B.A. (English Language)UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

Second Semester 2011/2012

BBI 3211

(English for Specific Purposes)

UNIT 5 (ESP Materials)

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Faiz Abdullah

Unit 5: ESP MATERIALS

Unit ObjectivesAt the end of this unit, you will be able to:• describe ways in which knowledge of special

language can be used in the development of ESP materials,

• identify authentic texts for use in ESP classes,• distinguish between language-focused and authentic

activity-focused use of text,• assess the relative merits and demerits of using

textbooks and in-house materials, respectively, and• select appropriate techniques of ESP materials

design and apply these to their own practice.

Link between Language and Content

1. Language descriptions - the link between NA, CD and Materials.

2. Methodology in ESP - two angles, i.e. ‘methodology’ as:• the approach to problem-solving that is practised

in a particular discipline and/or area of study/work, and

• the sum total of teaching/learning activities in a course of instruction.

3. Current approaches to ESP are based on:– notions of ‘genre’ and ‘register’ in relation to

language use in work/study context– Topics and learning tasks in course design

Link between Language and Content (cont’d…)

4. Descriptions of special language link NA to the language content of the course via:– description carried out at NA stage of course design

– basis for the development of materials

– important first stage in the selection of content

– basis of ESP materials esp. areas of materials that are language-focused E.g. exercises on word formation, collocations (i.e. words that tend to occur together), abbreviations, and the linguistic forms associated with the expression of rhetorical functions and discourse moves or stages

Link between Language and Content (cont’d…)

5. Language descriptions are not explicit in communicative activities:

• part of “language focus” stage, not “content focus” stage

• knowledge of typical genres is useful for the teacher or materials-writer as a basis for structuring communicative activities

• Units of materials structured according to Topics and Tasks

Link between Language and Content (cont’d…)

6. Structure of a unit of materials (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987): Starter – prepare learners for topic Input – relevant information on topic Language Focus and Content Focus

(alternating content/language exercises) Task (pedagogic tasks leading to ‘real

world tasks) Project (optional – perhaps every 2/3

units)

An ESP Materials Design ModelAdapted from Hutchinson & Waters (1987, p. 109)

Starter

Input

Content Focus Language Focus

Tasks

Project

Text and Tasks

7. Authentic tasks are devised, based on authentic texts:

• resemble the actions learners need to do in real life situations

• are similar to actual texts found in real life situations

• Authenticity of text and task is therefore a key consideration in ESP materials

Using Authentic Texts

1. Properties of authenticity with regard to ESP materials include the following:

• the texts were not produced for language teaching/training purposes

• the texts are relevant for the target context of language use

• the texts should be what the learners would do in their specific area of study/work activity

Authentic Texts (cont’d…)

2. If authentic texts are linguistically too difficult for the learners, simple or simplified texts can be used. – ‘simple’ = specially written for the language

class– ‘simplified’ = the original text is modified to

make it simpler3. In simplified accounts, two features that

are usually changed are:– lexis, or vocabulary– syntax

Authentic Texts (cont’d…)

4. Two textual features that one should be careful to preserve unchanged in simplified accounts are:– rhetorical structure– information structure

5. Two other ways of making difficult texts more accessible to the learner are:– grading by information density (i.e.

controlling focus on content from less to more)

– grading by task complexity (i.e. arranging tasks from easy to more difficult)

Language-focused and Authentic Activities

1. TALO (Text as Linguistic Object) - texts that focus on language

2. TAVI (Text as Vehicle of Information) - texts that are used to stimulate authentic activities

3. Procedure for application of concepts:• Selection of text i.e. principles whereby the

text is chosen – what the teacher looks for• Working with text – what to focus on• Classroom interaction i.e. Language functions

- Teacher/learner(s) or learner/learner(s)• Follow-up activities i.e. in class or as

homework

Using Textbooks

Advantages• good quality, from expert

authors and editors

• good appearance

• convenient to have a book

• the book provides a syllabus and a course shape

• accountability, control and co-ordination in a large-scale course with several student groups taught by different teachers

Disadvantages• irrelevance of topics for group

• wrong language level for group

• wrong level of subject knowledge for group

• not suitable for learning style(s) of group

• not meeting their particular language difficulties

• students may have used the book before

• book may be culturally inappropriate

• not enough copies for students

Using In-house Materials

Advantages• relevance and appropriacy

for particular group of learners, with regard to:

– topic– level of subject – knowledge– language level– language difficulties– learning style– cultural acceptability

• flexibility – responding to needs as they arise, or keeping up-to-date with topical subjects

• materials writing is professionally prestigious

Disadvantages• very time-consuming to

produce

• variable quality

• difficult to coordinate across teachers – they tend to want to use their own only

• lots of bits of paper inconvenient for students, and also teachers

• a syllabus and course plan must also be drawn up

• difficulty in finding suitable source material, especially fro listening