L630 – TEACHING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

Fall 2004

Instructor: Dr. Senem Yildiz

Course Overview and Objectives:

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is known as a learner-centered approach to teaching English as a foreign or second language. It meets the needs of (mostly) adult learners who need to learn a foreign language for use in their specific fields, such as science, technology, medicine, leisure, and academic learning. This course is recommended for graduate students and foreign and second language professionals who wish to learn how to design ESP courses and programs in an area of specialization such as English for business, for Civil Engineering, for Academic Purposes, and for health service purposes. In addition, they are introduced to ESP instructional strategies, materials adaptation and development, and evaluation.

Its objectives include:

To develop an understanding about the factors that led to the emergence of ESP and the forces, both theoretical and applied, that have shaped its subsequent development.
To assist students develop needs assessments and genre analyses for specific groups of learners.
To provide guidelines to adapt or create authentic ESP materials in a chosen professional or occupational area and to critically evaluate currently available materials, including technology-based ones.
To become knowledgeable about assessment procedures appropriate for ESP and apply this knowledge in developing course and lesson evaluation plans in their professional or occupational area.
To assist students in preparing a syllabus, lesson and assessment plan based upon their needs assessments and genre analyses.

Readings

Textbook:

Dudley-Evans, T., and St. John, M. J. (1998). Developments in English for specific purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Articles:

Basturkmen, H. (1998). Refining procedures: A needs analysis project at Kuwait University. English Teaching Forum, 36(4). Also available at: http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol36/no4/p2.htm

Bhatia, V. K. (1997). Applied genre analysis and ESP. In T. Miller (Ed.), Functional approaches to written text: Classroom applications (pp. 134-149). English Language Programs: United States Information Agency. Also available at: http://exchanges.state.gov/education/engteaching/pubs/BR/functionalsec4_10.htm

Bosher, S. & Smalkoski, K. (2002). From needs analysis to curriculum development: Designing a course in health-care communication for immigrant students in the USA. English for Specific Purposes, 21(1): 59-79. (can be accessed online from IU Library website with an IU account)

Dudley-Evans, T. (2000). Genre analysis: A key to a theory of ESP? Iberica, 2, 3-11. Also available at: www.uv.es/aelfe/WebRAs/RA-2-Dudley.pdf

Johns, A. M. (1991). English for specific purposes (ESP): Its history and contributions. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (2nd ed., pp. 67-77). New York: Newbury House.

Johns, A. M., & Price-Machada, D. (2001). English for specific purposes (ESP): Tailoring courses to students' needs-and to the outside world. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3^rd ed., pp. 43-54). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

West, R. (1994). Needs analysis in language teaching. Language Teaching 27(1): 1-19.

For Further Reference:

English for Specific Purposes, An International Research Journal (available online at Indiana University libraries with IU account)

Course Schedule

Week	Topics	Readings	Activities and Assignments
August 30 – September 3	Getting to know each other Introduction to the course		Practicing Oncourse and getting to know each other.
Sept. 6 - 10	The development of ESP, historical and theoretical perspectives	Dudley-Evans & St. John (DE & SJ) Chapters 1 and 2. Johns: English for specific purposes (ESP): Its history and contributions	Discussing - the historical development of ESP - similarities and differences between ESP and EGP - contributions of ESP to the field.
Sep. 13- 17	Needs analysis	DE & SJ: Chapter 7. Needs Analysis and Evaluation Johns &Price-Machada.: English for specific purposes (ESP): Tailoring courses to students' needs-and to the outside world.	Identifying as completely as possible a real group of English language learners. Give and receive feedback on each other’s target population.
Sep. 20-24	Needs analysis	Basturkmen: Refining procedures: A needs analysis project at Kuwait University West: Needs analysis in language teaching	Discussing issues related to the design of needs analysis tools for your specific group of learners Assignment 1: Design a needs analysis plan for your target population that you would carry out if you had sufficient time and money. (Due on Sep 27)
Sep 27- Oct 1	Discourse/Genre analysis	DE & SJ: Chapter 5. Language Issues in ESP Dudley-Evans: Genre analysis: A key to a theory of ESP?	Defining what genre is and operationally identifying different types of genre.
Oct 4 – 8	Discourse/Genre analysis	Bhatia: Applied genre analysis and ESP	Assignment 2: Find written or spoken texts for analysis that are appropriate for your learners and conduct genre analysis (Due on: Oct 15)
Oct 11 – 15	ESP course design	DE & SJ: Chapter 8. Course Design	Discussing issues related to planning, conceptualizing, developing, implementing and evaluating ESP programs.
Oct 18 – 22	ESP course design	Bosher & Smalkoski: From needs analysis to curriculum development	Discussing how the results of your needs analysis help setting the parameters of your ESP course design. Give and receive feedback. Assignment 3: Propose a course design plan (Due on Oct 25)
Oct 25 – 29	Instructional approaches in ESP	DE & SJ: Chapter 10. Classroom practice and beyond	Assignment 4: Prepare a sample lesson plan (Due on Nov. 1)
Nov 1 – 5	Issues involved in ESP materials development	DE & SJ: Chapter 9. The role of materials	Discussing factors involved in the identification of ESP materials.
Nov 8 – 12	Issues involved in ESP materials development		Assignment 5: Write a reflection paper on selecting materials for your target population (Due on: Nov 15)
Nov 15 – 19	Technology as a resource for ESP	Locate an article on the use of technology for teaching English for your target population	Discussing issues related to how technology can enhance teaching ESP, and important points to consider when integrating technology into classroom practice.
Nov 22 - 26	THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov. 29 – December 3	Assessment and testing in ESP	DE & SJ: Chapter 11. Assessment: Continuous assessment and testing.	Discussing student evaluation methods
Dec 6 – 11	Assessment and testing in ESP		Discussing issues related to the evaluation of the ESP course. Assignment 6: Propose an assessment plan to evaluate your own ESP course. (Due on Dec 14.)
Revised ESP course projects are due on Dec 20

ASSIGNMENTS and GRADING

1. Needs analysis plan (10%): Identify a real group of English language learners. Describe this specific group of learners and design a needs assessment plan for them that you would carry out if you had sufficient time and money. Use class readings as guidelines. Include all methods and tools such as questionnaires/surveys/interview protocols that you plan to use to obtain information from this population with your reasoning behind them.

2. Discourse/Genre analysis (10%): Find authentic written texts for analysis that are appropriate for your learners. Outline your goals for your analysis, including

o audiences, contexts, and/or communities from which the discourse arises

o the apparent purposes for the discourse and specific ways in which the speaker or writer attempts to achieve his/her purposes with the audience

o the macro-structure of the discourse.(e.g., problem/solution)

o the headings and metadiscourse features that are employed to hold the entire text together

o the repeated, or essential, grammatical features and their relationship to discourse function

o the lexical features and their relationships to each other and the complete text

o the visual or extra-linguistic features.

Course design plan (10%): Develop the main components of a course design plan for your target population. It should include a syllabus outline based on your selected students’ outcome goals, the duration of the program, length of lessons, class size, placement considerations, number of instructors and so on. Another component of this assignment is for you to researcg current foreign language methodologies that are appropriate for the needs of your target population.

Sample lesson plan (10%): Develop a sample lesson plan for your target population which includes:

Topic and list of task steps (e.g. steps to: giving a shampoo or manicure; checking the suspension of a car; checking a patient's blood pressure; preparing vegetable soup for 50; etc.)
New vocabulary (5-20 expressions)
One or two grammatical structures (hint: task steps are usually written in the imperative and often contain prepositional phrases of location)
Cultural information related to the topic (e.g. proper way to greet customers, talk to superiors or colleagues, etc.)
List of materials and resources needed
One learning activity
One evaluative activity

Reflection paper on materials selection (10%): Reflect about the types of materials that would be best--more appropriate given time, availability, etc.--for your proposed course. Substantiate your position with information from course discussions, readings, and your own experience.

Course assessment plan (10%): Propose a plan to evaluate your own ESP course. What criteria for evaluation would you use? Who would you involve? What would you do with the information should your ESP course were one that you regularly teach at an institute, university, etc. Why?

Revised Final Project (10%): Prepare a portfolio that includes the revised versions of all the assignments you have done for this course. Also include a short reflection paper that discusseshe strengths and weaknesses ofyour lesson or of your current knowledge.

Forum participation (30%): Interaction is at the heart of any learning community and the research confirms this statement suggesting that much if not most of online academic learning takes place in the interaction. It is extremely important that students fully participate in all OnCourse forum discussions, or via email with the instructor or their peers. Students are required to interact and exchange ideas with their peers and with the professor, particularly about their successes and concerns as they engage in course activities. Students will be evaluated according to whether (a) they posted at least two or more entries, and (b) the postings reflect knowledge of the ESP issues under discussion and a critical integration of what has been learned from lectures, readings, and the student's own experience.