English for Specific Purposes

Running head: ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 1
English for Specific Purposes
Name
Institutional Affiliation

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 2
Compare and discuss the challenges of teaching ESP in (i) a country (of your choice) where
English is widely spoken; and (ii) a country (of your choice) where English is not widely
spoken.
English is a globally acknowledged language used for many of the occupations.
Therefore, there has been a need for people to learn it and be proficient. The created a demand
for specialized courses is aimed at doing this. English for Specific Purposes is one such course.
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a learner-focused tactic to educating people on English as
an additional language, which concentrates on creating communicative capability in a particular
speciality like researchers, agrology, commerce, accounting, IT, lecturing, and manufacturing.
ESP courses vary from general English courses and have the following features: it is intended to
meet the particular requirements of the students. There is a connection in content like topics that
are specific to professions. They also use accurate occupation-particular information which gives
knowledge on the subjects the students need to learn about. It also encourages cultural
appreciation and tries to enhance the ability of the student to interact with people of different
cultures. Finally, it offers high levels of training in advanced formal English language. Therefore
ESP is a method that is used to educate individuals in English for a particular need such as
occupational requirements and business dealings. It is a tactic in which English is taught to
professionals in different fields, dealing with kinds of terminologies, jargon, typical and official
language structures which will be put to use in that specific area of speciality (Basturkmen,
2010). This essay will focus on the differences of the challenges faced while teaching English for
Specific Purpose in England, where English is widely spoken and in Vietnam where English is
not widely spoken.

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 3
Various types of ESP fulfil the different needs of the people. These needs include; first,
there is English for a specific context where they learn phrases that are specific to their needs.
This type of ESP is only used for a specific context, and the individual might not effectively
communicate in English outside this context. It is used by professions such as waiters and pilots
who learn specific words used by their professions thus will be able to just communicate with
customers but not hold a conversation. Next, is English with specific topics, where English is
taught with anticipation of it being needed in future. It concerns itself with particular issues such
as scientists needing English while taking their postgraduate studies. Finally, English for
professional and academic reasons where English is explicitly learnt to be used while employed
and also at school (Belcher, 2004).
ESP has various benefits to those who learn it. Some of these include; one, it ensures
there is learning speed. How ESP is taught leads to people gaining knowledge in English at a
faster pace which is ideal for those who use it. Most of them are professionals and academics
who require it for a specific reason thus need to learn it as fast as possible so that they can be put
to use. Next, is that it ensures there is learning efficiency. ESP courses ensure that all the
learning resources are put to maximum use while teaching people. Thus people get the best value
for their money spent learning the skills that they specifically require. The trainers assess the
clients and structure the training to suit their needs and thus, in the end, this ensures that the
trainees are taught the type of ESP that best suits them. Another benefit is that it ensures that
there is learning effectiveness. When people take a course in ESP, they will learn the specific
type they require, and at the end of it all, they will be able to use it immediately. Thus when they
go back to where they are needed to use English, they will immediately use it and be more
productive as a result (Harding, 2007).

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES 4
There are various sources from which an individual can gain training on ESP. Some of
these sources include; first, there is learning in language schools. Here courses for the different
types of ESP can be made to help people who require it. They, however, will be broad courses so
that they can attract more people with different needs and the requirement for ESP.Therefore,
these centers will be teaching these individuals things relevant and irrelevant to what they
require. Next, is learning from commercial learning materials. Those individuals who cannot
afford to attend language learning centers or do not have time to go to the sessions can use this
method. They can get this through the internet or in libraries, and they read these materials to
gain the knowledge they require at the pace that suits them and thus they can learn it quickly
(Paltridge, & Starfield, 2012).
Teaching English for Specific Purposes can be faced by various challenges. These
challenges can differ depending on where ESP is being taught. Some of the problems that face
ESP teaching in England, where English is widely spoken include; one, is that the vocabulary
used in different professions are not similar. Thus there is a wide range of terminology specific
to each job to be taught to the diverse students who are learning ESP. Not all these terminologies
will be covered hence the session will not help every student 100% of the way (Gollin-Kies,
Hall, & Moore, 2015). Next, it is hard to come with one standard curriculum for teaching ESP.
As students in England have different requirements when they are taking on the course, it will be
hard to cover every need that they have. In short, it makes it hard for there to be a standard on
how to teach ESP to them. When there is no standardized curriculum, there will be no way for
ESP trainers to follow in England during their sessions, making their work even harder. With
globalization, there has been an up crop of more things that require people to be trained on ESP.
So, there will be more objectives that ESP will need to meet. It will require the trainers to keep