinguishing feature of the course is its interdisciplinary nature: it is not limited to one particular field of engineering – it comprises various engineering topics suitable for different technical specialties. The study aimed at: first, identifying the commonly encountered workplace situations in which engineers from various subindustries need to apply English, then "’ modelling situational tasks integrated in a multi-disciplinary engineering ESP course, finally – at testing the pedagogical effectiveness of the designed model. The experiment was carried out at one of the best technical universities in Kazakhstan – Satbayev University. It encompassed 60 first-year bachelor students majoring in different engineering specialties, including 30 students from experiential groups. A mixed-methods approach based on both qualitative and quantitative methods was exploited: review and investigation of literature, needs analysis questionnaire among alumni of technical universities, evaluation and adaptation of existing ESP coursebooks, didactic modelling, pedagogical experiment, comparative analysis and mathematical statistics. The findings prove superior efficiency of the suggested interdisciplinary Engineering ESP course over a traditional Professional English course.

The recently proven indisputable role of textbooks in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses has led to a major trend of interest in the value of ESP textbooks. As learners and their learning needs are one of the most significant factors in ESP courses, textbook evaluation from learners’ points of view has become more common in this field. Accordingly, this paper has focused on the opinions and attitudes of the students about their ESP textbooks. Filling a questionnaire designed by Litz (2005) and answering some questions in a semi-structured interview, students of biology and psychology at the University of Tabriz expressed their opinions about different aspects of their ESP books. No significant difference was found between these two groups and they had a generally positive attitude about their textbooks. The shortcomings of the books were mentioned by some of the students in the informal interviews which led to some suggestions for material developers as well as teachers.

This academic study investigates the need for and influence of English for Specific Purposes courses for university-level students with a B1+ English proficiency, considering the increased industry demand for language skills. The study recognizes that proficiency in technical English is one of the most important elements for professional growth, especially in fields that offer opportunities for academic and career advancement in which accurate communication is essential. The main objective of the study was to assess the opinions of both students and faculty regarding the importance of English for Specific Purposes and their current level of proficiency in technical English to justify the development of appropriate ad hoc curricula. For these purposes, a mixed-methodology approach was implemented, consisting of questionnaires for students and faculty, a diagnostic test of technical vocabulary, and a descriptive analysis of the collected data. The results revealed a high appreciation of ESP among the participants; 61.11% considered English proficiency essential in their professional training, although only 41.2% demonstrated adequate proficiency in technical English. This gap indicates a substantial discrepancy between the perception of competence and the actual skills achieved. In this case, the research demonstrates the need to design and integrate relevant educational approaches within the ESP framework of the university curriculum, geared toward increasing language skills, problem-solving, and critical thinking at advanced levels, in order to develop optimal employment opportunities alongside improved academic performance.

This study, based on explanatory sequential, mixed methods, descriptive research design, was conducted at eleven hospitals and medical centers in the city of Makkah in the Western Province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The study aimed at exploring the efficacy of the current ESP courses at Saudi tertiary institutes and whether those courses meet the needs of the medical professionals with regards to medical English language proficiency. In addition, the study explored the needs of English medical language proficiency during an international crisis such as the recent corona virus (covid-19) pandemic. The quantitative and qualitative primary data collection was gathered from the medical professionals' responses to a custom designed, twenty-nine items on a psychometric five-point Likert items and open-ended questions, questionnaire. The overall sample population of the medical professional participants in this study was 315 participates (130 male and 185 female participants). The gathered quantitative data from the questionnaire was statistically analysed and the qualitative data gathered from the three open ended questions was analysed for emergent codes using open coding and eventually forming overarching themes. The findings of the study indicated that medical professionals in KSA regard English medical language proficiency as a vital necessity for the profession, especially during an international crisis requiring global communication and cooperation. Furthermore, the majority of the participants indicated that they are not satisfied with the current English language courses provided on the undergraduate level since they felt that rigid and comprehensive English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses with designated focus on medical English to meet their English language needs are required. Suggestions and emphasis with regards to the provision of medical ESP at tertiary level institutions in KSA are given and possible recommendations for further research investigations in future are also given.

This study investigates the motivational strategies used by Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, employing a mixed-methods approach that includes both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, based on the framework from Dörnyei and Csizer (1998). Quantitative data collected through questionnaires provided insights into the frequency and perceived effectiveness of various motivational practices, while qualitative data from interviews offered a deeper understanding of teachers’ perspectives and contextual factors shaping their approaches. The results reveal that teachers highly prioritize modeling motivational behaviors such as commitment and authenticity, giving clear instructions, and supporting students’ goal-setting processes. However, some motivational strategies, particularly those related to emotional sensitivity, creativity encouragement, cultural exposure, and fostering collaborative group dynamics, received comparatively lower emphasis. These findings suggest that while Vietnamese ESP teachers are aware of and apply many key motivational strategies, there remain areas for improvement to better engage students holistically. The study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the specific challenges and strengths in motivation within the Vietnamese ESP context. Implications include the need for teacher training programs to focus more on emotional responsiveness, intercultural competence, and creative classroom practices. While the study provides valuable insights, it acknowledges certain limitations, namely, its reliance on self-reported data and the localized nature of the sample. To build on these findings, future research is encouraged to incorporate observational methods and include a more diverse participant base for broader generalizability.

Recent years, most universities and colleges have been reforming the English as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum system in China. Some reformed EFL curriculum into English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, for instance, while some conducted a graded teaching model in EFL teaching. However, the effect of this reform was not so good, especially at science and technology institutes. Therefore, in view of different opinions to classification of foreign language teaching, the classification scheme of English teaching was improved and rebuilt at first, based on the analysis of the learners’ feedback from the perspective of learner’s needs on the current EFL curriculum system of China’s science and technology institutes under graded teaching model. And then a new EFL curriculum system of China’s science and technology institutes under graded teaching model was designed based on learning-centered approach to course and curriculum design to promote the development of EFL teaching and China’s ESP courses and accordingly meet nation’s needs for cultivating international and integrated high-quality talents of foreign languages.

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is recognized as essential in preparing EFL students for their professional careers. Understanding students' perceptions and needs in ESP courses can provide significant insights for improving ESP programs and training for ESP practitioners. This study investigated university students' needs and learning experiences in ESP courses, focusing on course content, course hours, exams, materials, instructor adequacy, feedback effectiveness, and overall teaching quality. Students' opinions were gathered through a 27-item questionnaire, with responses collected from 107 EFL students across various departments. Data analysis included frequency analysis, independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA, with responses to the open-ended questions coded using Maxqda 20. Findings show that although participants expressed overall satisfaction with ESP courses, they highlighted concerns about the lack of authentic materials, integrated language skills, and skill-based activities. Improvements in field-related knowledge and vocabulary were identified as critical. The open-ended responses revealed diverse opinions and highlighted the need for better integration of language skills, particularly speaking, and a demand for enhanced instructor training. The issues highlighted in this study reflect broader, global challenges in ESP, consistent with findings from other studies. Based on these findings, the authors suggest several implications for ESP practitioners and program developers.

Analyzing English Language Learning Needs among Students in Aviation Training Program

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has flourished to meet the growing demand of the academic and professional learners. Since the tertiary level of education is the concern, ESP can be a way out to teach English as a second or foreign language. At the end of primary, secondary and higher-secondary level of English language education, a learner is expected to have a good command of the four skills of English language. Even though, if one fails to have the proficiency, s/he needs intensive teaching. ESP has very thoughtful and research-oriented arrangement for language teaching by needs analysis, formulation of goals and objectives, specific syllabus design, appropriate material development, effective teaching, and accurate evaluation.
 In ESP, the practitioner, who is a needs analyst, is also a setter of goals and objectives, a syllabus designer, a material developer and a teacher as well as an evaluator. For this reason, there lies no gap among the steps of a whole project of language teaching. ESP learners are mature and more enthusiastic. In ESP, syllabus design depends on the analysis of the language used in the target area of learners. Sometimes, the syllabus designers consider the learners’ opinions. Teaching materials are collected from the area of job or study of the learners. Interests, target and levels of previous knowledge of the ESP learners usually vary. Thus, for an individual group, a tailor-made ESP course is, therefore, suitable. The goal of the present action research is to design an English language course for the medical students.
 In my professional life, I used to teach English language to the medical students. Since I taught them with general English language materials, I observed a gap between their target area and English language. “They cannot relate their achieved language knowledge to the medical context. For example, in a class, when they are asked to solve some exercises of active and passive voices, they can solve properly. But when they define terms like hypertension, or nervous system, they confidently use called/ call/ calls instead of is/ are called. Medical students are really motivated by their subject specific texts. It is my assumption that, specific English language course can solve the problem by bridging the gap between their knowledge and their proficiency language.” (Sharmin, L. -2011). On the basis of the information of data, collected from one preset questionnaire, I have analyzed needs and formulated an ESP course obtaining vocabulary, topic and examples from medical context. I found the classes more effective and interesting with these special materials. I have collected another set of data. I compared the data and found the results very optimistic.

The aims of the study were to implement the focus group discussion in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) speaking skill for prospective Vocational School teacher and also to find out its effectiveness in improving their English speaking skill in ESP course. Quasi-experimental design was employed in this research. Thirty students of Family Welfare Vocational Education Study Program who were taking ESP course, were divided into two classes; experimental and control class. The research data were collected through interview, observation and the students’ speaking assessment. The result showed that the implementation of focus group discussion method in the experimental class effectively increased the students’ speaking skill compared to the control class.

A good command of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) among Czech engineers seems to be of crucial importance since the engineering field has been developing rapidly and the Czech labour market is becoming increasingly international (Eurostat 2020). The authors of this article, who supervise the ESP courses offered to the students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FST) at the University of West Bohemia (UWB) in Pilsen (Czech Republic), attempt to meet the changing needs of the engineering field by conducting needs analyses among students, university graduates and prospective employers, and keeping their ESP courses’ syllabi up-to-date and relevant to their engineering students. This paper presents a comparative analysis of a questionnaire that was distributed in the year 2021 among UWB engineering students and graduates. Having analysed the responses that dealt with graduates’ needs and students’ expectations of using ESP in a workplace, the authors noticed several discrepancies between the answers they received from the students and those they received from the graduates. Based on the analysis, a hypothesis that current students sometimes have misconceptions about their future work life has been formulated. To confirm this hypothesis, in the next stage of the research, selected students and graduates are to be interviewed to gather additional information. The authors also wish to examine this hypothesis by having prospective engineering employers reply to the same survey questions.

As internationalisation policies like English - medium Instruction (EMI) are increasingly implemented in European higher education, EMI and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classrooms become small international spaces where local students’ intercultural skil ls can be developed. I suggest that the internationalised higher education poses challenges also to non - mobile students, who find themselves in culturally diverse classrooms where English is used as the medium of instruction. The aim of this study is twofo ld. It first attempts to provide a research - based framework that accounts for the reasons why Intercultural Competence (IC) should become a learning outcome in ESP and EMI courses, with an emphasis on ESP. Second, it explores two ways in which this integra tion could take place drawing on Holmes & O’Neill ’s ethnographic model ( 2012). The seminar genre is proposed to showcase IC integration, as participation helps students practice their English skills and provides them with opportunities to develop disciplin ary knowledge while debating on a specific topic. In brief, this study suggests that both ESP and EMI courses have the potential of preparing students for a future professional career in a globalised world and that ESP lecturers, in particular, emerge as t he best prepared professionals for teaching intercultural skills.