ESP – Rationale

Extra Sensory Perception?

As in most professions, language and cross-cultural training have spawned their own range of abbreviations, acronyms and arcane terminology. This internal metalanguage serves a purpose for those who are aware of its meanings and nuances, however it can prove to be a source of mystification for trade outsiders and inexperienced trainers. Recently, we have been working to clarify some of these terms, not in an attempt to devalue them, but to make their meanings more accessible and, thereby, ensure that Richard Lewis Communications’ staff and clients can be confident that they are all “speaking the same language”.

A case in point is the commonly-used abbreviation ESP – Extra Sensory Perception? Well, not quite; confusingly, ESP is used to mean both “English for Special Purposes” and “English for Specific Purposes”; perhaps that is the root of the issue. At the RLC centre in Helsinki, Finland, a decision has been taken to adopt “Specific” rather than “Special” in our description of ESP.

This decision may appear to be nothing more than pedagogical navel-gazing, but in this case there are concrete reasons for the exclusive adoption of “Specific”. Debate may become heated, when due to the use of “Special” questions arise such as “Aren’t all our courses and trainees special?” The answer is “Yes” and the definition debate opens once again.

So, why this vote for “Specific”? The answer lies in Needs Analysis. All RLC trainees take part in an exhaustive pre-training Needs Analysis. The results of this process help determine course content and the direction of the initial training. It is at this stage that trainee needs can be seen as specific or rather more general. An English for Business (i.e. non-ESP) training framework is more appropriate for trainees who have longer-term aims, they are called upon to use English irregularly and in fairly unpredictable situations at work; developing a framework of business English is part of corporate strategy – it reflects a company’s rightly-held belief that this language foundation will support its employees in fast-track skill development when needs become more, and here is the crux, specific.

An ESP course is appropriate for those trainees who have a pressing need to employ clearly definable communication skills in particular situations. A frequently identified need is “telephoning”. In an ESP sense, specific analysis questions such as, with whom? around which topics? for what desired effect? transform the term “telephoning” into “using the telephone with clients as a means of dealing with complaints regarding quality concerns”. This stated need then forms the basis of a training session designed to develop practical skills to function effectively in the situation described. So equipped, the trainee would be capable of employing this new specific skill set immediately post-ESP training.

Thus, the slippery term “ESP” is defined. Yes, all our trainees and courses are “special”, however not all the trainees have needs which can be labelled “specific” at any given stage of their language development. Clarifying terms and establishing a shared understanding of them has a practical bearing on the appropriate tailoring of training courses which motivate and lead to success.

Riversdown House

Improve your English rapidly in a beautiful, inspiring environment.

• Language
• Overview
• The Methodology
• The Tutors
• Testing & Needs Analysis Process
• Grouping Audit & Thorough Testing and Needs Analysis
• Numerical Levels & Competence Categories
• Materials
• Goals & Measurement
• Learning Styles
• English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
• ESP – Rationale

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