Educ 1816 content esl

www.nvcc.edu/workforce

www.nvcc.edu/workforcewww.nvcc.edu/workforce

EDUC 1816: Teaching Content ESL

American Culture & Language Institute, TESOL Certificate ProgramNorthern Virginia Community College


Overview• What is Content ESL/ESP?• Origins of ESP• ESL Course Design• Materials Adaptation• Putting it into Practice


What is Content ESL?“ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learning.”

Hutchinson & Walters, 1987


What is Content ESL?• Focus on learner’s needs on the job• Content specific – pragmatics, speech acts,

jargon• Most often used with adult learners• Designed for intermediate to advanced level

students• Often called English for Specific Purposes

(ESP)


A ComparisonGeneral ESL ESP

Children or Adults AdultsStudy WorkLanguage as Content Language in ContextSchool Subject Real-WorldFour language skills taught equally

Focus on language skills most needed for work


Origins of ESP• World War II created growth in scientific,

technical, & economic activity worldwide• English as lingua franca• Linguistics changed to focus on learners’

needs– Pre 1980s: focus on features of language +

accuracy– Post 1980s: focus on language use in the real

world + fluency


English for Social Science (ESS)

English for Academic Purposes

(EAP)

English for Occupational

Purposes (EOP)

English for Science &

Technology (EST)


(EAP)


Purposes (EOP)

English for Business &

Economics (EBE)


(EAP)


Purposes (EOP)


Case in Point• ESL students working in the health-care field would

study English for Science & Technology (EST)

English for Dental Technicians (EOP)

English for Medical Studies (EAP)

• Greeting patients• Interviewing patients

& writing notes• Advising the dentist

and patient

• Reading textbooks• Writing reports/papers• Speaking with the

professor & classmates• Listening & note taking


Try It!• Choose a type of ESP

– Social Science (ESS), Science & Tech. (EST), or Business & Economics (EBE)

• Choose a subtype– English for Occupational Purposes– English for Academic Purposes

• List three pragmatic acts or speech acts • Present to the class


ESP Course Design• Observe the worksite/educational institution

to identify pragmatics, speech acts, & vocabulary.

• Conduct a needs assessment of major stakeholders.

• Identify a methodology to promote real-world practice.– TBLT or TPR for example


ESP Course Design (cont.)

• Design activities so that students practice– Productive and receptive skills– Rehearsed and spontaneous speech acts– Problem solving– Correct vocabulary (register) for the workplace

• Assess students’ success in meeting their goals.


Materials Adaptation“ ESP teachers find themselves in a situation where they are expected to produce a course that exactly matches the needs of a group of learners, but are expected to do so with no, or very limited, preparation time.”

Johns, 1990


Materials Adaptation (cont.)

• Create a resource bank of job-related realia– Forms– Pamphlets or brochures– Instruction manuals

• Adapt ESL textbook activities• Search YouTube for Dos & Don’ts of

workplace or institutional behavior


Put it into Practice• In pairs:

– Choose a field and subfield of ESP.– Go to a local business and observe the

pragmatics, speech acts, and vocabulary.– Collect any job-related realia– Create a 10 minute ESP mini lesson.– Teach the class.


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Educ 1816 content esl