ISSUES IN ESP

Written by Mohammad Kaosar Ahmed

International Islamic University Chittagong

Reference:

Ahmed, Mohammad. (2014). ‘Issues in ESP (English for Specific Purposes)’. ELT VOICES – INDIA
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH. 4.)

ABSTRACT

The acronym ESP has had an evolution of its own. It offers a theoretically sound and practical approach to deal
with the urgent need for professional communication on a global scale today. The demand for the teaching of
English for clearly stated aims gives birth to the ESP movement which instigates the teachers to come up with
specific demands imposed by the learner’s personal need. Thus, the teacher becomes an ESP practitioner who
facilitates learner autonomy to lay the basis of a life-long engagement with language experiences. Reviewing
existing literature, this paper attempts to summarize the key issues in ESP including ESP definition, origin,
characteristics, types, teacher/practitioner, benefits; and the place of register analysis, special language as a
concept, discourse analysis, target situation analysis, skills and strategies, and needs analysis in the ESP
discourse.
Post-Analysis of the article written by Ahmed entitled
ISSUES IN ESP ( ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES)
By Abdul Jalil Y. Bauda
BSED-IV Major In English

It is mainly cleared what had been thought by the writer writing the entire article justifying the
purposes of English Language in which he meant that the language itself should have a specified approach
and culture to actually purport what should be in the content of the language itself and fits the professional
ground of a certain person.
The remnants of issues are actually remaining which have been perceived and thought by the critic
of this analysis, though there are remaining issues such as misconception of a concept in its linguistic means
to fit in the targeted profession, it is flabbergasted that the English language actually independent and can
accommodate any certain issues and could give what is appropriate context to be attached therein in the
language and could be used to link it on the environment and profession.
For instance, the terminologies in teaching career. The English Accuracy by providing vivid words
that are fit-in to the context of the situation or the nature of the career itself. Furthermore, this excerpt would
tell the pros and cons duly acquire by the critic:
Pros
This Specified tool actually help the variety and numerous professions around the world such as
Tourism, Law, Education, Mental Health, Health, Business, Entertainment and Production, and History,
there are specified language approach on that variety of fields, such as the terminologies in Law does
significantly work at Law only and it is not applicable for Entertainment and Production, Mental Health
and etc. because it’s only talk about a certain aspect in law proceedings and does not have any attachment
to the above-mentioned.
Cons
This specified tools create an atmosphere of vivid language and taxonomy of the variety of the
language terms in a massive amount of professions around the world and could have not achieving the
language global competence due to infamous terms or words use by the different field professions such as
Engineering, Law, Education, Business, Health, Social Development and Government, and Art & History.
And would have reflected the language fluency and expertise of a single individual.

Therefore, the English For Specific Purposes has its limitations and leads it to the global
competency around the world, the mastery of the language is more focused and its fluency to using the
English for every professional and business transactions and even in the Art & History, and in Law and
Government.