A Learning-Centered Analysis of the ESP Needs of Engineering Students
Subject Areas : All areas of language and translation
Sartoon Mostafavi
1
(PhD Candidate of TEFL at South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran)
Ahmad Mohseni
2
(Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, English Department, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran)
Gh Abbasian
3
(Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Imam Ali University, Tehran, Iran)
Keywords: ESP, Needs analysis, Learning-centered approach, Technical English,
Abstract :
The current study investigated Iranian engineering students’ target situation and learning needs about a tertiary level course of English for specific purposes (ESP). To this end, a convenience sample including 27 ESP instructors and 222 students majoring in different fields of engineering from 10 randomly selected Iranian universities participated in an exploratory sequential mixed-method study. As the preliminary stage of the analysis, the instructor participants were interviewed about various domains representing the ESP needs of engineering students. The qualitative teacher-elicited data were used to develop a needs analysis questionnaire specific to the student participants of the study. The descriptive analysis of the responses provided by the engineering students to the needs analysis questionnaire shed light on the significant learner needs relevant to ESP learning and those related to the target situation of use. Providing a context-relevant scheme to design, evaluate, and modify ESP courses for Iranian students of engineering, the study’s findings could positively influence the current ESP pedagogy in Iran.
Alavi, S. M., Kaivanpanah, S., & Taase, Y. (2018). A needs-based evaluation of EAP syllabuses. Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(1), 1-16.
Aliakbari, M., & Boghayeri, M. (2014). A needs analysis approach to ESP design in Iranian context. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 175-181.
Alsamadani, H. A. (2017). Needs analysis in ESP context: Saudi engineering students as a case study. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(6), 58-68.
Atai, M. R., & Khazaee, M. (2014). Exploring Iranian EAP teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and their professional identity. Issues in Language Teaching, 3(1), 35-31.
Atai, M. R., & Nazari, O. (2011). Exploring reading comprehension needs of Iranian EAP students of health information management (HIM): A triangulated approach. System, 39(1), 30-43.
Atai, M. R., & Shoja, L. (2011). A triangulated study of academic language needs of Iranian students of computer engineering: are the courses on track? RELC Journal, 42(3), 305-323.
Azodi, N., & Karimi, F. (2017). ESP needs analysis in Iran: The case of university students of medicine. Journal of Studies in Education, 7(4), 54-64.
Basturkmen, H. (2010). Developing courses in English for specific purposes. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Belcher, D. D., Johns, A. M., & Paltridge, B. (2011). New directions in English for specific purposes research. Ann Arbor, Michigan: The University of Michigan Press.
Boroujeni, S., & Moradian Fard, F. (2013). A needs analysis of English for specific purposes (ESP) course for adoption of communicative language teaching:A case of Iranian first-year students of educational administration. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 2(6), 35-44.
Donna, S. (2000). Teach Business English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dudley-Evans, T., & St. John, M. J. (1998). Developments in English for specific purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Esfandiari, R. (2015). An investigation into ESAP needs of Iranian BA students of law. The Journal of Teaching Language Skills, 7(3), 29-59.
Eslami, Z. R. (2010). Teachers’ voice vs. students’ voice: A needs analysis approach to English for acadmic purposes (EAP) in Iran. English Language Teaching, 3(1), 3-11.
Flowerdew, J., & Peacock, M. (2001). The EAP curriculum: Issues, methods, and challenges. In J. Flowerdew & M. Peacock (Eds.), Research perspectives on English for academic purposes (pp. 177-194). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Frendo, E. (2005). How to teach business English. England: Longman.
Ghandi, M., & Maghsoudi, M. (2014). The effect of direct and indirect corrective feedback on Iranian EFL learners’ spelling errors. English Language Teaching, 7(8), 53-61.
Hamp-Lyons, L. (2001). English for academic purposes. In R. Carter & D. Nunan (Eds.), The cambridge guide to teaching English to speakers of other languages (pp. 126-130). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hatam, A. H., & Shafiei, S. (2012). The evaluation of the effectiveness of ESP courses in enhancing technical translation proficiency: A case study of ESPcourse for mechanical engineering students. English Language Teaching, 5(5), 68-78.
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes : A Learning-centered approaches. Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
Hyland, K. (2006). English for academic purposes: An advanced resource book. New York: Routledge.
Johns, A. M. (2013). The history of English for specific purposes research. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 5-30). Chichester, UK Wiley-lackwell.
Khany, R., & Tarlani-Aliabadi, H. (2016). Studying power relations in an academic setting: Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of EAP classes in Iran. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 21, 72-85.
Khatib, M., & Vaezi, M. N. (2017). An investigation of Iranian EFL teachers and learners’ preferences in the selection of different types of direct and indirect oral corrective feedback. Applied Research on English Language, 6(4), 473-498.
Khodi, A. (2015). From an appraisal of Iranian ESP courses to curriculum development. International Journal of Research in English Language Pedagogy, 3(2), 13-20.
Mahdavi Zafarghandi, A., Khalili Sabet, M., & Shahroudi, S. (2014). Developing an ESP needs profile of Iranian students of Business Administration. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 3(5), 3-18.
Malmir, A., & Bagheri, M. (2019). Instructors and learners’ attitudes about English for science and technology: Learning and target needs of mechanical engineering students. Iranian Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 8(1), 17-34.
Mashhadi Heidar, D., & Abassy Delvand, S. (2015). A survey on the efficiency of ESP teachers in Iranian universities. International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 3(11), 59-66.
Mostafaei Alaei, M., & Ershadi, A. R. (2017). ESP Program in Iran: A stakeholder-based evaluation of the program’s goal, methodology, and textbook. Issues in Language Teaching, 5(2), 306-279.
Munby, J. (1978). Communicative syllabus design: A sociolinguistic model for designing the content of purpose-specific language programmes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nemat Tabrizi, A. R., & Mojoudi Renani, F. (2016). ESP needs analysis of undergraduate mechanical engineering students: A case in Iran. International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies (IJHCS) 3(2), 1696-1707.
Paltridge, B., & Starfield, S. (2013). The handbook of English for specific purposes. British: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, K. (2009). Trends in qualitative research in language teaching since 2000. Language teaching, 42(2), 147-180.
Robinson, P. C. (1991). ESP today: A practitioner’s guide. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Serafini, E. J., Lake, J. B., & Long, M. H. (2015). Needs analysis for specialized learner populations: Essential methodological improvements. English for Specific Purposes, 40(3), 11-26.
Shahini, G., & Riazi, A. M. (2001). A needs assessment for the English language courses at Shiraz University. Indian journal of applied linguistics, 27(1), 147-155.
Sherkatolabbasi, M., & Mahdavi-Zafarghandi, A. (2012). Evaluation of ESP teachers in different cntexts of Iranian universities. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 1(2), 198-205.
Tabatabaei, O., & Mokhtari, A. (2014). ESP learners’ perception of ESP program problems at Iranian Universities (a case study of Islamic Azad University Najafabad Branch). Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(6), 1144-1154.
Tsao, C.-H., Wei, A. M., & Fang, A. S. (2008). ESP for college students in Taiwan: a survey of student and faculty perceptions. International Symposium on ESP, 7(2), 245-262.
Zand-Moghadam, A., Meihami, H., & Ghiasvand, F. (2018). Exploring the English language needs of EAP students of humanities and social sciences in Iran: A triangulated approach. Issues in Language Teaching, 7(1), 135-164.