DECIDING ON

MATERIALS
SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF
MATERIALS FOR AN ESP COURSE
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

1. Analysis of students’ needs

This reveals the needs of students for
whom the course was designed.
The following are the needs of students intending to go to a
medical career:
a. The students need to improve their reading comprehension
skills (e.g. getting the main idea, drawing inferences,
distinguishing fact from opinion)
 Cont’d…Analysis of students’ needs

c. They need to strengthen their oral and written

communication skills (e.g. writing of reports, oral
presentation of cases)

d. They need to develop the ability to draw out discourse

functions from the reading texts (e.g. cause-effect
relationships, description, definition or process explanation).

e. They need to improve their grammar skills (e.g. subject-verb

agreement, tenses, modals, pronoun referents, etc.)

f. They need to reinforce their study skills (e.g. giving and

following directions, note-taking, summarizing, etc.).
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)
2. Establishing Specific Goals
These objectives are “the goals of designing the materials
specific to a course in English, as indicated by the needs
analysis, and expressed in terms of what the learners
expect.”

a. To help students cope with the reading of medical prose,

such as documents, journal articles, medical cases, etc.
b. To help students improve their skills in listening to lectures,
interpreting medical texts, and giving oral and written
reports of medical cases.
c. To provide students with interesting practice activities that
focus on language used in medical communication.
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

2. Arrangement of lessons from the simplest

to the most complex
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

3. Using a Model to Organize Materials

This is the theoretical framework for the organization
and presentation of materials specific to a lesson.
 Cont’d…Using a Model to Organize Materials

Opener

Input

Comprehension Check

Vocabulary

Language Practice

Tasks

Theoretical Model for Organizing the Design of Instructional

Materials
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

3a. Opener
This serves to arouse students’ interest and curiosity and
acts as an appetizer. It can also be a motivation builder.

Lesson: Allergy

a. Do you know what an allergy is? Describe someone who

has an allergy.
b. List three kinds of allergy that you know.
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

3b. Input: A reading text

To provide the students with the skill in coping with the reading
of medical prose and to help them improve their receptive
and productive skills, each unit starts with a reading text
followed by a comprehension check (e.g. noting major and
minor details, getting the main idea, predicting, drawing
inferences, interpreting diagrams, summarizing, distinguishing
fact from opinion.
 Cont’d…3b. Input: A reading text

A reading passage as an input

Allergy

The term “allergy” comes from the Greek allos (other) and
ergon (work). The derivation implies an unusual or
inappropriate reaction to a stimulus.
Allergy is a disorder of the immune system; it is immunity
gone wrong. In the immunological world of a vertebrate
organism, the great divide is between the self and the nonself
tissues, cells, proteins, and some other larger molecules from
[than] those of the self; it identifies them as being either
harmless or potentially harmful and thereupon either ignores
them or defends the organism against them. The cells …
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

3c. Comprehension Check on the Reading Passage

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Activity 1: Understanding the Passage

Directions: Answer the following items about the selection.

1. The main idea of the reading passage states that…
A. The victims of allergy show different reactions to different allergy-
causing substances.
B. The causes of allergic reactions to certain substances are not known
but the cellular and biochemical agents of the response are.
C. The cells with the capacity for recognizing, evaluating, neutralizing,
and eliminating non-self material constitute the immune system.
D. The failure of the victim’s regulatory system is what leads to an allergic
reaction.
 Cont’d…3c. Comprehension Check

2. The immune system consists cells that:

A. Have the capacity to accept nonself materials into the system.
B. Are programmed to recognize and evaluate a highly specific
combination of atoms.
C. Have the capacity to recognize, evaluate and neutralize nonself
material.
D. Characteristically repress responses to nonself materials.

3. Pathogenic bacteria are…

A. Harmful foreign substances.
B. Stimulating foreign substances.
C. Harmless foreign substances.
D. Normally innocuous foreign substance.

4. Proper recognition of the threat posed by an antigen is crucial because…

A. A person may die due to continuous exposure to nonself molecules.
B. Every breath of air or every mouthful of food a person takes will
contribute to his permanent state of immunological uproar.
C. There will be an uncontrolled transfunction of B cells to plasma cells,
thus creating a permanent state of immunological uproar.
D. “Suppressor” T cells will allow inappropriate antibody production.
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

3d. Vocabulary
VOCABULARY

ACTIVITY 1: Using Appropriate Medical Terms to Indicate Paragraph Sense

ACTIVITY 2: Matching Unfamiliar Terms with Their Meanings
ACTIVITY 3: Giving the Meaning of Some Common Prefixes
ACTIVITY 4: Building Words through Suffixes
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

3e. Language Practice

LANGUAGE PRACTICE

ACTIVITY 1: Using Contrast Words to Link Sentences

ACTIVITY 2: Using Comparison and Contrast to Show Relationships
ACTIVITY 3: Understanding the Use of Modal Auxiliaries
 The Process of Materials
Preparation in
English for Medicine Course
(Fortez & Penaflorida, 1988)

3f. Task
-students’ output

Writing Task

Write a four-paragraph composition on one of the following topics:

1. Living with _______ (specify the type of allergy)
2. Allergy and its discomforts (hay fever, hives, etc.)
3. The woes of an asthmatic person
EVALUATING
MATERIALS
FOR AN ESP COURSE
APPROACHES AND
METHODS/MODELS
IN TEACHING ESP
 Approaches vs. Methods
(Richards & Rodgers, 1986)
Approach is the level at which assumptions,
theories or beliefs about the nature of
language and nature of language learning
are specified.

Method is the level at which an approach

(theory) is put into practice and is an overall
plan for the orderly presentation of language
material, no part of which contradicts, and all
of which is based upon, the selected
approach.
Summary of elements and sub elements that
constitute a method
(Richards & Rodgers, 1986)
 1. Learner-Centered Approach

• This model places the student in the

center of the learning process.
• Students are to be active participants
who learn at their own pace and use their
own strategies. They are more intrinsically
than extrinsically motivated.
• Learning is more individualized than
standardized, activating how-to-learn skills
like problem solving, critical and reflective
thinking.
 2. Learning-Centered Approach

• This approach states that learning should

be seen in the context in which it takes
place.
• Besides being a mental process, learning
also implies a negotiation between
individuals and society. Society sets the
target, and individuals must do their best
to get as close to that target as possible.
• The learner is one factor to consider in the
learning process.
 3. Language-Centered Approach

This approach uses the learners as a

means for identifying the target situation,
the type of register and discourse for
creating the objectives, materials and
evaluations of the course. The student
plays no further part in the process of
syllabus design.
 4. Task-based Approach

• This way of teaching makes learners use

language in tasks that reflect real life.
• Richards, et al. (1991) define task as “an activity
which is designed to help achieve a particular
language goal.”
• Problem solving is an element in tasks, for which
students need to use the target language.
Students accomplish this by using whatever
language resources they possess and, as they
move on, they notice the gap between what
they already know and what they need to know
or improve, so they can carry out a specific task
in English.
 5. Communicative Language
Teaching (CLT)
• Communicative language teaching (CLT) is
generally regarded as an approach to language
teaching (Richards and Rodgers 2001).
• Theory: the primary function of language use is
communication.
• Makes use of real-life situations that necessitate
communication.
• The teacher sets up a situation that students are
likely to encounter in real life.
• an emphasis on learning to communicate
through interaction in the target language,
• the introduction of authentic texts into the
learning situation,
 6. Skills-Based Approach

• The basic theoretical hypothesis of this

view is that underlying any language
behavior are certain skills and strategies
which the learner uses in order to
produce or comprehend discourse.
• This approach looks at the competence
that underlies performance, and it sees
the ESP course as helping learners to gain
abilities which will continue to develop
after the course itself.
 7. Content-based Instruction

• This kind of approach focuses on using real-life

subject matters as vehicles for teaching the
target language. Students use the language to
fulfill a real purpose (e.g. research,
entertainment) which gets students more
motivated to learn.
• It also helps developing a much wider
knowledge of the world which can improve their
general educational needs.
• CBI is very popular among EAP teachers as it
helps students to develop valuable study skills
such as note taking, summarizing and extracting
key information from texts.
 7. Content-based Instruction

‘It is the teaching of content with little or no direct

effort to teach the language separately from the
content being taught’ (Krahnke 1987:65). Claims
made for the advantages of courses based on
content-based syllabus include that:
• They facilitate comprehension
• Content makes linguistic form more meaningful
• Content serves on the best basis for teaching
the skill areas
• They address learners’ needs
• They allow for integration of the four skills
• They allow for use of authentic materials

(Brinton, Snow and Wesche 1989; Mohan 1986)

 Methods that are anchored on CBI

1. The Sheltered Model

- the goal of ESP teachers is to enable
students to study the same content
materials as regular English L1 students.
- “sheltered” because learners are
given special assistance to help them
understand regular classes
 Methods that are anchored on CBI

1. The Sheltered Model

Two teachers can work together to give
instruction in a specific subject. One of the teachers is
a content specialist and the other an ESL specialist.
They may teach the class together or the class time
may be divided between the two of them. For
example, the content specialist will give a short lecture
and then the English teacher will check that the
students have understood the important words by
reviewing them later. This kind of team teaching
requires teachers to work closely together to plan and
evaluate classes. It has been used successfully at the
bilingual University of Ottawa, where classes are taught
in English and French, (Briton, 1989).
 Methods that are anchored on CBI

2. The Adjunct Model

Adjunct classes are usually taught by ESL
teachers. The aim of these classes is to prepare
students for "mainstream" classes where they will
join English L1 learners. Adjunct classes may
resemble EPA or ESP classes where emphasis is
placed on acquiring specific target vocabulary;
they may also feature study skills sessions to
familiarize the students with listening, note taking
and skimming and scanning texts. Some adjunct
classes are taught during the summer months
before regular college classes begin, while others
run concurrently with regular lessons.
 Methods that are anchored on CBI

3. The Theme-Based Model

Theme based CBI is usually found in EFL
contexts. Theme based CBI can be taught
by an EFL teacher or team taught with a
content specialist. The teacher(s) can
create a course of study designed to
unlock and build on their own students'
interests and the content can be chosen
from an enormous number of diverse
topics.
 Is there a specific methodology for
ESP?
“There is nothing specific about ESP
methodology. The principles which underlie
good ESP methodology are the same as those
that underlie sound ELT methodology in
general. Similarly, at the level of techniques,
the ESP teacher can learn a lot from general
English practice. Teachers who have come to
ESP from general English need not think that a
whole new methodology must be learnt. The
classroom skills and techniques acquired in
general English teaching can be usefully
employed in the ESP classroom.” (Hutchinson
& Waters, 1987)
 What kind of methods and
materials should be used in ESP?
(Strevens, 1988)
• Contrary to general perception, “ESP is
not restricted to any particular
methodology--- although communicative
methodology is very often felt to be the
most appropriate.”
• It has no direct answer.
–“For one thing, there are many great and
different kinds of ESP, and the methods
and materials in use for a particular kind of
ESP must be appropriate to that kind.”
 What kind of methods and
materials should be used in ESP?
(Strevens, 1988)
• Thus, ESP methodology is no different from
that of general English; however, greater
variety and interest in the presentation of
language teaching in general improves
the effectiveness of learning.”
 CLT and ESP emphasize learners’
purpose
• In recent years, ESP has been associated with
the communicative approach or CLT. In fact
Robinson (1983) pointed out that ESP and CLT
are so closely identified with each other that
sometimes they are erroneously regarded as
synonymous.
• What has happened though in the field of
language teaching and learning is that ESP,
because of its emphasis on the learners’ purpose
in using the language and authentic or
authentic-seeming materials and tasks (both of
which are also the essential characteristics of
CLT), has popularized the communicative
approach to language teaching.
 What an English teacher should
know about ESP methods
1. Demands of ESP on teacher
• Conducting an ESP class demands basically
the same methodological requirements as
do most of the general English courses.
• An ESP teacher, like a general English
teacher, should first be equipped with
principles necessary when deciding on the
method and technique appropriate for a
particular language learning purpose.
• A sound knowledge of principles alone,
however, does not guarantee effective
classroom teaching.
 What an English teacher should
know about ESP methods
2. Pedagogical decisions depend on teaching
context
• The ESP teacher will be in a better position to
make pedagogical decisions if s/he is able to
weave particular principles or theories into the
culture of a particular class. This task is quite
difficult because there are no hard and fast rules
one can abide by or no magic formula that will
ensure that the class will work.
• A useful starting point is to orient oneself with the
teaching/learning context (e.g. conferring with
experienced ESP teachers or observing ESP
classes to “get the feel” of a particular teaching/
learning context.)
 What an English teacher should
know about ESP methods
3. Principles that have worked in ESP classes
a. The ESP teacher should know the subject
matter of the text that s/he teaches
inasmuch as little knowledge results in little
sharing, which in turn, leads to
miscommunication on the part of the
teacher and meaningless work on the
part of learners (Hutchinson & Waters,
1981).
 What an English teacher should
know about ESP methods
3. Principles that have worked in ESP classes
b. Since learning (and that includes language
learning) is both a thinking and emotional
experience, the lecture style, which is seldom
appropriate for teaching language (not a
subject-specific course and which bores
most learners in the ESP classroom because
of its didactic nature), should be avoided.
Tasks and activities that enable learners to
think and to be involved in the learning
process must be provided instead.
 What an English teacher should
know about ESP methods
3. Principles that have worked in ESP classes
c. Effective teaching should have the goal
of creating a positive affective climate for
learning in the classroom (Long & Porter,
1987). This can be achieved by a number
of ways, one of which is the appropriate
use of pair and group work to motivate
students and to get them involved.
 What an English teacher should
know about ESP methods
3. Principles that have worked in ESP classes
d. In using communicative activities such as
games, role plays, and simulations, the
teacher facilitates learning strategies. For
instance, the teacher might want to step
aside at strategic moments and allow the
students to work independently to
accomplish the given activities. Such
accomplishments tend to reinforce the
learners’ confidence in themselves.
 What an English teacher should
know about ESP methods
3. Principles that have worked in ESP classes
e. Since language learning involves decision-
making, classroom activities must provide
the learners with opportunities to make
decisions.
 How is ESP taught?

1. Determining characteristics and needs of

students
2. Establishing objectives
3. Selecting appropriate materials
4. Scheduling goal-oriented activities
 References:
Dudley Evans, T and M. J. St John. 1998. Developments in English for
Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hutchinson, T. and A. Waters. 1987. English for Specific Purposes: A
learning-centred Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Prabhu, N. S. 1990 There is no best method. Why? TESOL Quarterly.
Volume 24, No 2, pp 161-176
Richards, J. and T. Rodgers. 2001. Approaches and Methods in
Language Teaching. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Brinton, D. M., Snow, M. A. and Wesche, M. B. 1989. Content-based
Second Language Instruction. Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers.
Mohan, B. A. 1986. Language and Content. Addison, Wesley
Krahnke, K. 1987 Approaches to syllabus design for foreign language
teaching.Washington, D.C., Center for Applied Linguistics/Eaglewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Stoller, F. L. 1997. Project work: A means to promote language content.
English Teaching Forum, 35(4), 2.