Report on ESP Materials Development

This report aims at explaining and describing the path followed when designing and
developing materials for an ESP reading comprehension course. We were asked to design
materials in the field of Human Resources Management for students who are in the 3rd year
of their studies at Universidad Siglo XXI. Their level of English is basic and they are
proficient L1 readers. In the first part of this report, we will explain the needs analysis
carried out and the reasons for the selection of the text; then, we will refer to the process of
the design of activities and its theoretical underpinning.

To begin with, we decided to carry out a research to get to know about the subjects
studied in the field; we visited Universidad Siglo XXIs website and saw that
administration, leadership, production and communication were some of the subjects
studied. However, we could not have access to the syllabus of any of the subjects. As we
were doubtful about what type of text we had to look for, we decided to keep on reading
about the field and searched other program studies like the ones in Universidad de Palermo.

The following step was the selection of texts. We looked for texts on the web and
found hundreds of options but that was not much of an advantage, since we were reading a
lot but were not deciding or choosing any. Some of those texts were quite long, too
technical and boring, and we thought that if we could not understand what the text was
about, it would be very difficult to work. After doing some more research, we found a book
online called Beginning management of human resources written by Laura Portolese
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Dias in 2011. The book teaches strategies and theories that any manager needs to know and
it provides practical applications of the theory. The texts were really easy to read and
interesting, so we agreed that we should choose a text from this book. In addition, we
searched for information about the author to see whether the source was reliable. Laura
Portolese Dias is a tenured professor at Shoreline Community College and teaches in the
business department, she also teaches HRM courses for the University of Phoenix and
holds a master of business administration from City University of Seattle.

In order to select the text, we followed the text selection criteria proposed by
McGrath (2002). We believed the text chosen fulfills the criteria since it is relevant to both,
the syllabus and learners needs. It matches the objectives we needed to achieve; thus, the
text presents pervasive instances of the simple past tense and of textual reference, the real
content we needed to teach. It is also relevant to students as it presents the term and notion
of planning to them. Moreover, the text matches cognitive and linguistic demands on
students, cognitive considerations will include the familiarity of the subject matter and key
concepts, degree of abstractness and text organization. As we have just mentioned, the text
contains specific language features which allows us to design activities with a focus on
language; and as the topic is interesting, it allowed us to create a closing activity with
which the students can identify with. That is, the content of the texts provokes a reaction on
students. Regarding its logistical considerations, the text chosen is long but it is easy to
read; and as it is a case study, students will not find difficulty in the comprehension of it.
Finally, the text is culturally appropriate since it does not contain features that offend
against religious, political or social aspects of any culture (McGrath, 2002).

Our task sheet should meet the following objectives: the presentation and
application of the reading strategy idea association, and the real content to teach, a verb
tense and the presentation of textual reference. As we followed the TAVI approach to
reading comprehension, this implies that extracting information accurately and quickly is
more significant than language details. Thus, the first activities are focused on reading
comprehension skills, so that students get an understanding of the text before focusing on
language use.

With regard to the first objective, we decided to activate students prior knowledge
by looking at the title of the text The Value of Planning. We expect students to notice the
importance of reading strategies and apply them even before approaching the text, in this
case by predicting what the text is going to be about. We also provide one key concept in
the students field of study (planning) and expect them to associate the word with other
concepts they probably already know. The pre- reading activities designed meet a purpose,
that is, to engage and motivate students into what they are going to read by activating
schemata that is grounded on students experience and knowledge.

Regarding the second objective, we decided to present the simple past tense. We
resorted to an inductive method, since students have to answer questions about the form of
regular and irregular verbs and how they realized the text is in the past. As the fifth and
sixth principles of Tomlimson 1998 (cited in Lauria 2006) state materials should expose
the learners to language in authentic use and the learners attention should be drawn to
linguistic features of the input. Thus, the text selected is suitable for the presentation of
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this tense; it is an authentic source of language and it was not necessary to make many
modifications to it. Students are exposed to real language and pervasive instances of the
tense chosen. We did not make any modifications to the text for the reading comprehension
activities, but for pedagogic purposes when the focus was on language use, we transcribed a
section with a focus on form.

With regard to the third objective, we decided to present reference using an

inductive method too. We first provide students isolated sentences, and then group those
sentences in paragraph form without repetitions and using reference. Then, we raise
students awareness by asking them if they notice any difference between the sentences and
the paragraph. Once they signal the difference, they find the explanation of what reference
is.

With regard to the final task, we decided to include some comprehension questions
to ensure students actually understood James mistake of hiring too many employees and its
consequences, and some questions for discussion to elaborate on students points of view.
Although the final task is at the very end of the task sheet, it was the first activity we
thought in the material design process. First, we thought about the possibility of using some
graphic organizers, for instance, to summarize the text; but we realized that they were not
very suitable for the text we selected. We noticed that the text itself is an indicator of the
activities that can be successfully used. Such was the case with the final task, in which we
exploited the case study as a resource for learning. We believe this task implies careful
reading and interpretation of the text and it presents a cognitive challenge for students in
order to answer by resorting to the knowledge and experiences they have on planning.
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With regards to the rubrics, we decided to write them in Spanish, since their level of
English is basic. Writing the rubrics in the L2 at this level may lead to disorientation and to
an unclear understanding of what is it exactly that they have to do. The language used is
simple and as clear as possible so that students can carry out the activities without so many
explanations from the teacher. We also used the second person singular form (t) in the
instructions. Although this form is not so frequently used in everyday life in Crdoba, it is
often used in books to address students. We believe it is an intermediate form between the
very formal form usted and the informal vos, so we thought it appropriate for this
reading comprehension context.

In conclusion, materials development presented a great challenge for us since it was

the first experience in doing something related to a reading comprehension course.
Throughout the process we encountered difficulties; the first one being finding a suitable
text for the level of English of our students and, at the same time, a text that combines both
carrier content and real content. The second one was the design and production of the
activities. We brainstormed different activities that we would have liked to do but
everything changed when we had the texts selected, since not all the activities we had
thought were suitable for the chosen text. It was a process of drafting, editing and re doing
of activities too, as it was after some tutorial sessions that we realized that we were
approaching the text with a different perspective, that of General English (PPP). Thanks to
our mentor, we noticed that a TAVI approach was instead necessary for the design of
activities. All in all, this task was a rewarding experience as well, since it gave us a
different insight into ESP. The whole process was fruitful and worthwhile because we
exploited our abilities as materials designers, and we also improved our team work abilities.
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