Challenges in Teaching ESP in England and Vietnam

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Abstract
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is the teaching of English to a learner in order to
achieve a specific task or objective. It mainly focusses on the learner and being able to cater to
their needs. ESP courses are offered in major universities all over the world. Universities in
England offer ESP lessons to international students who come from native English countries and
also to those who do not speak English as their first language and Vietnam also does the same.
There are challenges that affect the teaching of ESP in these countries due to various factors.

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ESP came to be, due to the progressing of the world's economy and a surge in the
numbers of students that are studying in English speaking countries. The global business
community realized the importance of learning English for not only passing on knowledge and
communication but also as a platform for international communication (Stan, 2014). In the last
two decades, ESP has grown rapidly. ESP growth has been characterized by the increased
number of studies carried out outside the United States and the United Kingdom, in places like
Central and South America, China and Hong Kong indicates that ESP has been globally accepted
as an academic discipline. According to Kumar (2016), Increase in research has contributed to
the exponential and gradual growth in ESP.
According to Chen (2016), ESP is characterized by meeting the specific needs of the
learner, making use of latent approach and activities of the specialty that it serves, focusing on
the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills,
discourse, and genre. ESP focusses on needs of the student whereby, they are told how and what
they will be learning, they are persuaded to be responsible for their studies, they are encouraged
to work with each other, they are taught content that is relevant and useful in real life and also
how to use critical thinking in their studies (Kumar, 2016).
ESP is intended to be used by students at a higher learning institution or people in a given
profession. It can also be used by learners in secondary school level. Many ESP courses take it
that the learner has some fundamental comprehension of the language system. The learner’s
grasp of ESP heavily depends on the skills and efficiency in which the teacher delivers the
lessons and also a precise understanding of the learner’s needs. For a teacher to be successful in
delivering ESP to learners, it is important to understand the various ways in which professionals

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communicate and how language is involved (Jendrych, 2013). The teacher is in charge of
selecting learning materials for the ESP class, which involves finding a suitable course book or
and also materials that will aid in the teaching a specific group. New materials should be used
only when there are no existing materials at hand. The teacher should be very willing to
cooperate with other subject teachers in the academic field of professionals in that given field, by
incorporating the subject course into the ESP classwork. Cooperation of the ESP teacher with the
subject teacher is crucial in preparing materials to be used in an ESP class, with the subject
teacher providing text recordings for utilization and also assisting learners with academic
activities required of them. At the end of the course, the teacher evaluates the learner’s grasp of
the coursework, and also the learner’s probability of studying in English since it is the language
used by most international institutions of higher learning in countries like England, USA,
Australia and New Zealand. Evaluation should be done during and at the end of the course, and it
is important for the teacher to ask whether the coursework has actually helped the learner in the
course of a profession of their choice after undertaking the ESP course.
Bhatia (2003), states that factors that strengthen teaching are focusing on the learner,
purpose of learning culture and individual expectations. Learners in ESP classes have three
major expectations; cultural, personal, and finally academic and occupational expectations
(Bracaj, 2014). Cultural and personal expectations go hand in hand with the learner’s
background and his objectives being a student. Academic and professional expectations are the
ones that matter most being the main reasons learners undertake ESP courses. According to
Gollin-Kies, Hall & Moore (2015), the needs can be for immediate or future purpose. Both
academic and professional fields require the learner to have a good grasp in ESP, and they
become the basis of deriving two types of ESP; English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and