ISSUES
IN ESP COURSE DESIGN
VARIETIES
OF LANGUAGE
Variety refers to register of
language use, such as English in banking, English in medicine, English in
academic settings, and everyday conversation.
Bloor
and Bloor (1986), two perspectives on ESP, first, specific purpose language is
based on and extends from a basic core of general language (the common core
plus). The second, all language exists as one variety or another and there is no
basic core (‘general purpose’) language.
NEEDS
ANALYSIS
Need analysis studies have
investigated the perceptions of language needs of different parties and have
often revealed differing perception, such as English language need of medical
students, textile students, and English need of nurses, and many others. The
need of students in different fields might be difference. Need analysis is
conducted to help in preparing an ESP course and it involves in depth
ethnographic data collection methods such as observations and exploratory
interviews.
Criticisms and issues
of need analysis ESP
The
information too often come from the institutions themselves, Language training
for SP can be covert means to channel immigrants into marginal occupation, Often
ask learners’ perception of needs, may not reliable sources of information
their own needs, Objective needs are not necessarily the same as subjective
needs or want, Language needs are not learning needs, Asking learners their
language needs can be problematic, cause lack awareness or metalanguage, Language
use in specific situation is simply too unpredictable, Vary perspective of
needs, Basic course design on need analyst lead language training than language
education, need analysis is means of fitting outsider, need analysis is not
theoretical neutral.
TYPES OF SYLLABUSES
Syllabus
is aligned to the overall ‘philosophy’ of the course or courses. Syllabus can
be synthetic (language is segmented into discrete linguistic item for
presentation one at a time) or analytic (language is presented whole chunks as
a time without linguistic control; Long & Crookes, 1992).
Characteristics of a
syllabus
1.
Consists
of a comprehensive list of – content items (words, structures, topics).-
process items (tasks methods)
2.
Is
ordered (easier, more essential items first)
3.
Has
explicit objectives (usually expressed in the introduction)
4.
Is
a public document
5.
Indicate time schedule
6.
Indicate
preferred methodology or approach
7.
Recommended
materials
NARROW-
AND WIDE-ANGLE COURSE DESIGNS
A course
developer is faced with a group of students who are planning to study EAP, can
divide the students into classes according to their respective disciplines. To
Make two ESAP courses such as English for engineering study and English for
social science. The course further divide into groups, the engineering students
could be split into English for computer engineering, chemical engineering, and
civil engineering classes. EGAP program, another course developer is faced with
group of mixed experienced medical professional, divide them into
subdiciplines—nurses, doctors, medical technicians.
SPECIFIC
AND SPECIFIABLE ELEMENTS IN ESP
Need
analysis in ESP often focuses on the skills learners need to study or work
effectively in their target environments. In analyzing needs, ESP curriculum
designers identify which micro skills from general pool of skills used across a
range of environments are important for a particular group of ESP learners.
The
elements in English for specific purpose:
Language
specifiable
Language
use specific
Language
skills specifiable
Content
(conceptual and cultural) specific
COURSE DESIGN
Parameters
of course design
There are a number of
parameters that need to be investigated in making decisions about course
design, some of the positions are pre-determined by circumstances—the client,
the environment—others are determined by the course designer.
1.
Should
the course be intensive or extensive?
2.
Should
the learners’ performance be assessed
or non-assessed?
3.
Should
the course deal with immediate needs
or delayed needs?
4.
Should
role of teacher provider or facilitator?
5.
Should
the course have a broad or narrow focus?
6.
Should
the course be pre-study or pre-experience
or run parallel or experience?
7.
Should
material be common core or specific?
8.
Should
the group taking course be homogeneous
or heterogeneous?
9.
Should
the course design be worked out by the
language teacher, or should be subject to a process of negotiation with the
learners?
1. Intensive
or extensive
During an intensive ESP course
the learners’ time is totally committed to that ESP course. In contrast, an
extensive ESP course occupies only a small part of a student’s timetable or a
professional person’s work schedule.
Advantages
of intensive courses
Totally
focused on the purpose for learning, and the course is residential, immersed in
an English language environment, outside the actual class sessions.
Disadvantages
of intensive courses
Without
reinforcement, what is learnt on the intensive course may lie dominant. Longer
courses the total concentration on English and absence of academic or
professional activity may become increasingly artificial.
Advantages
of extensive courses
The
course can run in parallel with the subject course or the professional activity
and can relate to it, adapt to it as the learners’ experience or needs change,
and generally remain flexible.
Disadvantage
of extensive courses
The potential lack of
continuity between classes, particularly if the classes are infrequent.
The
choice between intensive and extensive courses is generally determined by
circumstances within the institution or company for which the course is being
run.
2. Assessed
or non-assessed
Assessed
courses in ESP
The
learners’ performance in English is assessed along with other subjects at the
end of semester or academic year,
Assessed
courses in EOP
Short intensive EOP
courses are not usually concerned with testing learners’ proficiency.
3. Immediate
or delayed needs
By immediate
need, refer to those needs that students have at the time of the course,
while delayed needs refer to those
that will become more significant later.
4. Teacher
as provider or as facilitator/consultant
Teacher as provider of
input
Teacher
in this cases is expected to control the class, to provide information about
skills and language, to control activities, possible moving into pair or group
work.
Teacher as facilitator
or consultant
Teacher may not make
decisions about the course design but will negotiation with the learners about
what is most appropriate to include, and when to include it.
5. Broad
or narrow focus
Broad focus
Broad
focus refer to a situation where the concentrated on a range of target events,
such as study or professional skills or variety of genres.
Narrow focus
Concentrate on a few
target events, for example just the listening skill, or just one or two genre.
6. Pre-experience
or in parallel with experience
Pre-experience means that the
learners do not have experience of the target situation at the time of ESP
course. Parallel with experience
means that the English course runs concurrently with the study course or
professional activity.
7. Common
–core or specific material
Common-core, The material that
used carrier content which is either of a general academic nature or of a
general professional nature. Specific
material, material used carrier content that is drawn directly from the
learners’ academic or professional area.
8. Homogeneous
or heterogeneous groups and motivation
Whether
the ESP class is made up of a homogeneous group from one discipline of
professional, or a heterogeneous group of learner from different disciplines,
or professional, or level of management.
9. Fixed
course design or flexible negotiated course design
Fixed course design is laid down in
advanced of the course and is rarely deviated from; flexible negotiated course
design allows room for change based on feedback from learners.
Balancing the parameters
In planning a course, ESP teachers should first be aware of the options and
of the limitations arising from institutional and learner expectations. In some circumstances, course design may be
carried out before the course or after the course. In other circumstances the
teacher may be designing the course while teaching takes place or negotiating
the course with the learners and reacting quickly to the needs as expressed at
the beginning of the course ans as they change over the period of the course.
Developing a course outline
Ordering:
criteia for prioritising
a.
Beginning with target events and rhetorical awareness
From target events and
rhetorical awareness to skill areas to language
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