3 credits

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is one of available elective courses in English Language Education Study Program. This course is designed for students who wish to learn how to design ESP courses and programs in areas of specialization such as hotel management, medical or legal English, civil engineering, etc. Included in the course are guidelines for developing specific purposes curricula and assessing learners enrolled in ESP courses. This course covers four parts; one of them is an overview of the origins and development of ESP and considers the questions of how ESP fits into the general landscape of English Language Teaching. Then, other two points discussed in this course are basic principles and techniques in course design and practical applications of the course design in the form of syllabus, materials, methodology, and assessment. The last one is the discussion of the role of the ESP teacher and provides information about resources to help the teacher.

The first section of this course explains about the origin of ESP, how ESP develops and the viewpoints of ESP as an approach, not a product. The origin of ESP has operated in various ways around the world, but there are three main reasons common to the emergence of all ESP, for instance, the demands of a Brave New World, a revolution in linguistics, and the focus on the learners. The development of ESP has happened in different speed, starting from the points of register analysis, rhetorical or discourse analysis, target situation analysis, skills and strategies, and learning centered approach. Lastly, how linguistic factors dominate the ESP development with an emphasis on the analysis of the nature of specific varieties of language use are also explained.

Course design is introduced since course design is often a substantial and important part of the workload. Designing course is fundamentally a matter of asking questions in order to provide a reasoned basis for the subsequent processes of syllabus design, materials writing and classroom teaching and evaluation. This part explores what should be learnt, how English is learnt, and the questions of “who, why, when, and where) English is learnt. 

The third section of this course is detailed implementation of the design into a syllabus, materials, a methodology and evaluation procedures. Here, the teaching and learning process is a complex and dynamic process, with all various factors influencing each other. 

The last part of this course is the views of ESP teacher. This course explains in what ways the ESP teacher’s lot differs from that of the General English teacher. The ESP teacher will have to deal with needs analysis, syllabus design, material writing, and evaluation. Also, the ESP teacher is exposed with a new environment for which the have generally ill-prepared. 

Based on the program learning outcome, students can show religious, responsible, and academic attitudes and behaviors that can contribute to improving the quality of life in society, nation and state. Students are expected to be able to master English according to the purpose and context of its use. For general skills, students are expected to have the skills to make the right decisions, professionally and responsibly based on the results of the analysis of information and data to be able to choose various alternative solutions independently and in groups in solving the learning problems they face in accordance with the context to obtain the best learning outcomes and optimal student development. For specific skills, student can use English properly, correctly and fluently according to the context of its use. Lastly, the course expects the students to be able to apply theories, concepts, and principles of English pedagogy well in planning, implementing, and evaluating English learning. 

At the end of the course, the students are able to:

  1. develop an understanding the concepts of ESP,
  2. develop an understanding the concepts of course design,
  3. create syllabus, material writing, methodology and evaluation properly,
  4. identify and describe technical and practical knowledge of who ESP teacher is.