A Brief Introduction to ESP

王智悦

English has been made a major in universities for quite a long time， and quantities of researchers have found it necessary to combine English with other specialized knowledge， for English is just a tool to learn from outside world. Therefore， English for Special Purposes （ESP）—business English， English education， legal English becomes popular majors in university.

1. Definition and characteristics of ESP

English for Special Purposes （ESP） refers to English related to a certain occupation or subject. Including mainly English for Academic Purpose （EAP）—academic English； scientific English； thesis writing， and English for Occupational Purpose （EOP）—financial English， medical English， legal English tourism English， it is a course in accordance with specific educational objective or special needs.

According to Peter Strevens， ESP has four essential characteristics. First， the curriculum must meet learners particular need； second， curriculum must be related to some specific subject， occupation and activity； third， emphasis should be placed on linguistic uses that make words， morphology and discourse structure correspond with those particular activities； fourth， ESP must be different from English for General Purposes （EGP）， which teaches English as a separate language course.

2. Teaching models based on ESP

（1） EGP+ESP model

ESP is an extension of EGP， which aims to cultivate practical talents. Through basic EGP course， students basic English skills—listening， speaking， reading and writing have already been improved and their communicative competence has also been cultivated. Based on this， ESP courses， combining English with specialized knowledge， makes English really a tool for them to adapt the society.

（2） Collaborative teaching model

It contains two models， namely， the cooperation of language teachers and specialized teachers and the cooperation of teachers and students. Through the help of language teachers， specialized teachers can teach professional knowledge easier， with no need to think whether the phrases or sentences are too hard to understand. With the help of specialized teachers， language teachers would have a better understanding to the actual situation in which learners are going to use English. As to the cooperation of teachers and students， this model aims to create an interactive environment for students to communicate with teachers and students and thus help students grasp both language and specialized knowledge.

（3） Authentic teaching model

Apart from language learning in terms of words， grammar in class， it is also important to create an authentic environment for learners. ESP course requires that learning materials be closely related to the specialized knowledge. Teachers should adopt different teaching methods according to different teaching content and organize activities based on real environment so that students can recognize what knowledge and skills they need to obtain.

（4） Practical teaching model

This model is designed to strengthen learners language ability to be fully combined with specialized knowledge， and thus connect language and application. The essence of ESP is to apply what people have learned to actual use. So practicability and flexibility of curriculum are emphasized and practice should be as an important part of study.

3. Some suggestions

（1） Make clear the relation between ESP and EGP. The development of ESP must be based on EGP. They are not opposed but contemporary to each other. So as to those who are relatively weak in English， they should first learn EGP until they have adequate basic knowledge to learn ESP.

（2） The arrangement of curriculum can be based on the actual situation of students， schools and areas. Students can be arranged into different classes according to certain test that those have a good command of English can participate in ESP directly， while those who are relatively poor at English are required to have EGP class first.

ESP course has and will be the trend for English teaching at universities. It can broaden students horizon and help them adapt to their future job. And In order to achieve a decent result， it requires cooperation among teachers of different subjects and students. A scientific teaching plan based on students real situation is of essential importance as well.

References：

[1]Hutchinson，T.，&Water，A.English for Specific Purposes：A Learning-centered Approach[M].Cambridge：Cambridge University Press，1987：9-19.

[2]蔡基剛.后大学英语教改依据与对策研究[J].外语电化教学， 2010（5）.

[3]罗毅，李红英.论大学英语与专业英语教学的衔接[J].外语界， 2008（1）.