scholarly journals CHALLENGES IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES IN ESTONIAN UNIVERSITIES

Author(s):  
Merilyn Meristo ◽  
Francisco Javier López Arias

Due to the growing importance of globalization, the English language has acquired an even more influential role, and at the tertiary educational level it has provoked the necessity of teaching not just general English, but also English for Specific Purposes (ESP), which meets the demands of students' field of study. Moreover, the preparation of undergraduate students for both entering the labour market or continuing their academic path has prioritized the significance of ESP. This paper aims to investigate how ESP teachers working in Estonian state-funded HEI with General English teaching background perceive their work in the field of ESP. Specifically, this abductive qualitative research seeks to obtain a deeper insight into the challenges posed by teaching ESP and to detect problematic issues to better support university teachers to improve their work. The results highlight three major challenges: coping with changes through the lenses of professionalism; insufficient collaboration, and instability in conducting ESP courses.

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-179
Author(s):  
Zeljka Babic

The necessity of including syllabi research into current teaching practices is of utmost importance due to the fact that current job markets not only dictate the need for differentiated instruction but also call for novel approaches towards glottodidactic and pedagogical goals within the tertiary educational level. The main aim of this paper is to examine the current status of English for Specific Purposes courses at one of the tertiary educational institutions in order to see whether English for Specific Purposes? practices are really implemented in language classrooms or whether they exist only on paper. The paper focuses on researching selected points in all the syllabi related to teaching English for Specific Purposes in order to establish the types of syllabi used, possible practices used prior to the syllabi design, focus in the syllabi on General English or English for Specific Purposes and the implementation of practices aimed at integrated skills. The research results call for viable systematic changes in the home department curriculum in the form of introducing courses at the 1st and 2nd cycle of studies, as well as master programmes in English for Specific Purposes, which will enable the provision of competitive teachers and practitioners in the current job market.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Rena Juliana ◽  
Reni Juliani

Abstract The increasing role of English in this era of globalization seems to force us to recognize that English has a great impact on all aspects of life, so learning the English language is a must. Previously, studying English at Indonesian universities was limited to General English or English General Purposes, which became general subjects. However, over time, learning English has been developed specifically for English for Specific Purposes. This study is intended to show how the use of English learning at universities, especially in vocational education, works. In this study, the literature study was chosen as the research method. The literature study shows that the use of General English and English for Specific Purposes in higher education is very different. Where there is no special learning material for teaching General English. The learning material usually contains general knowledge of English. Unlike English for Specific Purposes, where teaching English for Specific Purposes requires special materials that are tailored to the needs of students depending on the subject. Keywords: Use, General English, English for Specific Purposes, University, Vocational Education. __________________________ Abstrak Meningkatnya peran bahasa Inggris di era globalisasi ini seolah memaksa kita untuk mengakui bahwa bahasa Inggris mempunyai pengaruh besar di segala aspek kehidupan sehingga mempelajari bahasa Inggris merupakan hal yang wajib. Sebelumnya di Indonesia, pembelajaran bahasa Inggris di perguruan tinggi hanya sebatas General English atau English for General Purposes yang menjadi mata kuliah umum, namun seiring berjalannya waktu pembelajaran bahasa Inggris dikembangkan lagi secara khusus dalam mata kuliah English for Specific Purposes. Studi ini memiliki tujuan untuk melihat bagaimana penerapan kedua pembelajaran bahasa Inggris tersebut di perguruan tinggi khususnya pada pendidikan vokasi. Studi pustaka dipilih sebagai metode penelitian dalam studi ini. Dari studi kepustakaan tersebut diperoleh hasil bahwa penerapan General English dan English for Specific Purposes di perguruan tinggi sangatlah berbeda antara keduanya. Dimana tidak ada materi pembelajaran khusus terhadap pengajaran General English. Materi pembelajaran biasanya berisikan pengetahuan umum tentang bahasa Inggris. Beda halnya dengan English for Specific Purposes, dimana dalam pengajaran English for Specific Purpose, dibutuhkan materi khusus yang disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan dari mahasiswa sesuai dengan bidang yang mereka ambil. Kata Kunci: Penerapan, General English, English for Specific Purposes, Perguruan Tinggi, Pendidikan Vokasi. __________________________


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Adeel Khalid

Nursing English in Pakistan is an important domain that comes under the ambit of ESP ‘English for Specific Purposes’. English cogitates as a lingua franca and a cornerstone for success in any field. However, in ESL/ELT it is imperative to design a course that caters to the needs of the learners. Thereby this study attempts to evaluate the existing English for Nursing Purposes curriculum of BScN Programme prescribed by HEC/PNC to corroborate its relevancy and adequacy in preparing the musing professionals for their professional English language requirements using Stufflebeam’s curriculum evaluation framework. This investigative study measures the level of existing linguistic (in)adequacy of the professional nurses pertaining to the specific roles they are required to perform so that their problematical areas could be identified systematically and subsequently reported with recommendations. A qualitative research approach has been used to measure the needs of the nurses. Tools like open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews have been used to collect data from the sample sizes nursing heads and language instructors consecutively. The findings of the study divulge that the course is inadequate and yet relevant. It is recommended to review the English language curriculum considering the needs of the nurses for their work place that may improve the standards of nursing English in Pakistan.Journal of NELTA, Vol 21 No. 1-2, December 2016, page: 1-10


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 25-39
Author(s):  
Shahnaz Mahmud

English language teachers customarily rule out the use of mother tongue for teaching English. Reflecting on the theoretical underpinnings and empirical research on the use of mother tongue (L1) in English classroom and its ongoing debate the present study aims to explore teachers’ and students’ perceptions of it. A mixed method approach using questionnaire and interview is employed to analyze Bangladeshi university teachers’ and students’ belief and perceptions of teaching English with the help of L1. The study also attempts to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using L1. Results indicate that both teachers and students perceive the necessity of judicious use of L1 to facilitate learning and acquisition of English as a foreign language (EFL).


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-135
Author(s):  
Rizky Eka Prasetya

The Indonesia higher education majority utilized the Language Management System (LMS) Moodle. The English Moodle-based teaching is a massive pedagogy shift due to pandemic. The study aimed to investigate and explore the technicality feature of teaching English, particularly the student-centered approach. The study was conducted in the qualitative approach experimental sequential research design. The substantive research instruments applied in the study comprised centered on questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire was generated to investigate the lecturer used Moodle in their English language teaching. It is expected to discover the utilizing feature and adapting virtual class in LMS Moodle. The findings revealed that the system had an exclusive feature to accommodate student-centered teaching, yet it was found that the lecturer's unfamiliarity implied the inadequacy of Moodle course feature


Author(s):  
Nijolė Burkšaitienė ◽  
Jolita Šliogerienė

This study explores undergraduate students’ experience of learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and aims to reveal their views regarding university teachers’ and peers’ feedback provided to them during the course of ESP as well as to establish the students’ views regarding their own learning ESP. The present article reports on the results of a case study from a Lithuanian university. The data were collected from feedback questionnaires of 111 students in 11 study programmes. To analyse the data, quantitative methodology was used. The main conclusion of the present study is that most study participants viewed their own learning ESP at the university as a positive experience, i.e. the students were satisfied with their engagement in learning this study subject and considered that learning was aligned with teaching and assessment. The results of the study also demonstrated that the study participants considered that collaboration and team work fostered meaningful learning, as well as that peer feedback helped them to understand how to improve in learning ESP. It was established that students valued their teachers’ patience and personal engagement and that the teachers’ feedback improved the ways of learning ESP, encouraged them to think and analyse the content of the study material, and helped them to clarify things they did not understand learning on their own. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (71) ◽  
pp. 28-31
Author(s):  
D. Abdullaeva

The article deals with the importance of teaching English for specific purposes (ESP), and methods of teaching English to chemistry students in the Karakalpak auditoriums. In this article, works and theories of methods in teaching the foreign language have been analyzed and suggestions are given. Descriptive method analysis is used in this article. The article gives information about the problem and ways of teaching chemistry in the English language. Also, in the article, sample of the lesson activities to teach English to chemistry students have been described. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wannakarn Likitrattanaporn

The purposes of this investigation were 1) to examine the findings of effectiveness of the process of learning by doing conducted with 5 linguistic graduate students at Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand 2) to develop the linguistic graduate students skill of designing English teaching materials and teaching English language and 3) to find out the efficient format of learning by doing used for training the student teachers skill of teaching English. The subjects of the study were 5 graduate students majoring in Linguistics at Srinakharinwirot University. This investigation is a qualitative research. The research instrument was a questionnaire designed to ask the students’ opinions towards learning by doing of constructing English teaching materials and teaching English language of their own and their friends. The qualitative data from brainstorming in a group discussion were taken into account. The results showed that the students get the benefits from the process of learning by doing. It can assist them to discover the knowledge of designing English teaching materials and English teaching skill by themselves. It is also found out that the efficient format for training teaching skill of the student teachers should integrate with the activity of brainstorming in a group discussion in every teaching-learning step i.e. from the preparation step when the principles and teching techniques of language teaching input of Audio Lingual Method, Cognitive Code Learning Theory and Communicative Language Teahing Approach were presented, during the step of adaping teaching materials and experimenting the practical teaching in school as well as after the students completed their self reflection and peer reflection.


2019 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 04032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Dobrydina ◽  
Natasha Kersh ◽  
Valentina Kononova ◽  
Tatiana Shipilova ◽  
Nadezhda Usvyat

Currently, coal mining as well as practically all leading industries requires such management specialists who are able to solve new tasks in complex and constantly changing conditions. The paper highlights the ways to contribute to the formation of future specialists’ competencies to satisfy the demands of present-day labour market. The paper aims to uncover some underpinning competences of coal-mining engineers in addition to technical skills presented as a Top Ten Transversal Competences’ Checklist for Coalminers (TTTCCC). This paper takes the form of a discussion relating to the needs and requirements of English language education of a modern coal-mining engineer in Russia. Some examples of low efficiency in university English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching bring to a number of possible solutions in and outside the mining university language classrooms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Zhang ◽  
Sukwoo Kim

Mediation theory facilitates teachers and students to tackle the barriers in English teaching and learning process. It offers a sound systematic theoretical fort on which teachers could rely, redefines teachers’ roles and functionings in the process of learners’ cognitive development and growing self-regulations. The famous psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1978) raised notions in his ZPD theory, Feuerstein (1980) illuminates capable adults as mediators, and defined twelve main features of mediation, which has empirical study value for English teaching. Thus, through quantitative and qualitative research, this paper aims to investigate the perceptions of English teachers’ mediation between private university teachers and students, analyze and compare the similarities and differences between them. The results reveal that both teachers and students coming from the two private universities have been aware of the importance of teachers’ mediation, however, have different perceptions in the frequency of teachers’ mediation. Teachers’ actual employment on mediation is weaker than their beliefs on the importance of it.


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