THE CONCEPT OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AS AN APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TEACHING
Keywords:
English for Specific Purposes, ESP definitions, types of ESP, characteristics, methodologyAbstract
The period following the Second World War has brought immense changes on the economic, political
and social levels. The ever-growing levels of globalization, tremendous and continuous progress in science and
technology, the development of the world’s economy and internalization of higher education have resulted in
people's increased awareness of the importance of successful cross-cultural communication and collaboration as
major components of workplace dynamics in a globalized world. Thus the knowledge of English, a global lingua
franca, has opened new perspectives for mobility and cooperation in all spheres of human activity. Countries
worldwide have recognized the importance of the English language and included it in the curricula at all levels of
education. Due to the fact that each profession has its own context, terminology and the manner in which it
communicates its ideas, General English courses have frequently failed to respond to learners’ or employers’ needs.
The recognized demand for teaching and learning English tailored to the specific needs of learners’ instead of
traditionally focusing on teaching language forms, has led to the emergence of English for Specific Purposes (ESP),
an approach to language teaching related to the specific purpose for learning English and addressing learners ever
growing needs and requirements resulting from labor market demands, and its separation from the concept of
General English. Since the 1960s, ESP has grown to become one of the most prominent areas of English as a
Foreign Language (EFL) teaching. Its significance is reflected in an increasing number of universities worldwide
including ESP as a compulsory subject in their bachelor degree programs in different fields in order to meet their
students’ future career needs. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of ESP on a global level and
analyze its major aspects – its historical background, the theories that define it, the types of ESP, the characteristics
that distinguish it from English for General Purposes (EGP), as well as to consider some of the methodological
implications for language teachers.
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