Sample

EFL, ESP and EIB - 1

1.1: Introduction
1.2: Objectives
1.3: Classification of TESOL, EFL, ESP and EIB
1.4: Characteristics of ESP
1.5: Teaching ESP
1.6: Answers to Questions.

1.1: Introduction

The first two chapters of this unit give you an overview of EFL (English as a Foreign Language), ESP (English for Specific Purposes) and EIB (English for International Business) and examine the relationship between them. We also consider whether or not teaching EIB is different from teaching ESP or General EFL. Both chapters also attempt to stimulate your interest in some of the more recent developments in EIB, notably: genre analysis, communication skills training and intercultural communication skills training.
In many ways the chapters are introductory, and much of their content will be developed in other chapters and units. We recommend that you follow up those areas in which you are interested by referring to the reading provided in the bibliography at the end of the unit.
1.2: Objectives

The main aims of this chapter are to:

1. consider the differences between EFL and ESP
2. establish criteria that can distinguish EFL from ESP
3. identify the defining characteristics of ESP.

Pre-reading task

Before you begin, consider the questions in the shaded box below. These are designed to stimulate your thinking and to focus your mind on the main points in the chapter.

1. Is there such thing as “General EFL” teaching, or are all EFL courses specific in that they do focus on the specific needs of the learners?
2. Is ESP simply a matter of teaching specialised varieties of English? For example, do teachers teach science words and grammar to scientists and hotel words and grammar to hotel staff?

1.3: Classification of TESOL, EFL, ESP and EIB

Pause for thought

The acronym TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. It is a blanket term and refers to situations where English is taught both as a second language and as a foreign language. The acronym EFL (English as a Foreign Language) is adopted in places
where English is not generally used as the language of communication
or instruction. Such places would include Italy, Argentina and Russia.
In the 1970s, the development of communicative methodology
focused attention on English as a tool for communication rather than on English as a system to be studied. Course content was chosen to match the communicative needs of the learner. This shift resulted in the emergence of needs-based courses, which were designed to meet the specific requirements of course participants. Such courses are known as ESP (English for Specific Purposes) courses. Within ESP, many other abbreviations are often used. Although these abbreviations may seem confusing, they will help you classify ESP and to understand how it relates to the term EFL.
Traditionally, ESP has been divided into EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and EOP (English for Occupational Purposes). Both EAP and EOP can be further divided according to discipline or professional area.
EAP may include: EST (English for Academic Science and Technology), EMP (English for Academic Medical Purposes), ELP (English for Academic Legal Purposes) and English for Management, Finance and Economics (no acronym) which is often taught to non-native speakers on, for example, MBA (Master of Business Administration) courses. A distinction can be made between common core English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) and English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP). EGAP examines the skills and language associated with the study of all academic disciplines, for example: listening to lectures and reading textbooks. ESAP integrates the skills of EGAP with the features that distinguish one discipline from another.
EOP refers to courses that are not for academic purposes. EOP includes: English for professional purposes in administration, law, medicine, business, and vocational courses. A distinction is therefore made between English for Academic Medical, Legal or Scientific Purposes, and English for practising doctors, lawyers and scientists. EOP is therefore divided into English for Professional Purposes and English for Vocational Purposes. English for Professional Purposes can include: EMP (English for Medical Purposes) and EBP (English for Business Purposes). English for Vocational Purposes can be divided into Pre-vocational and Vocational English. Pre-vocational English is concerned with, for example, finding a job and interview skills. Vocational English is concerned with the language of specific trades or occupations. A distinction should also be made between English for General Business Purposes (EGBP) and English for Specific Business Purposes (ESBP). We suggest that EIB is a category within EOP and therefore one of a range of courses that can be taught under the umbrella term ESP.
So what exactly are the differences between General EFL and ESP? It could be argued that all learners of English have their own specific purposes and that, as a consequence, all English courses are ESP courses. For example, if English is on the school curriculum, the learners’ purpose may be to pass exams. Other people may want to study English because they think it will help them in their professional lives. Thus, their specific purpose may be to get a better job.
Furthermore, EFL teachers will always restrict the content of their programmes. For beginners, teachers restrict the language to be taught. Teachers may also wish to restrict the choice of topics and activities based on the kind of students they are going to teach. For science students doing postgraduate work, teachers may also want to focus almost exclusively on reading. On General English courses, restrictions on the four skills are unlikely to be imposed. However, General EFL programmes tend to begin with lists, for example: a list of functions, a list of themes and topics, a list of vocabulary and a list of tasks and activities.
It is here that we can see the difference between EFL and ESP. If General EFL programmes begin with the language, ESP courses start with the learner and the situation. The key defining feature of ESP is that its teaching and its materials spring from the outcome of a needs analysis. The first questions to ask when preparing materials for a course in ESP are almost always: What do the learners want to do with English? Which skills do they need? Which genres do they need to look at? Specific needs can be identified by examining the learning or occupational situation in which English is used, and the written and spoken texts associated with those situations.
A second key feature of ESP is, therefore, concerned with looking at how spoken and written texts work, and how they are used within a particular community. If needs analysis and specific situational texts are two key features of ESP, they are not the only defining characteristics. It is to these characteristics that we now turn.

1.4: Characteristics of ESP

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) define ESP as an approach. They suggest that ESP does not concern a particular language, teaching methodology or material. The key to understanding ESP, in their view, is to find out exactly why a person needs to learn a foreign language. Needs can vary from study purposes to work purposes. These purposes may be negotiating contracts or writing monthly reports for head office. However, it is the definition of needs that is the starting point for decisions which determine the language to be taught.
Strevens (1988) makes a distinction between absolute characteristics and variable characteristics of ESP. The absolute characteristics are that ESP courses are:

1. designed to meet the specific needs of the learner
2. related in content to particular disciplines or occupations
3. centred on language specific to those disciplines or occupations
4. in contrast to General English.

The variable characteristics are that courses may:

1. be restricted in the skills to be learned
2. not be taught according to a particular methodology.

Robinson (1991) suggests two absolute criteria for defining ESP courses. The first is that ESP programmes are normally goal-oriented. The second is that they derive from a needs analysis. The needs analysis will state as accurately as possible what it is that learners will have to do when speaking the language. Other characteristics are that ESP courses are generally limited to a certain time period, and that they are taught to adults in classes that are homogeneous in terms of the work or study that participants are doing.
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) suggest that any definition of ESP should include the fact that much ESP teaching makes use of methodology that will differ from General English teaching, especially when the course is specifically linked to a particular profession or discipline.

Pause for thought

 

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