THE ISSUES INVOLVED IN ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP) COURSE DESIGN

Abstract

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown in leaps and bounds in the last decade. Course design is one of the key stages in ESP. Hutchinson and Waters see ESP as an approach rather than a product, by which they mean that ESP does not involve a particular kind of language, teaching material and methodology. Language varieties are self-contained entities which extend from a common core of language. This paper has highlighted some of the issues involved in ESP curriculum development. The main focus is on the topic of language varieties and on the type of investigation ESP curriculum developers use to identify the gap between what learners already know and what they need to know in order to study or work in their specific target environments. Apart from this it examines the topic of wide- versus narrow-angled course designs.