ESP Courses for Psychology and Law Tertiary Level Students: Attitudes, Challenges Needs and Obstacles
Subject Areas : Research in English Language PedagogyElahe Sadeghi 1 , Mohammad Hassan Tahririan 2
1 - Sheikhbahaee University, Isfahan, Iran
2 - Sheikhbahaee University, Isfahan, Iran
Keywords: ESP, psychology, tertiary students, Law,
Abstract :
Educators have not started talking about affective factors in ESP until lately (Makrami, 2010). ESP has found its way in daily lives of a majority of people and it has also become a part of tertiary education programme in Iranian universities. However, rarely has anything been done after putting these ESP courses into work while many obstacles appear soon after putting ESP courses into practice. The current study aims to investigate the attitudes and views instructors and students hold in ESP courses. Data were gathered by interviewing instructors and students of psychology and law in Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch. The results showed that crowded classes, lack of motivation and poor infrastructure are the main issues that they are dealing with. Furthermore, the need for integration of some aspects of English like pronunciation and grammar is felt in ESP courses. The findings of this study could be of help for to practitioners and material designers.
Basturkmen, H. (2006). Ideas and options in English for specific purposes. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Belcher, D. (2006). English for specific purposes: Teaching to the perceived needs and imagined futures in the world of work, study, and everyday life. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 133–156.
text-stroke-width: 0px; "> Belcher, D. (2004). Trends in teaching English for Specific Purposes. Annual Review of
Applied Linguistics, 24, 165–186.
Berwick, R. (1989). Needs assessment in language programming: From theory to
practice. In R.K. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum (pp. 48–62).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what
language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36(2), 81–109.
Bouzidi, H. (2009). Between the ESP classroom and the workplace: Bridging the gap.
English Teaching Forum (3), 10-19.
Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (fifth ed), Pearson
Education, Inc.
Carter, D. (1983). ‘Some propositions about ESP’. The ESP Journal 2(2): 131–7.
Chapelle, C. (1994). Are C-tests valid measures for L2 vocabulary research? Second
Language Research 10, 157-187.
Dornyei, Z., & Csizer, K. (1998). Ten commandments for motivating language
learners: Results of an empirical study.
Language Teaching Research, 2, 203-229. Dudley-Evans, T., & St. John, M. J. (1998).
Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A Multi-disciplinary Approach.
Cambridge University Press.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of
attitudes and motivation. London: Edvard
Arnold.
Haastrup, K., & Henriksen, B. (2000). Vocabulary acquisition: acquiring depth of
knowledge through network building. International Journal of Applied Linguistics
10, 221-240.
Hayati, M. (2008). Teaching English for Special Purposes in Iran Problems and
suggestions, from http://ahh.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/7/2
/149.
Henriksen, B., (1999). Three dimensions of vocabulary development. Studies in Second
Language Acquisition 21, 303-317.
Holme, R., & Chalauisaeng, B. (2006). The learner as needs analyst: the use of
participatory appraisal in the EAP reading classroom. English for Specific Purposes,
25, 403–419.
Holmes, J. L., & Celani, M. A. A. (2006).
Sustainability and local knowledge: The
case of the Brazilian ESP Project 1980–
2005. English for Specific Purposes, 25(1),
109–122.
Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987) English for
Specific Purposes: A Learning-Centered
Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Kardash, C. A. M., & Scholes, R. J. (1996). Effects of pre-existing beliefs, epistemological
beliefs and need for cognition on
interpretation of controversial issues. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 260-271.
Kern, R. (1995). Students’ and teachers’ beliefs
about language learning. Foreign Language
Annals, 28, 71–91.
Labassi, T. (2010). Two ESP projects under the test of time: The case of Brazil and Tunisia,
Sciencedirect (29), 19-29.
Levine, G. (2003). Student and instructor beliefs and attitudes about target language
use, first language use, and anxiety: Report of a questionnaire study. Modern Language
journal, 87, 343-364.
Liaghat, F. & Latif, F. (2013). The Study of the Inconsistency between ESP and General
English Course Syllabi for the Persian
Literature Major. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3, (2).
Liton, H. A. (2012). An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of ESP course for Business Administration at Community College of Jazan University. English for Specific
Purposes World, Issue 36, vol. 12.
Makrami, B. H. (2010). Motivation and attitude of Saudi University‟s learners of English for
specific purpose,
http://khuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bitstream /1808/6741/1/ Makrami_ ku_0099D _1957_
DATA _1.PDF
Mazdayasna, G., & Tahririan, M.H. (2008). Journal of English for Academic Purposes vol. 7 issue 4
width: 0px; "> ELT Jornal, 61/4, 369−371.
Munby, H. (1987). The dubious place of
practical argument and scientific knowledge
in the thinking of teachers. Educational
Theory, 37(4), 361-368.
Nassaji, H. (2004). The relationship between
depth of vocabulary knowledge and L2
learners’ lexical inferencing strategy use and success. The Canadian Modern Language
Review 61, 107-134.
Nation, I.S.P. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Newbury House, New York.
Northcott, J., & Brown, G. (2006). Legal translator training: Partnership between teachers of English for legal purposes and
legal specialists. English for Specific Purposes, 25(3), 375–385.
Pariseau, S. E. & Kezim B. (2007). The Effect of Using Case Studies in Business Statistics.
Journal of Education for Business, 83 (1),
27-31.
Peacock, M. (2001). Pre-service ESL teachers’ beliefs about second language learning: A
longitudinal study. System, 29 (2), 177–195. Popescu, A. V. (2012). Teaching ESP -1st year
students of electronics and telecom -
munications, ScieVerse Sciencedirect (46), 4181-4185.
Read, J. (2000). Assessing Vocabulary. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Richards, J. C. (2002). Theories of teaching in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Richards, J. C. (1998). Beyond training: Perspectives on language teacher education.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C. (1976). The role of vocabulary teaching. TESOL Quarterly 10, 77-89.
Richards, J. C., & S Schmidt, R. (2002). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching
and Applied Linguistics, 3rd ed. PearsonEducation, London.Samimy, K. K., & Lee, Y. (1997). Beliefs aboutlanguage learning: Perspectives of first-yearChinese learners and their instructors.Journal of the Chinese Language TeachersAssociation, 32(1), 40-60.Schumann, J. H. (1998). The neurobiology ofaffect in language. Oxford: Blackwell.Swiggum, P., & Slette, E. (1997). Finalreport. Grant to recruit and retainpersons of color in nursing programs.Inver Hills Community College and CenturyCollege.Tsao, C. H. (2011). English for SpecificPurposes in the EFL Context: A Survey ofStudent and Faculty Perceptions. The AsianESP Journal , 7- 2, 126-149.Tsui, A. B. M. (2005). Expertise in teaching:Perspectives and issues. In K. Johnson(Ed.), Expertise in second language learningand teaching (pp. 167–189). Basingstoke:Palgrave Macmillan.West, R. (1994). Needs analysis in languageteaching. Language Teaching, 27 (No. 1,January).Wu, H. & Badger, R. G. (2009). In a strangeand uncharted land: ESP teachers’ strategiesfor dealing with unpredicted problems insubject knowledge during class. Sciencedirect,English for specific purposes, 28.