What is the role of the learner and what is the task s/he faces?

The graduate students come to the ESP class with a specific interest for learning, subject matter knowledge, and well-built adult learning strategies. They are in charge of developing English language skills to reflect their native-language knowledge and skills. In this view, ESP is a powerful means for creating opportunities in their professional work or further studies.

The more learners pay attention to the meaning of the language they read and analyze, the more they are successful; and on the contrary, the more they have to focus on the linguistic input or isolated language structures, the less they are motivated to attend their classes.

The ESP graduate students are particularly well disposed to focus on meaning in authentic contexts and on the particular ways in which the language is used in functions that they will need to perform in their fields of specialty or jobs.

Graduate students are generally aware of the purposes for which they will need to use English. Having already oriented their education toward a specific field, they see their English training as complementing this orientation. Knowledge of the subject area enables the students to identify a real context for the vocabulary and structures of the ESP classroom.

Graduate students must work harder than they used to before, but the learning skills they bring to the task permit them to learn more efficiently. The skills they have already developed in using their English make the language learning abilities in the ESP classroom potentially immense. They will be expanding vocabulary, becoming more fluent in their fields, and adjusting their linguistic behaviour to new situations or new roles.

To summarize, students bring to ESP focus for learning, subject matter knowledge, adult learning strategies. They can exploit these innate competencies in learning English because ESP combines purpose, subject matter, motivation, context-relevant skills.

The teacher’s role in the ESP classroom is to organize programs, set goals and objectives, establish a positive learning environment, evaluate students' progress.

 

A ssessing students’ needs and skills

What language skills will the students need to develop in order to perform these tasks? Will the receptive skills of reading and listening be most important, or the productive skills of writing and speaking – or some other combination?

The Common European Framework (CEF) describes what a learner can do at six specific levels: Basic User (A1 and A2); Independent User (B1 and B2); Proficient User (C1 and C2).

These levels match general concepts of basic, intermediate, and advanced and are often referred to as the Global Scale.

The Global Scale is not language-specific. In other words, it can be used with virtually any language and can be used to compare achievement and learning across languages. For example, an A2 in Spanish is the same as an A2 in Japanese or English.

The Global Scale also helps teachers, academic coordinators, and course book writers to decide on curriculum and syllabus content and to choose appropriate course books, etc.

The Global Scale is based on a set of statements that describe what a learner can do. The “can do” statements are always positive: they describe what a learner is able to do, not what a learner cannot do or does wrong. This helps all learners, even those at the lowest levels, see that learning has value and that they can attain language goals.

Common Reference Levels - The Global Scale

Basic A1

• Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.

• Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things s/he has.

• Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Basic A2

• Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).

• Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.

• Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

Independent B1

• Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

• Can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the language is spoken.

• Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.

• Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Independent B2

• Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.

• Can interact with a degree of fl uency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

• Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

Proficient C1

• Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning.

• Can express him/herself fl uently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.

• Can use language fl exibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

• Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

Proficient C2

• Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read.

• Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation.

• Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating fi ner shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

A detailed description of Level C1 and Level C2 is given below because these are the ones graduate students are expected to have closely approached. Consequently, the ESP classroom students are recommended to start by finding where they are and identify personal objectives to be achieved with the help of this Manual.

 

	C 1	C 2
Listening	I can understand extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly. I can understand television programmes and films without too much effort.	I have no difficulty in understanding any kind of spoken language, whether live or broadcast, even when delivered at fast native speed, provided. I have some time to get familiar with the accent.
Reading	I can understand long and complex factual and literary texts, appreciating distinctions of style. I can understand specialised articles and longer technical instructions, even when they do not relate to my field.	I can read with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, structurally or linguistically complex texts such as manuals, specialised articles and literary works.
Speaking. Spoken Interaction	I can express myself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. I can use language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes. I can formulate ideas and opinions with precision and relate my contribution skilfully to those of other speakers.	I can take part effortlessly in any conversation or discussion and have a good familiarity with idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. I can express myself fluently and convey finer shades of meaning precisely. If I do have a problem I can backtrack and restructure around the difficulty so smoothly that other people are hardly aware of it.
Speaking. Spoken Production	I can present clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects integrating subthemes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.	I can present a clear, smoothly-flowing description or argument in a style appropriate to the context and with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points.
W r i t i n g	I can express myself in clear, well-structured text, expressing points of view at some length. I can write about complex subjects in a letter, an essay or a report, underlining what I consider to be the salient issues. I can select a style appropriate to the reader in mind.	I can write clear, smoothly-flowing text in an appropriate style. I can write complex letters, reports or articles which present a case with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points. I can write summaries and reviews of professional or literary works.

 

Students should receive practice in reading for different purposes, such as finding main ideas, finding specific information, or discovering the author's point of view. Students should have a clear idea of the purpose of their reading before they begin. Background information is very helpful in understanding texts. Students need advance guidelines for approaching each assignment. Knowing the purpose of the assignment will help students get the most from their reading effort. From the title, for instance, they can be asked to predict what the text is about. It is also helpful to give students some questions to think about as they read. The way they approach the reading task will depend on the purpose for which they are reading.