Mind the Gap, Please!

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 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.

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 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.

English for Specific Purpose (ESP) course provides English skills and knowledge based on the students’ major. The topics in ESP course are specific and developed in specially-designed learning materials. This research aimed to develop electronic book for ESP course in Information Systems department with Research and Development method by ADDIE model, that stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The e-book was designed based on the data collected in needs analysis through questionnaire, interview, and document analysis. The data showed that the currently used ESP learning materials needed to be replaced with more suitable learning materials. Based on that, the e-book was designed to comprise the recent topics in Information Systems. The e-book was divided into five chapters and the materials were presented through activities that were designed to develop students’ English skills. The temporary e-book was then validated by experts and tested in the try-out with the students’ representative. The e-book obtained positive feedback and was revised based on the suggestion given. The result showed that the e-book is in a good quality and feasible to be used in ESP course. Keywords: English for Specific Purpose, Information Systems, Electronic Book DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/74-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2020

The development of foreign languages is a vital tool for communicating as global citizens. Using the Internet and PowerPoint Programmes within the English for Specific Purposes course gives opportunities for promoting student teachers' communication competence in foreign languages. The study considers the theoretical aspects of the problems of developing communication competence in foreign languages; analyses the findings for pedagogy in using the internet and PowerPoint programmes within the English for Specific Purposes course; applies successful experience of language teachers in the field to contribute to student teachers' communication competence in foreign languages. Communication competence in foreign languages is defined as a subject matter, as a structure, as a process. Three activities for use with the internet and three activities for use with powerpoint programmes are explored, drawing conclusions about ways and means of promoting student teachers' communication competence in foreign languages.

Analyzing English Language Learning Needs among Students in Aviation Training Program

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.

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.

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of undergraduate students about using artificial intelligence for academic writing in the private universities of Lahore, Pakistan. Using a quantitative research methodology, the data were collected through questionnaire responses from 313 students. Key findings indicate that a significant proportion of students (99%) believe AI tools to be useful; however, a prominent concern also surfaced that it hinders their learning and impact their creative thought processes. The findings emphasize that while AI may be a way of helping students in managing their tasks more efficiently and with less stress; it simultaneously erodes critical engagement and creativity. This research contributes to the limited literature on the use of AI tools within Pakistan's higher education offering valuable insights for stake holders. The study recommends AI integration within curricula and provide a structure to safeguard academic integrity and inculcating genuine learning.

The shift to online assessment during the pandemic has generated debates on academic integrity, also highlighting good practice in supporting students and staff. Academic integrity is commitment to six fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage and academic misconduct refers to practices that are not in keeping with these values and this commitment. There seem to be two dominant threads in such debates in higher education: one involves promoting creative design of authentic assessment and guidelines to students about institutional expectations concerning academic offences such as plagiarism and collusion; the other provides technological and practical safeguards to protect academic integrity. In this paper, we report on the outcomes of a project that evaluated in 2020 the pivot to online assessment at the University of London, UK. Our focus is academic integrity in distance learning environments by exploring the key themes of student and staff perceptions, and related pedagogical issues. We propose a set of measures that can enhance students’ perception of academic integrity and institutional approaches to mitigate against academic offences.

This study examines students' perspectives on using Chatbots for vocabulary learning in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course. Using an exploratory qualitative approach, the research collected data from 40 first-year Diploma students through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results have shown that, on the whole, Nomi.ai was well-appreciated for its usability and efficiency in independent learning situations for remembering and practicing vocabulary. However, it made students indifferent because of the limitation of feature usage and the need for clearer explanations when integrating it into their class settings. The Chatbot needs richer context and requires an explanation that is more clear. In further research, educators could do better by focusing on development related to a private, customized Chatbot specifically designed for ESP vocabulary learning. Such a Chatbot would focus on providing exercises and activities that are more relevant to their field of study, thus making them more personal and relevant. This research highlights the practical value of integrating AI tools into ESP courses, providing flexible and engaging learning opportunities for students. It can also contribute in evaluating student perceptions and revealing valuable insights into the adaptability of Chatbots for specific vocabulary learning.