Theoretical foundations and features of teaching English for special purposes

The term "English for special purposes" (English for special/specific purposes - ESP) originated in the 60s of the XX century in English-speaking countries simultaneously as a scientific direction and a type of English language teaching that meets the needs of students. Swales (1988) mentions an article by C.L. Barber on the nature of scientific English, which was published in early 1962. Since the late 60s and early 70s, there has been a trend of extensive research into various areas of the English language, in particular J. Ewer and G. Latorre examined the features of the scientific style of written English in the technical field, as well as studies in the field of EST (English for Science and Technology) were conducted by such scientists as Swales, Selinker and Trimble and others.

Currently, the field of specialized English language teaching (ESP) is one of the fastest developing. Like most disciplines related to integration processes in various spheres of human activity, ESP turned out to be a phenomenon whose relevance is determined by a number of rapidly developing trends, from which, in our opinion, it is necessary to distinguish the following:

• 1)    Due to the worldwide recognition of English as an international language, there was a need to know English in accordance with specific needs in professional activity.

• 2)    The rapid development of applied linguistics, according to which, according to John Allen and Henry Widdowson, there is a tendency for linguists to switch their attention from studying and defining formal features of language to finding ways and revealing the possibilities of using language in real communication. This, in turn, necessitates the development of new methodological and didactic approaches to the organization of the process of learning English for a certain group of students, taking into account the specifics of their professional activities.

• 3)    New developments in the field of educational psychology, which according to Rodgers also contributed to the development of ESP, bringing to the fore the students themselves and their attitude to learning. Since the needs and interests of the student influence the degree of their motivation and the level of effectiveness of their training. Thus, as Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters note, "these factors determine the need for target specialization in language learning", which today many researchers and practitioners interpret differently, defining the concept of ESP and the degree of its target specialization.

According to the definition proposed by John Munby, "ESP is courses for which the curriculum and materials are determined depending on a preliminary analysis of the student's communicative needs". According to Jo McDonough, ESP is focusing on the learning process, which certainly has its own accents and priorities. He emphasizes that ESP is a kind of way of teaching a foreign language. Although Pauline Robinson claims in her work that ESP includes EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and EEP (English for Economic Purposes) and is intended for study as a separate specialized discipline or academic subject.

Following Hutchinson and Waters, we adhere to the broadest definition of ESP, according to which it reads as follows: "ESP is an approach to teaching a foreign language in which all aspects of learning, such as content and methods, are based on the motives of students to learn a foreign language". Therefore, ESP should be considered as an "approach" to learning AI, and not the result of learning. In turn, Peter Strevens notes that ESP is a special case of the general direction of teaching AI for special purposes. It characterizes ESP by describing the differences between absolute and variable characteristics. At the same time, defining ESP as a purposeful teaching of the AI, or as one of the directions of teaching the English language. Later Dudley-Evans and St. John changed the characteristics parameters given by Peter Strevens and revealed the essence of ESP based on the following two aspects:

• I.    Absolute characteristics

• 1)    ESP is aimed at realizing the specific needs of the student;

• 2)    ESP implies the use of a certain methodology, taking into account the specifics of the professional orientation of the discipline in which ESP is studied;

• 3)    ESP is focused on linguistic phenomena (grammatical, lexical, stylistic), on speech skills and abilities (listening, reading, writing, speaking), on the peculiarities of discourse, styles and genres corresponding to a certain professional activity.

• II.    Variable characteristics

• 1)    ESP can be related or designed for specific disciplines;

• 2)    In the process of learning ESP, in specific learning situations, it is possible to use a certain methodology different from the general principles of teaching basic English (GE - General English);

• 3)    ESP may involve teaching an adult audience, or is intended for students of higher educational institutions, or for a professional field of activity. However, it can be presented to students at the secondary school level;

• 4)    ESP is mainly designed for students with an intermediate or advanced level of knowledge of a foreign language;

• 5)    Most ESP courses presuppose some basic knowledge of the language system, although it can be used at the initial level among beginners.

In our opinion, the last three points of variable characteristics contradict each other, especially the fourth and fifth points. In our opinion, the fourth point is legitimate. According to which ESP really should be mainly designed for students with an intermediate or advanced level of knowledge of a foreign language. Which in turn implies the ESP learning conditions listed in the third paragraph, with the exception of the last category, i.e. secondary school students.

Thus, considering the variable characteristics in the context of modern requirements for the level of language training of students of non-linguistic universities, taking into account the peculiarities of the formation of professional foreign language competence, we consider it necessary to modify them as follows:

• 1)    ESP is related to or intended for specialized disciplines;

• 2)    In addition to the general principles of GE training, in the process of ESP training, in specific training situations, it is necessary to use a certain methodology other than GE training methodology;

• 3)    ESP involves teaching an adult audience, that is, it is intended for students of higher educational institutions, or for professional activities;

• 4)    ESP is designed for students with at least an average level of language training achieved at the previous stages of training according to a multi-level system of continuing education.

At the same time, we adhere to the position that ESP is not a special kind of English. Because "language for special purposes" and "specialized language" are two different concepts. According to R. Mackay and A. Mountford, "the only practical way in which we can interpret the concept of a "specialized language" is an understanding of it as a limited repertoire of words and expressions selected from the lexical system of the language, since this limited vocabulary can be used only within a clearly defined context, or in accordance with a specific task or limited activity". While the concept of "language for special purposes" implies the purpose for which students learn a foreign language, and does not reflect the nature of the language they are learning. And in order to optimize it, teachers of English in a non-linguistic university, in particular an economic profile, need to use the ESP approach when compiling curricula, which should be based on an analysis of the goals and needs of students, as well as the features of the formation of professional foreign language competence, taking into account the specialization of a particular university, faculty, department.