The importance of English for specific purpose

English has become an international lingua franca. People over the world use English as a means of communication. It has also become language of science and technology and a symbol of prestige in many societies. Case states on “Teaching English as an International Language” is estimated that by 2025 there will be more speakers of English as a second language than the speakers of English as a first language. Because of importance of English language internationally the linguists have been exporting its different fields.

Linguists’ acknowledgement of the importance of English language learners’ purposes and needs with respect to the learning process has led to the development of the field of study known as English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Teachers and researchers dealing with ESP are interested in the peculiarities of the English language determined by the profession or branch of science where the language learners will function as second language users. Thus, it is possible to distinguish among English for Law, English for Tourism, Medical English, Business English, etc. Apparently, the definition of ESP seems very simple through its words “English for Specific Purposes”. English that is learnt or taught to get specific goals in specific field like English in technology, science, business, law, study etc. However, there is no such comprehensive definition that can comprise all the details which is included in ESP because it can not be separated from English for general proposes. Although it has separate forms in practice yet in the theory the both English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for General purposes (EGP) are one [2,119].

As a matter of fact, ESP combines subject matter and English language teaching. Such a combination is highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their English classes to their main field of study, whether it be accounting, business management, economics, computer science or tourism. Being able to use the vocabulary and structures that they learn in a meaningful context reinforces what is taught and increases their motivation. The students' abilities in their subject-matter fields, in turn, improve their ability to acquire English. Subject-matter knowledge gives them the context they need to understand the English of the classroom. In the ESP class, students are shown how the subject-matter content is expressed in English. The teacher can make the most of the students' knowledge of the subject matter, thus helping them learn English faster. The term "specific" in ESP refers to the specific purpose for learning English. Students approach the study of English through a field that is already known and relevant to them. This means that they are able to use what they learn in the ESP classroom right away in their work and studies. The ESP approach enhances the relevance of what the students are learning and enables them to use the English they know to learn even more English, since their interest in their field will motivate them to interact with speakers and texts.ESP assesses needs and integrates motivation, subject matter and content for the teaching of relevant skills.

The study of language varieties narrows down the focus of linguistic enquiry, from which both teachers and language learners can benefit. Ideally, by identifying the domain where language is used, e.g.: the home, the workplace, the university, etc., including the social factors mentioned above, teachers will acquire an idea of what to teach and how to teach it. In the case of ESP, it should be kept in mind that Special English, albeit different from the so-called General English in terms of preference of some grammatical structures to others, stylistic characteristics, and field-specific vocabulary, has nevertheless inherited the patterns of word formation, syntactic and discourse organization from the larger system of language. This implies that: 1) the distinction between Special English and General English is not as clear-cut as it seems to be, and 2) the groundwork behind teaching ESP is provided by teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) and as a Foreign Language (TEFL).

All problems stemming from the questions as to what to teach and how to teach it apply both to teaching General English and teaching Special English. The difference is probably in the degree of problematicity. With ESP, these two questions are further complicated. The choice of content relevant to the purposes of learning becomes more difficult to make, partly because language teachers usually do not possess inside knowledge of the profession or science in which the language learners will function as second language users.

The first problem one encounters when teaching ESP is not why their students need English. It might help them to become good computer engineers, for instance. (Although passing examinations is often the only objective.) It is more problematic to find out how students will use English in the relevant setting. If the language learners are university students who go to lectures and seminars in English, they will probably have to develop their listening comprehension skills, they will need practice in writing term papers in English, giving oral presentations in English, etc. If the language learners need English for their present or future job, the teacher should be aware of what this job is supposed to be and what it will most probably entail [2, 67].

Needs analysis and the idea of language teaching materials based on linguistic functions, rather than structures, seem to be quite relevant to teaching ESP. However, needs analysis will be more superficial when learners share the same broader field of language usage and use but differ in their specializations. Consider a student specializing in commercial law and a student majoring in international law or two Food Technology students, one specializing in wine and beer production, the other one in the production of bread and baked goods. In both cases, teachers of English will probably stick to those areas of language usage and use which will be of help to both students and which characterize the broader field. This means that other areas will certainly be neglected and this is something teachers and learners are to be aware of. A related problem is the degree to which ESP teachers are acquainted with the respective science or occupation. Are they aware of the functions bearing communicative value in specialized discourse? Teachers of English are not expected to be experts in every sphere of knowledge but their students do not always understand this. (This is quite applicable to some societies where teachers are perceived as omniscient figures in accordance with the traditional view that they are the ultimate authority in the classroom.)

A simple proof is some students’ expectation that language teachers are obliged to know every single word in the dictionary and translate isolated words into and from the foreign language. Similarly, language learners studying Business English, for instance, might expect their teacher to know something about company types and their differences, company management, e-banking, etc. In addition, not all language teachers are acquainted with the linguistic conventions characterizing, let us say, business letters. It turns out that in the ESP classroom it is the language learners who possess the necessary real-world knowledge relevant to the language learning process. It is obvious that English teachers cannot amass all extra-linguistic knowledge they need to design a successful ESP syllabus. The question, which is rather a matter of degree, is evidently unanswerable: What is the minimal knowledge language teachers should have in order to choose content pertinent to the purposes of learning?

The question of field-specific extra-linguistic knowledge also applies to language learners studying some subtype of ESP because it is preferable for them to be at least basically acquainted with the profession or science they need the second language for. If they are university students, it is relevant to decide in which year of their university education they should be enrolled for the ESP course. Otherwise, it may turn out that English classes introduce specialized knowledge before the seminars and lectures in the respective discipline. This is an important decision since it seems that the greater the experience of the language learners in the given science or occupation, the less the pressure on the language teachers to possess a sufficient amount of field-specific knowledge.

Since language functions as a system, ESP cannot be taught in isolation, i.e. language learners are supposed to be able to communicate in English, however rudimentary their strategic competence may be. Very often the addressees of ESP courses are the so-called English language beginners. Depending on the science or occupation motivating the language learners, teaching ESP to beginners will be feasible in varying degrees.