A Chit-Chat on The Idea of ESP (English for Specific Purposes)
After reading a book from Dudley-Evans, T., & St John, M. (1998). Developments in ESP: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach, I got the idea to express something. Although, I haven't finished read all the chapters because it needs a proper time to actually finish the book and digest the idea. However, in any way, here is the list of what I have understood so far.
- Summary of the article
Trends in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) are seen from three points. There are socio-discoursal, sociocultural, and sociopolitical.
First, socio-discoursal means an approach of ESP that focuses on genre theory and genre-informed pedagogy. Actually, discourse can be seen from ideational content, tenor (interpersonal context), and mode (textually). Genre theorists are learners’ applications in implementing the lesson, such as writing reflection, making research paper, interviewing, gathering sources, note-taking. In the praxis, to make it realistic and accurate, the practitioner should be able to view theoretical and pedagogical developments as a parallel phenomenon that influences genre. The genre analysis resulted in difficulties in specific speech communities in written or oral texts and structured communicative events (Hyland, 2003) when a learner comes into the real context.
Second, sociocultural is focused on contexts such as the theory of situated learning and practical nature. Situated immersion is the focus. Problematic in ESP is the rhetorical situation of specific discourse communities. There is still argumentation on the necessity of immersion in the target situation because ESP practitioners would not disagree that immersion is helpful. However, ESP practitioners have responded to context challenges by providing protection for new community members to immerse themselves in the community.
The last, sociopolitical is theories and applications of pedagogy in ESP class. Mastering the ESP is not enough if the global English is not achieved, such as how to negotiate with people who are the owner and have power. To be more reflexive, it is the role to meet learners’ needs especially to break the limit. Other critics of pedagogy ask whose needs are being addressed and why. Today, because of some critics about pedagogy in ESP class, it is critically defined from traditional needs into collaborative learning. Also revised text, it is not only focusing on situated in context but also a hybrid product of multiple contexts to meet personal and social identities, home and academic or professional value.
As a practitioner of the ESP class, the focus is the learner. Learner-centered gives the learners space to achieve their academic or occupational goals (Swales, 2000). In addition, ESP pedagogy is more focused on collecting assessment data, create or adapt materials to meet specific learners’ needs, to cope unfamiliar subject matter, and even directly used the language. The fact, the learners lack a well-developed (pragmatic diversity). The overlapping directions are categorized as socio-discoursal, sociocultural, and sociopolitical. However, ESP today is more noticed on social situatedness, even though ESP before ignored social context.
2. Comment
The important point from the article is about sociopolitical issues. ESP is not about “need analysis” for learners anymore, but also “right analysis.” The purpose of the right analysis is to increase critical thinking and awareness if there is a harassment situation. How people defend their existence as a human who has a right in the workplace. For example, a person who has worked as a businessman also has a right to speak up when this person got pressure, discrimination, gender, or religious intimidation. Every people have a right to talk and communicate the problem. One of the ways is that people must have good negotiation ability or good communication to express their uncomfortable feelings.
In vice versa, the fact, business people will not focus on how to make a deal with something which is privacy such as gender, ethnics, religion, or even rights. It is because, in the real context, people do not need to make an agreement on how to pay attention to certain religions for example, but as business people, working is the main focus.
Thus, in ESP, the practitioners should not only focus on how to achieve learners’ needs in some fields but also focusing on the learners that they need to know how to deal with overcoming limit-situation and break the limit with politeness. The practitioners just apply a direction to make stimulus for learners in increasing apprehension on some cases that might be happened in the real context which depends on learners’ profile. With this awareness, learners are expected to be able to analyze the limit-situation and try to give a solution or rethink how to react. In addition, a hybrid product is one of the multiple context outcomes that might be effective, such as awareness of personal and social identities. So, the practitioner can bring the general situation to be analyzed deeper depends on the context before going to explain something more specific in ESP.
3. The implication of the article for the ESP class in the future
Actually, ESP is designed for an adult learner to more focus on certain needs with particular disciplines, purposes, occupations, and activities. The benefits are adjusted based on the goals and it cannot be generalized as like learning general English. For example, if the learners want to master certain skills of business, they can learn in EGBP or EBP.
For many years, since ESP was born, it has just focused on the specific needs of target learners. Then, the products that might be achieved are based on the goals. In the middle of learning, there are many problems that might be appeared. Now, I think based on the article, the issues of socio-discoursal, sociocultural, and sociopolitical are possible happened when teaching in ESP classroom.
What I want to more focus on is the implication of using sociopolitical as the approach. Based on Benesech (2001), clearly stated that language learner needs more communicative competence and literacy. Then, what they need are voices to speak up to make lives better. Think beyond outside from literacy becomes the rights of learners’ need (Benesech, 2001). It means that there is a relation between rights and power in protecting existence when to speak up. How to respond about the power and understand how to react based on rights and fairness is very important to be learned.
The real example is in Sri Lanka that told by Canagarajah (2001) when someone only can do little works and have strong beliefs with their religion. She or he can speak up what the reality of faith that might be disturbed. The personal commitment of religion to the faith and academic discourse is required. Although, these points are full of subjectivity without neglecting academic requirements also supported objectivity. How to express critics and good negotiation is important in order to achieve the goals as learners and individuals who have personal identities.
Bhatia (2002) stated that even some areas have been studied in depth to find the nature of expertise that can make someone communicatively competent. As a practitioner, providing context is not enough, if there is no other context as a comparison. So, in applying a sociopolitical approach, learning situations will be more on rethink and analyzing how to solve a case based on rights. The practitioner can give articles with a certain context of limited situations or even harassment in work placed. The possibility, it will need more time to discuss, debate, or share based on the case or context rather than the practitioner gives lecturing how to be the decision-maker in breaking the rules for protecting rights and beliefs. It is useful for learners to make solutions based on their thought and belief, to decide which one is more suitable with their own context, and to apprehend what it is supposed to be.
Nowadays, ESP is developed. ESP will not just focus on linguistics and genre-based, but also how to deal with various contexts with different approaches from many sides such as sociopolitical. It is very important if in ESP class there is learning of how to overcome with limit-situations. Authority and power are examples of limited situations that might be happened. Both of them will be found in many workplaces or context. How to respond toward power and defend rights are needed special skills. The skills should be studied, includes the ESP classroom.
