Effective vocabulary teaching and learning strategies in English for specific purposes

Communicating in a foreign language is impossible without mastering vocabulary. It is of special importance in English for Specific Purposes (further ESP) courses as requirements of modern realities in Kazakhstan force experts to know enough ESP vocabulary to be able to demonstrate their knowledge in their professional sphere. Since vocabulary plays such an important role in ESP courses it is essential to determine what strategies ensure effective teaching and learning it in specific groups of learners. This paper presents results of a study held on vocabulary teaching and learning strategies employed by ESP teachers and learners at L.N. Gumilyev Eurasian national university (further ENU) in Astana, Kazakhstan. An open-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were conducted among 20 ESP teachers and 48 ESP students of L.N. Gumilyev ENU. The questions elicit not only teachers’ vocabulary teaching experiences and opinions about the most effective vocabulary teaching approaches but also the reasons for students’ vocabulary learning and using problems. During the interview students described their preferred vocabulary learning styles and confirmed the importance of learning vocabulary in ESP. The study determined the most effective ESP vocabulary teaching and learning strategies for teachers to use at L.N. Gumilyev Eurasian National University.