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ESP Course Design Mini Article

The document discusses factors to consider when designing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, including needs analysis, course objectives, and available resources. There are three main approaches to ESP course design: language-centered, skills-centered, and learning-centered. Language-centered design directly connects target situation analysis to course content. Skills-centered design focuses on the competencies underlying performance. Learning-centered design considers learning as determined by the learner using their knowledge and skills to understand new information. Successful ESP courses have organizing features like authentic materials, purpose-related tasks to simulate real contexts, and encouraging student self-direction and autonomy.

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Asmaa Baghli
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211 views2 pages

ESP Course Design Mini Article

The document discusses factors to consider when designing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, including needs analysis, course objectives, and available resources. There are three main approaches to ESP course design: language-centered, skills-centered, and learning-centered. Language-centered design directly connects target situation analysis to course content. Skills-centered design focuses on the competencies underlying performance. Learning-centered design considers learning as determined by the learner using their knowledge and skills to understand new information. Successful ESP courses have organizing features like authentic materials, purpose-related tasks to simulate real contexts, and encouraging student self-direction and autonomy.

Uploaded by

Asmaa Baghli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

ESP Course Design

Once a needs analysis has been completed, and one is aware of the types of

language situation students are more likely to encounter in the target context, an
appropriate ESP courses can be drawn up; when designing these ESP courses, a

number of factors should be taken into account including, the needs of students,
objectives of the course and the resources available.

A course design is defined by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) as being the


process through which the learning needs are interpreted in order to produce an

integrated teaching and learning experiences. The aim behind this process is to
provide learners with particular amount of knowledge as well as preparing them

for professional/ academic communication abilities.

There are probably as many different approaches to ESP course design as

there are course designers. But the three main ones are: Language –centered-
Skills- centered - Learning- centered.

The Language – Centered Course Design is considered to be the simplest


kind of course design process and is probably the most familiar one to English

Teachers; It aims at drawing a direct connection between the analysis of the target
situation and the content of the ESP course. Learners are simply used, as a means

of identifying the target situation; teachers center upon the learners’ needs, only
specific language or zone will be taught to students.

Next, Skills centered Course design, this skill approach to ESP has been
widely applied in a number of countries, particularly in Latin America. It aims to

look at the competence that underlies performance.

Then, the Learning Centered Approach that is based on the principle that

learning is totally determined by the learner. Learning is considered as the process


in which the learners use whatever knowledge or skills they have in order to make
sense of the new information.

Every successful and relevant ESP course needs first to have certain features
that underpin it, i.e. organizing the ESP course is a very important step to achieve

a satisfying goal. There exist many factors that play a crucial role in organizing an
effective ESP courses.

As for the use of authentic learning materials are indeed features of ESP,
particularly in self-directed study and research tasks; students are encouraged to

conduct research using a variety of different resources, including the Internet.

Besides to Purpose-related orientation refers to the simulation of

communicative tasks required by the target situation. The teacher can give
students different tasks to simulate the conference preparation, involving the

preparation of papers, reading, note-taking and writing.

As well as the Self-direction that means that ESP is concerned with turning

learners into users; it is necessary that teacher encourage students to have a


certain degree of autonomy – freedom to decide when, what, and how they will

study.

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