1. What is ESP ?

ESP is an area that of english language teaching focus on preparing learners for chosen
communicative environment (mohan 1986)
Esp is the branch of the tree of english but the root that nourish it are communication and
learning .Hutchinson and Waters’(2002)
Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987, p. 19) definition: “ ESP is an approach to language teaching
in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learning.”
Hatauruk Bhetaria (2015) said that the aim of the ESP is to determine the needs of a specific
group of learners. ESP is often divided into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English
for Occupational Purposes (EOP).Further sub-divisions of EOP are sometimes made into
business English, professional English(e.g. English for doctors, lawyers) and vocational English
(e.g. English for tourism, nursing, aviation, bricklaying.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) define ESP as “an approach to language learning which is
based on learner need.
Paltridgeand Starfield’s(2013, p. 2) definition: “English for specific purposes (ESP) refers to
the teaching and learning of English as a second or foreign language where the goal of the
learners is to use English in a particular domain.”

2. Characteristics of ESP
Dudley Evans and St John (1998, p. 5) define ESP in terms of “absolute” and “variable”
characteristics.

a. Absolute characteristics are as follows:

1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners;

2. ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves;
3. ESP is centred on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis,
register, study skills, discourse and genre.
4. ESP is contrast with general English.
b. Variable characteristics include the following:
1. ESP may be related to, or designed for, specific disciplines;
2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of General
English;
3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a
professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary school level;
4. ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students;
5. Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system.

1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners;

ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as the content and method
are based on learner’s reason for learning. Hutchinson and Waters (1992) states ESP instruction
is derived to meet learners’ needs.

a. Different scholars distinguish different types of needs.

Brindley (1989 in Robinson1991) speaks about objective and subjective needs.
1. Objective needs include all factual information about the learner: language proficiency,
language difficulties, and the use of language in real life.
2. Subjective needs include cognitive and affective needs of the learner in language
learning: confidence, attitudes, and expectations. Robinson (1991) mentions perceived
(prescribed) and felt needs.

b. Hutchinson and Waters (1992) distinguish target needs (what the learner needs to
do in the target situation and learning needs (what the learner needs to do in
order to learn).
1. Learning needs include language items, skills, strategies, subject knowledge ,etc.,
i.e.,how people learn to do what they do with language(ibid). However, all these needs
seem to be complementary.
2. Speaking about target needs Hutchinson and Waters (1992) introduce the terms
necessities(what the learner needs to do in order to learn), lacks (the gap between the
existing learner’s knowledge and the necessities he has) and wants(what the learner
feels he/she needs).Sometimes there may be a conflict between learners’ necessities (as
perceived by the teacher) and their wants: it is quite possible that the learners’ view will
conflict with the perceptions of other interested parties: course designers, sponsors,
teachers(Hutchinson and Waters,1992). The task of the teacher is to find some sort of
compromise between these conflicting forces and design a course both useful and
interesting for the target learners, as the learners’ motivation is an important issue
that should never be neglected.

3. ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students;

English for Specific Purposes has become a typical approach to English language
teaching and learning in tertiary education. The reasons for this are that ESP learners
are usually adults. They have already mastered some knowledge of English and are
learning the language needed in a particular domain, occupation, or vocation in order to
acquire professional skills and to perform particular job-related functions.
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1992), learners know specifically why they
are learning a language and it is the awareness of a need that ESP distinguishes for.
Thus, they see students’ needs analysis as a key point in the development of an ESP
course as this approach of language learning is student-centered.
It is obvious that the absolute characteristics are specific to ESP because
learners‟ needs are of central importance when designing language activities.
Concerning the variable features, ESP courses can be designed for a specific
group using definite teaching methodology, nevertheless, all learners‟ categories
and disciplines can be concerned with ESP. For that reason ESP should be seen
simply as an 'approach' to teaching, or what Dudley-Evans and St. John illustrate
as an 'attitude of mind'. Similarly, Hutchinson and waters‟ (1987:19) stated that,
"ESP should properly be seen not as any particular language product but as an approach
 to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the
learner's reason for learning".

4. Esp is contras with general english

ESP is contrasted with EGP, or English for General Purposes. If English
is taught as a second language along with other subjects for educational
purposes as some useful subject to the learners in the future, then this is EGP.
In this type of learning, there is generally no immediate requirement for the
learners to use English for any real communicative purposes. In contrast, if
English is taught for specialized learners with some specific vocational and
educational purpose in mind, then this is ESP. ESP is learning and learner
oriented, with a conception and preference for communicative competence.
What is the difference between English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and General
English?
Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 53) answer this question quite simply, “in
theory nothing, in practise a great deal”. In 1987 this view was quite true; teachers of
General English courses rarely conducted needs analysis to find out what was their
students’ purpose for learning English.
Nowadays, teachers are aware of the importance of needs analysis, and perhaps
it is this that has been the greatest influence that the ESP approach has had on the
teaching of General English. Through the choice of a suitable textbook or the choice to
prepare one’s own materials, either choice having been made on the basis of the
assessment of their learners’ needs, teachers can adjust the syllabus of their courses to
their learners’ aims. The most important difference between ESP and General English
lies in the learners and their purposes for learning English. ESP learners are usually
adults who have already learnt some English language and possess some knowledge of
the various content subjects which ESP teachers may not be familiar with. The ESP
learners need the language in order to become equipped with professional
communicative skills to be able to perform particular job related tasks. ESP focuses on
language that is used in a real professional context rather than on teaching grammar
 structures and vocabulary unrelated to the students’ mainstream subjects. Contrary to
General English, which is frequently separated from the students’ future situations, the
content of ESP is integrated into an area of subject matter related to the students’
present and future situations

This description helps to clarify to a certain degree what an ESP course constitutes. There
are a number of other characteristics of ESP that several authors have put forward. Belcher
(2006, 135), states that ‘ESP assumes that the problems are unique to specific learners in specific
contexts and thus must be carefully delineated and addressed with tailored to fit instruction.’
Mohan (1986, 15) adds that ESP courses focus on preparing learners ‘for chosen communicative
environments.’

Learner purpose is also stated by Graham & Beardsley (1986) and learning centeredness
(Carter, 1983; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) as integral parts of ESP. Lorenzo (2005, 1) reminds
us that ESP ‘concentrates more on language in context than on teaching grammar and language
structures.’ He also points out that as ESP is usually delivered to adult students, frequently in a
work related setting (EOP), that motivation to learn is higher than in usual ESL (English as a
Second Language) contexts. Carter (1983) believed that self-direction is important in the sense
that an ESP course is concerned with turning learners into users of the language.

Flowerdew (1990, 327) points out that one reason ESP has problems in establishing
itself in a clearly defined area within ELT (English Language Teaching) in general ‘is that many
of the ideas closely associated with ESP have been subsequently appropriated by the ‘parent’
discipline.’ He gives as an example functional/notional syllabuses which have been adopted into
the mainstream of language teaching. He also includes the example of needs analysis which
traditionally distinguished ESP courses from general English course design.

3 Features Common to ESP courses

The main characteristics proposed by Carter (1983). He identified the following “three
features common to ESP courses: a) authentic material, b) purpose-related orientation, and c)
self-direction”(Gatehouse, 2001 cf. Carter, 1983, p. 2).
A. “Authentic material” means using material, not developed or written for teaching
purpose, from the main area of study of the learners or their occupation. This
material may include books, forms, charts, graphs etc. and these forms of
authentic texts may be exploited in modified or unmodified forms according to
the requirement of the teaching circumstances.

Authentic material will be an appropriate choice if ESP courses are offered to

advanced or intermediate level as proposed by Dudley Evans, (1997). “Use of
authentic content materials, modified or unmodified in form, are indeed a feature
of ESP, particularly in self-directed study and research tasks”(Gatehouse, 2001, p.
4). He further mentioned that the learners who were taught language for employment in
health services were mainly evaluated through a lot of independent study assignments
given to them in their chosen area of interest. The students were encouraged to utilize
various resources to complete their research assignments.

As Morrow (1977, p.13) defines, an authentic text is a stretch of real language,

produced by a real speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real
message of some sort. For Moore and Lorenzo (2007), one of the prime requisites of the
authenticity is genuine communication: the text must convey a message. Authentic texts
are widely used by both CLIL and ESP course designers as they have proved to be
effective teaching materials. Authentic materials enable students to face the professional
language they will deal with in the real labour world and react to it in authentic ways.
Students in tertiary education usually are proficient enough to cope with the complexities
of the language authentic materials entail and to grasp the meaning of the specific texts,
because they are related to the field of their studies. As Hutchinson and Waters
(1992)state, the use of authentic materials increases students’ motivation to learn..

B. Purpose-related orientation
.Purpose-related orientation is another feature common to ESP course. It refers to the
simulation of communicative tasks required of the target setting, for example, student
simulation of a conference, involving the preparation of papers, reading, note-taking, and
writing (Carter 1983 in Gatehouse 2001)
 (Gatehouse, 2001 cf. Carter, 1983) has been identified as the simulation of
different communicative tasks to prepare the learners for different target situations. The
learners are given practice through simulation to enable them to handle various linguistic
roles in the target situation. Carter (1983) reported student simulation of different tasks
which were required for a conference. These tasks included preparation of papers,
reading of papers, note taking etc. EBP courses at Algonquin College trained the students
to design and prepare unique business ventures like “market research, pamphlets and
logo creation” and the students presented all their final products in the form of a poster
presentation sessions (Gatehouse, 2001).

C. “Self-direction” is the third characteristic of ESP courses which means “that ESP is
concerned with turning learners into users”(Carter, 1983, p. 134). It means that the
students should “have certain degree of freedom to decide when, what and how
they will study”(Gatehouse, 2001, p. 5)
.Finally, self-direction is characteristic of ESP courses as ESP is concerned with turning
learners into users (ibid). In order for self-direction to occur, the learners must have a
certain degree of freedom to decide when, what, and how they will study. This freedom
is a key feature of another trend in language learning —the autonomous learning which
is characterized by particular procedures and relationships between learners and
teachers, when learners take control over their learning (Benson et al., 2001). The
autonomous learning is especially recommended for foreign language learning due to
varying levels and abilities of the learners.

Conclusion

Teachers have responsibility to encourage and help students to achieve their aims, a great
responsibility to provide teaching and learning activities that are appropriate for their students.
ESP is an approach that must be applied by teachers especially language teachers. Teach with the
right materials and methods as needed, learning activities must focus on the needs and in
accordance with the objectives. Teaching ESP is a challenge to the teacher, who should possess
the knowledge not only of language teaching methodology, but also of their students’ specialist
disciplines. Moreover, the ESP teacher should be flexible in undertaking decisions and remain
open to the suggestions and opinions from the students. The duty of a teacher is they have to
make it all happen.

Pertanyaan di HP !!!!!