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Lecture 7

Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

- Orientation

- Resources

The Role of the ESP Teacher

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Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

What is the role of ESP Teacher?

ResourcesOrientation

SECTION 4: The ROLE OF

THE ESP TEACHER

Swales, (1985) and Dudley-Evan and St. John (1998) prefer the

term ESP practitioner.

In addition to the normal functions of a classroom teacher (EGP),

the ESP teacher has to deal with needs analysis, syllabus design,

materials writing or adaptation and evaluation.

The great majority of ESP teachers have not been trained as such

they need to orientate themselves to a new environment for which

they have been ill-prepared.

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Dudley-Evan and St. John (1998) define five key roles for the

ESP practitioner:

- Teacher: the sameasa role of ´GE´ teacher

-Collaborator: connected with working (collaborating) with specialists

tomeetthespecificlearners´ needs;

-Course designer and materials provider: to provide the most

suitable materials in the lesson to achieve set goals;

-Researcher: to find out whether the choice of materials meets

learners’ and teachers’ expectations ; and

-Evaluator: give feedback to the concerned students about their

progress in their language learning.

Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

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Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

Orientation

Three problems/hindrances facing ESP teachers:

1- the lack of an ESP orthodoxy to provide a ready-made guide;

2- the new realms of knowledge the ESP teacher has to cope with;

3- the change in the status of ELT.

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Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

The Syllabus

1) the lack of an orthodoxy:

it refers to the lack of a long tradition that might give stability

and guidelines. The problem lies in the relative existence of

ESP in the form of authentic materials. Teachers need to

arm themselves with a sound knowledge of both theoretical

and practical developments in ELT to be able to cope with

such a problem.

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Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

2) New realms of knowledge:

- Teachers have to master language and subject matter

beyond the bounds of their previous experience.

- Important questions to be considered:

a) Does the content of ESP materials need to be highly

specialised?

b) Why do so many ESP teachers find it difficult to

comprehend ESP subject matter?

c) What kind of knowledge is required of the ESP teacher?

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Dr. Hameed Al-ZubeiryESP

3- The change in the status of ELT

Compared to EGP, the status of English changes from being a

subject in its own right to a service industry for other speciaisms.

The ESP teacher is considered as a negotiator with regard to the

learners, themselves, as he is faced with a group of learners with

certain expectations as to the nature, content, and achievement of

the course.

The teacher has become accountable to other parties-sponsors,

subject specialists, learners- and as such takes on the additional

role of negotiator.

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Dr. Hameed Al-Zubeiry

- Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes:

a learning-centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Swales, J. (1988). Episodes in ESP. Prentice Hall.

Reading materials:

ESP