MODULE III

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC

PURPOSES

Lesson 1 Syllabus/Course
Design
Lesson Role of Materials
2

Lesson 3 Testing &

Evaluation

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MODULE III

ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC

PURPOSES

 INTRODUCTI

This module has been designed to enable students to have an

overview of origins and development of ESP and how it fits to the
general landscape of English language learning,look at the basic
principles and techniques of course designs and practical
applications of course design in the form of
syllabus,materials,methodology and assessment.

OBJECTIV
ES
After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. Identify effective practices in ESP course design

2. Conduct an effective needs assessment for language
instruction
3. Evaluate and develop materials for ESP instruction.

 DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

There are four lessons in the module. Read each lesson

carefully then answer the exercises/activities to find out how much
you have benefitted from it. Work on these exercises carefully and
submit your output to your tutor or to the MLUC – College of
Education office.

In case you encounter difficulty, discuss this with your tutor in

your creted group chat. If not, contact your tutor at the MLUC –
College of Education office.

God bless and happy reading!!!

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Lesson 1

 Syllabus/Course
Design
First , what do we mean by “ syllabus “ (which in turn relates to
course design. Syllabus refers to the plan of work to be taught in a
particular course. A syllabus requires that the target objectives and
language that the learner will be expected to master be broken
down into an optionally sequenced series of teaching and learning
points. In designing an ESP syllabus, several factors have to be
taken into [Link] include: needs, aims, means ( the
teachers, materials,equipment, facilities, time and finance) and
variables or constraints ( limitations of the ‘means’ become
constrains)

The various types of syllabus can be subsumed under three broad

headings, which indicate an overall kind of approach.
A. Content/ product
B. Skills
C. Method/process

A. content/Product
1. Grammatical/structural/language form
One of the oldest and exists in a variety of forms. This syllabus
focuses on aspects of grammar e. verb tense,sentence
patterns,articles,nouns, etc

2. Notional-functional approach/communicative approach.

This lists conceptual meanings ) notions: e.g. time,
space,quantity) expressed through language ( logical
relationships, etc. ) and the communicative purposes
( functions) for which we use language ( e.g.
greetings,request, apologies, description, comparisons, cause
and effect. This approach stresses communication, the
processes of communication are often utilized in the
teaching/learning e.g problem-solving, obtaining information,
interacting with people.

3. Situational
This lists the situations or context in which the language will
be used, and analyses the language needed for those
situations. Ex, opening a bank account, finding
accommodations, visiting the doctor or dentist.

4. Topic

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May have a similar approach to that based on situations.

Topics are selected from the students’ specialist studies and
the language anayzed: appropriate syntax and lexis are then
practiced
Ex. From economics ( ESAP0 might include: economic growth,
economic developments, industrialisation, international trade,
inflation. Etc

5. Content based
All the above types of syllabus are based on content of one
form or another , ‘ content-based’ has come to mean , in
recent years, the particular requirements of specific academic
disciplines, e.g. economics, engineering. In other words, such
a syllabus or approach focuses on teaching students the
language, skills and academic conventions associated with
their particular subject and its content ) subject-matters)
B. Skills

6. Skills
This involves a syllabus being based on one or more of the
four traditional language skills. In such a skills- based syllabus,
the constituents of the skills are often highlighted-- the sub-
skills or microskills. For example, reading ( which may be
described as a macro-skill) may be sub-divided into a number
micro-skills e. g skimming, scanning, reading for information,
ideas, opinions,.etc. Where some of the micro-skills involve
more than one language skill, e.g summarising- for both
writing and speaking, there may be courses in learning skills,
with the stress on effective strategies. Cognitive skills are
closely allied to language and learning skills, and their
development is a necessary part of specialist disciplines.
Skills based syllabus are sth of a half-way house between
content or product syllabuses on the one side and method or
process syllabuses on the other.

C. Methods/process

7. Process
The focus is the learner and learning processes and
preferences. A process syllabus considers the questions: who
does what with whom, on what subject- matter, with what
resources, when, how, and for what learning purpose (s)?

8. Procedural/ Task based

The basis is a problem or task, with teaching/learning aimed
at cognition and process. The task needs to be intellectually
challenging in order to maintain students interest. The aim is
to complete the task and to focus on meaning . Pedagogic

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task often involve opinion-gap , reasoning- gap, and

information-transfer activities.

9. Learning- centred /negotiated

These focus on the learner, with the learner responsible for
making a number of decisions. Learning centered approach:
will be concerned with the development of and sensitisation of
learners to their role as learners… a focus on the
development of learner autonomy and independent learning
skills will be particularly important in systems which can offer
the learner only short-term courses.

Conclusion
The approaches adopted in an English for Academic Syllabus
are likely to be a combination of other syllabus types- a ‘
multi-syllabus’

EAP course design

In practice, this will be restricted by several factors
1. Tutors: number available and their experience and
capabilites
2. Students: number and nationalities to be catered for; theirl
language level
3. Other staff: administrative, secretarial, technical, social,
welfare
4. Time: length of the course: full-time or part-time
( frequency); weeks, days, hours
5. Space: number of rooms, room size ( furnishings)
6. Facilities/equipment : library, resource centre,language
laboratory, recorders, Tv, video
7. Accommodate: hostels or other arrangements for students;
proximity
8. Finance:budget- size, fixed or variable; method and speed
of payment
9. Other influences:
-past experience
- motivation of students: their attitudes and expectations
-need variety
- a belief in learning by doing
- awareness of non- EAP needs
- need to be commercially viable
-common sense

Alternative course design: projects

An alternative to designing a course in which study skills and
other components are practised either separately or integrated with
varied subject matter, is to focus on a project or research
[Link] that the project is in some way related to the

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students’ interests or future subjects of study, it will serve as a

realistic vehicle for fully integrated study skills and language
practice. If carefully chosen the project or research task can become
all-engrossing and provide a motivation of its own.

 Learning Activity

1. In the flow chart above, the various strands involved in

EAP course design. Is there any other ‘box’ that you would
wish to add to the diagram? If so, what would you include
in it and where would you place it?
2. If you were devising an ESP course, which type of
syllabus would you choose as the basis for it
(content/product. Skills, method/process… )?

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Lesson 2

 Role of
Materials

The methodology appropriate to English for Academic Purposes is

dependent upon that of ESP in general, of which it is a branch. The
closely link and interweaving strands of functional syllabus,
communicative and learningn centered approaches and
authenticity, relevance and appropriacy in language and materials
are all relevant to English for Academic purposes.

Methodological principles

The language for specific/specific purpose LSP course must set the
student various tasks, and these tasks must reflect the structural
characteristics of the learner’s special purpose and must be as
integrated as possible and divided into minute, discrete elements.

1. Reality control: control of the difficulty of the task demanded of

the LSP student is to exercised by means of the procedures of
simplication appropiate to the field of activity constituting his or her
special purpose.
2. Nontriviality: the learning tasks required of the student must
be…. perceived by the student as meaningfully generated by his or
her special purpose.
3. Authenticity: the language that the student acquires through
following the LSP course.. must be the language naturally
generated by his or her special purpose.
4. Tolerance of error: errors of content and of formal adequacy
are to be judged as unacceptable only to the extent that they entail
errors of communicative adequacy

Principle of learning

Effectice ESP methodology

1. Learning is development
2. Learning is a thinking process
3. Learning is an active process
4. Learning involves making decisions
5. Learning a language is not just a matter of linguistic knowledge

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6. Second languagee learners are already communicatively

competent
7. Learning is an emotional experience
8. Learning is not systematic
9. Learning needs should be considered at every stage of the
learning process.

Principles of communicative methodology

Morrow espouses 5 principles of communicative methodology

1. Know what you are doing. Every lesson should end with the
learner being able to see clearly that he can do sth which he could
not do at the beginning and that the ‘something’ is
communicatively useful.
2. The whole is more than the sum of the parts.a crucial feature of a
communicative method will be that it operated with stretches of
language above the sentence level and operates with real
language in real situations.
3. The processes are as important as the forms:
3.1 Information gap: the purpose of communication in real life is to
bridge the this gap . The concept of information gap seems to be
one the most fundamental in the whole area of communicative
teaching.
3.2 Choice: the participants have choice, both in terms of what
they will say and more particularly, how they will say it.
4. TO learn, do it

Although the teacher can help, advise and teach, only the learners
can learn. They must therefore become involved in the activities
and learn by doing.

5. Mistakes are not always a mistake

Be necessary to be flexible enough to treat different things as ‘

mistakes’ at different stages in the learning process; in other words
not every error should be corrected.

Communicative activities

The emphasis above has been on communication and ways of

achieving and practising it. Fluency in communicative process can
only develop with a task oriented teaching- one which provides
‘actual meaning’ by focusing on tasks to be mediated through
language.

Purposes of communicative activities:

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1. They provide the whole task practice

2. They improve motivation
3. They allow natural learning
4. They can create a context which supports learning

Johnsons propose 5 principles for a communicative exercise

typology.

1. Information transfer- reading information to extract data in order

to fill in a form.
2. Information gap- info is known only by one student in a pair and
can be conveyed by different exercises to the other student
3. Jigsaw- a small group has a piece of information needed to
complete
4. Task dependency- a second task can only be done if the task has
been successfully completed.
5. Correction for content- at some stage students language
production should be judged on its communicative efficacy in
relation to a specific task.

Authenticity

- McDonough has listed terms on authenticity-genuine, authentic,

real, natural, scripted, contrived, semi-authentic, semi-scripted,
simulated, simulated-authentic.

Using an authentic text will be that which is normally used in the

students specialist subject area: written by specialists for specialist.

Case studies, role-play and simulations

- authenticity or realism in language teaching

Case study as being an appropriate means of reproducing the ‘ real

world’ as they can contain a ‘ realistic, complex, ill-defined problem
that has many possible solutions

ROle play ( I.e studentts act the part of different participants in a

situation ) is differentiated from simulations ( in which students are
themselves in a probblem-solving situation)

Individualisation and autonomy

Individualised instruction (methods and materials adapted for

individual)

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Self-direction ( the learner makes decisions but not necessarily

implement them)

Self-access materials and learning( appropriate materials for

self-instruction)

Autonomy (the learner is totally responsible for decisions and their

implementation.

Practical ways in which independent learning can be encouraged

and developed

-negotiated elements in the syllabus

-optional periods in the timetable ( making choices)

-private study periods

-one-to-one tutorials

-personal projects;

-pair work/smal group tasks/ assignment;

-banks of self-access materials with keys (e .g. grammar, reading

comprehension)

-self monitoring in language laboratory or on computer;

Awareness-raising and learning training

ESP needs to be the development of the learner’s underlying study

competence…building up the cognitive and affecting capacity of the
learners for study. Successful students typically:

-have a high degree of self-awareness;

-are good at critical questioning;

-tend to have an ‘ adult’ approach to relations with their teachers;

-think clearly and logically

-are self-confident

- impose their own framework on study data;

-have a positive attitude to their studies

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-are willing and able to teach themselves

-are intelligent

Characteristics of good language learners:

-understanding the organization and function of language

--evaluating progress

-realising that hard work is involved

-involving themselves actively in the target language

-willing to experiment and practise

-organising time and materials effectively

TEAM TEACHING

-the joint teaching, of sharing of teaching, by both the subject

spealist and the English Tutor- has added another dimension to the
teaching of ESP. The essential elements needed for successful
team-teaching:

-willingness to collaborate on the part of both sets of staff;

- clear demarcation as to where their perspective responsibilities lie;

-awareness of each other’s conceptual apparatus and teaching

approach;

-the joint effort being viewed by the student as a complementary

teaching situation

The role of a teacher

The role of a teacher will vary according to the type of syllabus

and course, and which part of the world it takes place in. . The key
quality needed by the ESP teacher is flexibility :the flexibility to
change from being a general language teacher to being a specific
purpose teacher, and the flexibility to cope with different groups of
students, often at a very short notice.

The overall abilities needed by an ESP teacher:

1. Analyse SP language and situations

2. Evaluate textbooks and other sources

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3. Evaluate learner attainment

4. Devise performance objectives for learners
5. Design or interpret syllabuses
6. Design or interpret schemes for work
7. Devise teaching and learning strategies
8. Devise individual but interrelated teaching/learning sessions
9. Produce materials
10. Organize teaching/learning sessions
11. Assess achievement of objectives.

Some pedagogical principles

First and foremost, of course, the ESP teacher is a teacher and many
writers agree that the qualities of good teaching generally and of
language teaching specifically, are also required for ESP.

Learning Activity
1. To what extent do you believe that authentic texts should be use
for ESP teaching?
2. Which good teaching qualities , in particular, do you think are
most relevant in an ESP class?
3. A list of abilities or characteristics possessed by successful
students. Can you suggest any important additions to the list

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Lesson 3

TESTING
 Testing and
Evaluation
Testing is an indensable part of every teaching
[Link] allows to measure the knowledge acquired by each
individual student, but also test the validity of didactic strategies
being used and whether or not the proposed aims and objectives
have been achieved. ESP tests are more concerned to present
learners with tasks that involve them in reading, listening to,
speaking or writing the target language, and evaluating how well
they can do this. Of course, an important component in assessing
how well somebody can use English is how accurately they can
produce or understand texts written or spoken in the language, but
the key to this assessment is to present learners with tasks that
resemble in some way the sort of things they may have to do with
the language in real life. Therefore, the ESP approach in testing is
based on the analysis of learners’ target language use situations
and specialist knowledge of using English for real communication.

The word test and examination are often used

[Link] are use to refer to the various evaluation
procedures utilised in ESP courses. Examination will be used
referring to the public exams( even when they are called ‘test’)

Underlying all the tests that follow is the essential difference

between objective and subjective test.

Objective Test, items, have only or a small number of correct

answers, e.g. multiple choice items.

Subjective Tests or questions are usually open-ended ( e.g.

essays, reports, open comprehension questions, talks) and give
greater freedom in the answers.

Receptive skills can be tested objectively, but productive skills

usually require subjective testing. Test should be normally cover a

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full range of skills and therefore ‘ most good tests contain both
objective and subjective types of items.

TEST: types
Placement test: -to help decide which class/group they are to go
in. As the test is concerned with students’ present language ability,it
will probably be general and/or wide ranging in order to give an
overall assessment of their level..The test may consists of multiple-
choice grammar and vocabulary questions, reading
comprehensions, cloze passages , etc.

Progress/Diagnostic test- courses may also give tests every four

weeks or so. Such test provide information on progress being made
and areas of difficulty remaining, I. e they provide screening,
indicating what help is still needed. Diagnostic test on the other
hand, students can be helped to learn the areas of difficulty
revealed by the test- The type of test can often seem like an
extension of a lesson or similar to previously used material or unit in
a book.

Achievement /Attainment Test

At the end of a course a final test is often conducted to see if
students have learned what they should have been taught. More
formal achievement tests, I.e examinations, are set by external
[Link] test will have constant standards from one
course to the next and from year to year.

Proficiency test
A proficiency test looks forward, assessing the suitability of
students for specific courses, form the point of view of their control
of the language. Such test are not based upon particular syllabuses,
books or teaching programs. Ex. Public examinations-IELTS- this
aims to assess the ability of a student to follow a university course
in an English-speaking country.

TEST general features

1. Every test should be reliable
2. Every test should be valid
Content validity-
Face validity

3. Every test should be economical- of time and cost.

Performance-Based Testing

Performance-Based Testing is an examination approach

wherein candidates must interact with real or simulated systems.

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PBT puts certification candidates in situations where they must use

their knowledge, demonstrate their skills, solve common problems,
and perform troubleshooting tasks
Depending on characteristics, Language and other tests can be:
 Norm Referenced Test: provides information about an
individual’s relative rank with reference to other individuals who
have taken the test” (Bachman in Robinson, 1991: 73)
 Criterion Referenced Test: test score are reported and
interpreted as reference to specific context domain or criterion of
performance.
Tests for EGP are typically norm-referenced, while ESP are
typically Criterion-referenced test. One of the tasks of the ESP test
designer is to determine the exact nature of the criterion for judging
adequate performance. Theoretically, an ESP test would consist of
performance in a real life situation. Allison and Webber in Robinson
give a good review of performance-based tests for communication
skills courses for EAP where the primary aim of the activity is to
reinforce teaching and learning.

How specific should the content be?

When devising an ESP test one should aim at creating good and
dependable measures of language ability which need to:
 the content must be valid,
 the topic form must be paralel, like IELTS test (have three
paralel forms (life sciences, physical sciences and arts).
 be as authentic as possible,
 provide accurate and reliable measures of language ability,
 have beneficial effects,
 be practical and economical in terms of administration, time,
money and Personnel.
One of the prevailing principles of ESP testing is that tests should
contain tasks that mirror faithfully those of the candidates' target
language use situation

Predictive validity

The IELTS and TEEP test examine the linguistic proficiency

which related to academic success. The linguistic performance can
be the basis for a prediction about future performance. The better
language proficiency of students, the better their academic success.

Non-EAP tests

 The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry's tests. It

applies proficiency test at the beginning of course and achievement
test at the end of the course.

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 The business English tests. It applies placement test to know

level of students and achievement test to know the result of
teaching-learning process.
 Temporary Registration Assessment Board (TRAB) /
Professional Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) of the UK General
Medical Council Test. It has sub test which measure linguistic
proficiency, medical test, and interview test (simulated doctor-
patient interaction), etc.

The link between testing and teaching

 To give evaluation and feedback to the teaching and learning

process
 To help teachers, syllabus constructors, material’s developers
 Spoken test can encourage students to think about their
purpose in learning English and their attitudes toward English.
 Tests can give learners a sense of accomplishment and a
feeling that the teacher’s evaluation matches what skills and
knowledge have been covered.
 A good test will automatically have beneficial effects on
classroom instruction. Other variables such as teacher competence,
motivation and innovation, the climate of the school, socioeconomic
status of pupils and teachers combine to exert an equally important
influence on what goes on in an ESP classroom.

ESP tests should be based on direct evaluation of language

ability in acts of communication (reading, speaking, writing, and
listening) and assessment of content knowledge in situations and
activities, which are as engaging and realistic as possible for
learners. The primary goal of ESP tests is to obtain information
about the learner's specific purpose language ability. In present day,
it is increasingly important not only to be able to use a foreign
language, but also to be able to demonstrate that one can use it at
the level required by employers, schools, or universities.
Considering this, ESP examinations are gaining more and more
attention, and are becoming an indispensable tool in the modern
educational society.

EVALUATION. There are two types of evaluation that are utilized to

obtain formation about the course itself. The first is formative
evaluation which is concerned with the development process and is
usually formal. In EAP courses it often takes the form of meetings
between students and tutors where views can be exchanged, e.g.
weekly tutorials. As a result of this feedback, aspects of the course
canbe adapted in an ongoing way.

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The second type occurs at the end of a course: it is summative.

Students will normally be given a questionnaire to complete
anonymously: it will usually include questions relating to the
content and organization of the course, and may also about social
activities and accommodation arrangements.

Examples of End-of- Course questionnaires

1. The shortest, simplest kind poses a few open-ended questions
about certain features of the course, giving students complete
scope to say what they like, but with very little guidance. Its
ultimate use is probably very limited.

D. g what do you think of…

I) The study skills sessions?
II) General language development?
III) The questionnaire project?
Etc.

2. This is also brief: it leaves the choice to the students about what
to comment on, but gives guidance in the sense that it seeks views
on the best/ worst aspects. This will probably provide polarised
information. Combined with a more detailed questionnaire, its value
would be enhances.
E. G
I) What did you enjoy the most on the course?
II) What did you enjoy least?
III) What would you like to have changed on the course:
A) Added?
B) Ommitted?
IV) do you have any other suggestions

3. All the main course components can be listed, and opinions

sought on scale ( ranging from three-point to ten point) as to their
value example ‘extremely valuable’ valuable
4. Students can be asked to make judgements about their own
improvements, in a fairly detailed way, in the different language
and study skills. This changes the focus of the questionnaire from
the course as such to the students [Link] has the advantage
of increasing self awareness. However, in order to provide an
overall evaluation of the course, it is probably better given in
conjunction with one of the other types above.

F. G SPEAKING: My speaking has improved in the following areas:

5 strongly agree; 4 agree; 3 not sure; 2 disagree; 1 strongly
disagree

-presenting information
- discussing

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- asking questions
-pronunciation ( etc)
-others: please specify

Learning Activity
1. What experience do you have of placement tests? Have you
found that one type is preferable to others? Is it necessary to have
one at all at the beginning of an ESP course?
2. Four types of end-of course questionnaire for evaluation purposes
are exemplified. Which type do you prefer? Can you suggest other
types?

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