INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS DE EDUCAÇÃO DO HUAMBO

ISCED – HUAMBO

DEPARTAMENTO DE LÍNGUAS

SECTOR DE INGLÊS

3º Ano/2023/2024

English for Specific Purpose (ESP): Some Current Trends

MATEUS NJELE

DEIL-ISCED HUAMBO-2024

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 INTRODUCTION

In the global community, people correspond with others from around the world by
the generalized English language. Hence, the prominence of English language
started gaining control from the end of the Second World War. Thus, English is
currently considered as the chief requirement and the language of literacy in a
number of study contexts globally. Therefore, the use of restricted forms of
English, what is called by English for Specific Purpose (henceforward ESP) by
professional communities is another testimony to the supremacy of English. ESP
is part of a larger movement within language teaching away from a concentration
on teaching grammar and language structures to an emphasis on language in
context. ESP, therefore, covers subjects ranging from accounting or computer
science to tourism and business management.
The recognition that many students of English need the language for
specific instrumental purposes has led to the teaching of ESP and the proliferation
of courses and materials designed to teach English for science, medicine,
agriculture, engineering, tourism and the like (Broughton, 2003: 9).
Furthermore, due to the on-going increase of international communication in
a range of technical and scientific fields, the claim for English for Specific
Purposes is expanding, especially in countries where English is taught as a foreign
language. In addition, we live in a time where the fastest growing occupations
demand far greater than average literacy skills (Barton, 2000 in Cacumba, 2014:
32).
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) or English for Special Purposes arose
as a term in the 1960’s as a result of an increase in the assumption that general
English courses frequently did not meet learners or employers wants. As far back
as 1977, Strevens (1977) placed out to encapsulate the term and its meaning.
Robinson (1980) wrote a systematic review of theoretical positions of the ESP
meaning at that time. Coffey (1985) updated Stevens’ work and saw ESP as a
major part of communicative language teaching in general, Brunton (2009: 1).
ESP teaching in Angola seems not to be noticeable although English is
taught as a foreign language in public and private schools from 7th grade to the
university level, often widely, but it does not play an essential role in national or
social life.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW
This work reviews the literature that relates to English for Specific Purpose
henceforth ESP, and the attention will be directed to ESP where we are going to
talk about its definition, origin, development, course design, and in this last one,
we will look at learners’ needs analysis. We will also discuss aspects related to
some criteria to design an ESP course and finally we will look at ESP and
speaking.

1. Definition of ESP
Perchance the best way to begin our discussion on how teachers can make their
job more students’ needs based is to look at how ESP is defined.
From the outset, the term ESP was a source of contention with many
arguments as to what ESP was. Even today, there is a large amount of on-going
debate as to how to specify what exactly ESP constitutes (Anthony, 1997, Belcher,
2006, Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998) in Brunton (2009: 2).

Consequently, Hutchinson and Waters (1987:19) broadly define ESP, as an

approach to language teaching in which, all decisions as to content and methods
are based on the learner's reason for learning. Anthony (1997: 12) notes that, it is
not clear where ESP courses end and general English courses begin; numerous
non-specialist English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors use an ESP
approach in that their syllabi are based on analysis of learners needs and their
own personal specialist knowledge of using English for real communication.

However, Brunton (Op. cit.) argues in addition that Dudley-Evans and St.
John (1998) attempted to apply a series of characteristics some absolute and
some variable to resolve arguments about what ESP is. This followed on from
earlier work by Strevens (1988). In other words, it is a way of teaching/learning
English for focused subjects with some specific vocational and educational
purposes in mind. An ESP syllabus, the teaching content is geared to the special
language 'repertoire' pertaining to the specialized aims that are required of the
learners.
Moreover, Dudley-Evans & St. John (1998: 4) classify two characteristics of
ESP, which are absolute and variable. They give three explanations about the

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former: (1) ESP should meet explicit needs of the learners; (2) ESP should make
use of fundamental methodology and activities of the discipline it serves and (3)
ESP should be centred on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of
language rules, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre. The later as
believed by Dudley-Evans & St. John (ibid.) (1) ESP may be related to or designed
for specific disciplines; (2) ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different
methodology from that of General English; (3) ESP is likely to be designed for
adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work
situation. It could be for learners at secondary school level; (4) ESP is generally
designed for intermediate or advanced students and (5) most ESP courses
assume some basic knowledge of the language systems.
From the above assertions, we can say that ESP is not only its content (e.g.
Education, Science, Medicine, Commerce, Academic Reading, etc.) but also being
able to specify readily why the learners need English. In short, it is not so much
the nature of the product but rather the awareness of a need.
Having looked at the definition of ESP and its characteristics, we will now
call the reader’s attention to the next section were we are going to talk about the
genesis of ESP.
2. ESP Genesis

This section has been included for discussing the genesis of ESP. Here we want
to note that ESP beginning can be traced back to the Second World War. In
Cacumba’s (2014: 36) viewpoint, four main reasons can be identified about the
emergence of some ESP courses: (a) accumulation in terms of emigration of
people to the developed countries; (b) the demands of a ‘Brave New World’; (c) a
revolution in linguistics and (c) a centre of attention on the learner.
Following Howatt (1984 quoted by Cacumba ibid.), the first key reason has
to do with the mass emigration of non-English-speaking families to Britain due to
post-colonial changes in the Third World. Practitioners of the English teaching
profession had to find new solutions to act in response to the new challenges.

The second reason therefore can be found in Hutchinson and Waters

(1987: 5) who outline two main historical periods that gave existence to ESP. First,
they believe that, the end of the Second World War brought with it an “... era of
massive and extraordinary growth in scientific, technical and economic activity on
a worldwide scale for various reasons, most remarkably the economic power of
the United States in the post-war world, English language became to be known as

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an international one” (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987: 6). Second, Hutchinson and
Waters (ibid.) make it clear that the oil calamity of the early 1970s resulted in
Western money and knowledge flowing into oil-rich countries. The language of this
knowledge became English. This development exerted demands on the language
teaching profession to deliver the necessary goods. The third important reason
cited as having an incredible impact on the materialization of ESP was a revolution
in linguistics. While traditional linguists set out to describe the features of
language, revolutionary pioneers in linguistics began to centre on the ways in
which language is used in real communication. Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 7)
point out that one significant discovery was in the ways that spoken and written
English varied. In other words, given the particular context in which English is used
and the purpose for which it is used, the variant of English will change. This idea
was taken one-step further: if language in different situations varies, then tailoring
language instruction to meet the needs of learners in specific contexts is also
possible.
As a final point on the subject of the genesis of ESP, following Hutchinson
and Waters (1987), the fourth reason that they assert which has influenced the
emergence of ESP has less to do with linguistics and more with altering
perspectives on the psychological aspects of learning. Rather than simply focusing
on the process of language delivery, attention was increasingly given to the ways
in which learners acquire language and the differences in the ways language is
acquired. Learners were seen to be heterogeneous, employing different learning
strategies, using different skills, entering with different learning schemata, and
being motivated by different needs and interests. Because of this, specialized
courses of English were required which would relate closely to students’ particular
needs and aspirations.
To sum up, we can say that the need to suit the English Language
Teaching activity to specific learning needs is one key aspect that sustains the
genesis of ESP.
This section has focused briefly on the origins of ESP, therefore, we feel
prepared to move to the next section, which will deal with aspects related to the
expansion of ESP.

3. The Development of ESP

From its beginning, ESP has undergone three main stages of development.
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 9), the first stage is the register

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analysis. They believe that this stage took place between 1960s to early 1970s. It
is acknowledged by Hutchinson and Waters (ibid.) that the purpose of the analysis
was the identification of the grammatical and lexical features of the registers of the
scientific fields regarding the students English language needs. Hence, these
features were considered in the organization of the syllabus for the teaching
materials. These syllabuses had the main aim of prioritizing the language forms
students would meet in their science studies and in turn gave low priority to those
forms they would not meet.

The second stage is the rhetorical or discourse analysis. Following

Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 10), they assert that at the first stage language
focus in ESP was at the sentence level while in the second stage there was a shift
of attention from the sentence level to the other level above the sentence putting
the emphasis in discourse. However, the basic hypothesis of this stage is made
clear by Allen and Widdowson (1994) quoted by Hutchinson and Waters (Op. cit.)
by stating that,

… the difficulties which the students encounter arise not so much from a
defective knowledge of the system of English, but from an unfamiliarity with
English use and that consequently their needs cannot be met by a course which
simply provides further practice in the composition of sentences, but only by
one which develops a knowledge of how sentences are used in the
performance of different communicative acts.

Therefore, there was a research concern on the identification of the organizational

patterns in texts and the specification of the linguistic means by which these
patterns are signed and would be included in elaboration of the ESP course,
Hutchinson and Waters (Loc. cit.: 10).

After having departed from the language analysis at sentence level to the
upper level, there came into consideration the third stage, which is the target
situation analysis. It is pointed out by Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 12) that
nothing new was brought to the range of knowledge about ESP. They keep on by
saying that it just extended the previous one and its aim was to take the prevailing
information and place it on a more reasonable basis, by establishing actions for
relating language analysis more closely to the learners language needs.
Nevertheless, the emergence of target situation at this stage was a significant step
to the extent that learner need was seemingly placed at the core of the course
design process.

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 The fourth stage came to be known as skills and strategies. This stage
appeared because the former stages focused largely on the structure of the
language and the target situation analysis did not change whatsoever as it also
looked at the linguistic feature of the target situation. So, Hutchinson and Waters
(ibid: 13) recognize that this stage has struggled to look below the surface and
consider not only the language itself but the thinking process that underlie
language use at the basis of reading and listening strategies by getting the
learners replicate on and analyse how meaning is produced in and retrieved from
written or spoken discourse.

Lastly, the fifth phase is a learning-centred approach. All the previous

stages have mainly concentrated on what people do with language. However, in
this ultimate one the focus is, according to Hutchinson and Waters´ (1987: 14)
standpoint, on language learning as they believe that unfolding and exemplifying
what people do with language would not suffice someone to learn it.

Seen in this way, the above assumptions take us to the conclusion of this
section by stating that ESP development took five main phases: register analysis,
rhetorical or discourse analysis, target situation analysis, skills and strategies and
finally a learning-centred approach.

In the next section, we are going to look at the difference between English
for Specific Purpose (ESP) and General English (GE).
4. Difference Between ESP and General English
English for Specific Purpose (ESP) and general English (GE) are two different
branches of the same trunk that is English Language Teaching.
The main difference between ESP and GE is on the purpose of learning
English and its focus of language learning, as mentioned by Lorenzo (2005: 43).
Following Wright (1992: 1), he describes one of the differences between
ESP and GE in a few words. While General English is concerned with everyday
life, an ESP course may contain material pertaining to a GE course. Hutchinson &
Waters (1987: 53) believe that what tells ESP and GE apart is the awareness of
needs that is only in ESP. Therefore, in theory, there is no difference between
ESP and GE but in practice; a great distinction can be made between ESP and
GE. This happens because in ESP learners, sponsors and teachers have the
knowledge about why learners need English and decisions are made about the
content for the language course.

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 In addition, a closer look at the English Language Teaching (ELT) tree (see
figure 1 below) as proposed by Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 17), can help us
understand the difference between ESP and GE.

Figure 1: The tree of ELT Source: Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 17)
The above figure illustrates that the roots of ELT begin with learning and
communication. Following the trunk of ELT, we can find language teaching and
here the dominance goes to English Language Teaching. The ELT trunk later is
divided into two branches that are English as a Mother Tongue (EMT) and English
as a Second Language (ESL). English as a Foreign Language (EFL) continues

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growing as the main trunk and then gives rise to General English (GE) and English
for Specific Purpose (ESP). GE will lead to Adult Tertiary, Secondary and primary
schools and ESP leads to English for Business and Economics (EBE) and English
for Science and Technology (EST).
Grounded with the above assumptions, we can therefore conclude this
section by drawing on a simple distinction to make between ESP and GE. ESP
builds upon what has been learnt and studied in earlier GE classes with a more
controlled focus. It aims at acquainting learners with the kind of language needed
in a particular domain, vocation, or occupation. In other words, its main objective is
to encounter specific needs of the learners. On the other hand, GE is essentially
the English language education in which learners are introduced to the sounds
and symbols of English, as well as to the lexical/grammatical/rhetorical elements
that compose spoken and written discourse. There is no particular situation
targeted in this kind of language learning. Thus, it focuses on applications in
general situations.
This being said, the current work is expanded below to addressing the field
of ESP course design.
5. ESP Course Design

In any language teaching operation, decisions have to be made about learners

needs and teaching objectives. Course design is then an important step for an
efficient teaching/ learning process. In the ELT field, ESP is the branch is which
course design is one of the most frequent professionals’ activities.
This section will explore in great depth the importance of language
description, learning theories and needs analysis, (which is the heart of our paper).
The section will start by defining course design and the chief factors (language
description and learning theories) influencing course design will be discussed. The
section will also explore three key approaches to course design as well as needs
analysis.

5.1. What is Course Design?

Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 21) define course design as a process in which
questions are asked in the attempt at affording answers of how syllabus can be
designed, materials can be constructed, and classroom activities can be
conducted. These questions can be general or specific, theoretical or practical as
shown below:

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 1- Why does the student need to learn?
2- Who is going to be involved in the process? This will need to cover not just
the student, but also all the people who may have some effect on the
process: teachers, sponsors, inspectors etc.
3- Where is the learning to take place? What potential does the place provide?
What limitations does it impose?
4- When is the learning to take place? How much time is available? How will it
be distributed?
5- What does the student need to learn? What aspects of language will be
needed and how will they be described? What level of proficiency must be
achieved? What topic areas will need to be covered?
6- How will the learning be achieved? What learning theory will underlie the
course? What kind of methodology will be employed? Hutchinson & Waters
(ibid. 21-2).

By asking these questions prior to planning course design, the ESP teacher
can be better equipped in the sense that he/she has to balance out some of these
parameters which are linked to institutional and learner expectations (Dudley-
Evans and St. John, 1998).
Looking at the above remarks, we can understand that before initiating a
new language program, it is vital however to perform a preparatory work in the
form of information gathering. This fact-finding stage provides answers to the key
questions in any program: Who are the learners? Who are the teachers? Why is
the program necessary? Where will the program be implemented? How will it be
implemented? The answers to these questions in turn, become the basis for
establishing policy or formulating goals.
In addition, Dubin and Olshtain (1986: 5) believe that the first two of these
key questions deal with the audience for whom the program and materials are to
be developed, the actual consumers of the new program, teachers and learners.
They assert that to know who the teachers and learners are requires thorough
attention to needs assessment of a societal nature. Just as in the business world,
market research has become an essential ingredient for commercial success, so
in curriculum design, the fact-finding stage is an imperative prerequisite for
effective decision-making regarding the participants.
Nevertheless, the questions suggested by Hutchinson & Waters can be
answered by considering three interdependence factors: Language description,

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Theories of learning and Needs analysis. Figure 2 bellow summarizes these
factors.

Figure 2: Factors affecting ESP course design. (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987: 22)

We will try to describe the above figure by discussing the three factors in turn one
by one. Thus, we will start with the first one, which is language description.

5.2. Language Description

In this sub-section, we will deal with language description, which is considered by

Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 23) as the way in which the language system is

broken down and described for the purposes of learning.

It is agreed that any decision made in designing language teaching

programs in ESP contexts should hinge on the learners needs for learning English
(Robinson, 1991, Strevens, 1998; Dudley- Evans and St. John, 1998). Henceforth,
they believe that “the language description is the way in which the language
system is broken down and described for the purposes of learning”.
To sum up, language description can be seen as ideas about language
nature. Thus, when designing an ESP course, learners’ needs for learning English
should be taken into account.

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 Now we will shift our attention to the next section that will deal with aspects
of theories of learning.

5.3 .Theories of Learning

Learning is believed to be a process that brings together personal and
environmental experiences and these can influence on acquisition, enrichment or
can modify one´s knowledge, skills, values, attitudes behaviour and world views,
(Lightbown and Spada 2011: 77). Thus, when students learn, they acquire some
abilities that can help them in the interrelationship with other people in the society.
However, many are the theories that have been put forward considering
language learning. In this sub-section, our main purpose is to look at some of the
common theories proposed by different schools of thoughts like Behaviourism,
Mentalism, and Cognitive code, the Affective factor and finally learning and
Acquisition.

5.3.1. Behaviourism
In the field of behaviourism, Lightbown and Spada (2011: 15) acknowledge that
the best-known proponent of this psychological theory was B.F. Skinner (1957)
and that behaviourism is a theory of learning that was influential in the 1940s and
50s, especially in the United States. With regard to language learning, Lightbown
and Spada (ibid.) in addition say that traditional behaviourist hypothesized that
when students imitated the language produced by those around them, their
attempts to reproduce what they heard received “positive reinforcement”. This
could take the form of praise or just successful communication. Thus encouraged
by their environment, students would continue to imitate and practice these
sounds and patterns until they formed “habits” of correct language use. Therefore,
this theory views stimulus-response-reinforcement as paramount in language
learning.
Some principles from behavioural psychology (Skinner 1957) were also
incorporated in the Audio-lingual method. It was thought that the way to acquire
the sentence patterns of the target language was through conditioning-helping
learners to respond correctly to stimuli through shaping and reinforcement.
Consequently, Larsen-Freeman´s principle of Audio-lingual method says,
“language learning is a process of habit formation”. Which means that the more
something is repeated, the stronger the habit and the greater the learning, (2000:
43).

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 The behaviourist theory was later criticized mainly by Chomsky (1959) due to
the fact that it became clear that its principles did not explain all the facts of
language development. Then, it gave place to mentalism, which will be dealt with
in the next sub-section.
5.3.2. Mentalism
In the previous sub-section we saw that rewarding the right parts of the more
complex behaviour, reinforces it. Nevertheless, human beings have a mental
capacity to think and reflect on what they do.
In this sub-section, we will see that mentalism theory of learning replaced
the previous one owing to the fact that it showed some inadequacies to the
explanations of second language (L2) acquisition and led researchers to look
towards an alternative theoretical framework. In fact, they did not have to look very
far as the 1960s witnessed a major shift in thinking in psychology and linguistics.
From a preoccupation with the role of “nature”, (i.e. how environmental factors
shape learning), researchers switched their attention to how the innate properties
of human mind contribute to the learning process. Thus, this paradigm was called
mentalist theory of language learning (Ellis, 1997: 32).
This theory was just a step after behaviourism, and it argued that children
must be born with an innate capacity for language development, i.e. the brain is
“ready” for language.
However, this theory as well, proved itself difficult to formulate the detailed
properties of language acquisition. These limitations gave birth to the other theory,
which is cognitive theory of learning. This theory considers learners as thinking
beings and it will be discussed in depth in the following sub-section.

5.3.3. Cognitive Code

Cognitive theory of learning was initiated in the late 1950s, and contributed to the
move away from mentalism. Cognitive theory according to Cunningsworth (1984:
31), involves activities “which engage conscious mental processes such as
analysing and understanding, and involved learning and applying explicitly
formulated rules.”
As for language acquisition, cognitive and developmental psychologists
argue that there is no need to hypothesize that humans have a language-specific
module in the brain or that acquisition and learning are distinct mental processes,
(Lightbown and Spada 2011: 108). Thus, general theories of learning can account

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for the gradual development of complex syntax and for learners' inability to
spontaneously use everything they know about a language at a given time.
As noted above, some linguists have also concluded that, while the
innateness perspective provides a plausible explanation for first language
acquisition, something else is required for second language acquisition, since it so
often falls short of full success. From the cognitive psychology perspective,
however, first and second language acquisition are seen as drawing on the same
processes of perception, memory, categorization, and generalization, Lightbown
and Spada (ibid.).
The difference lies in the circumstances of learning as well as in what the
learners already know about language and how that prior knowledge shapes their
perception of the new language. However, Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 43) assert
that while the behaviourist theory of learning portrayed the learner as a passive
receiver of information, the cognitive view takes the learner to be an active
information processor. Therefore, learning is a process in which the learner
actively tries to make sense of data, and learning can be said to have taken place
when the learner has managed to impose some sort of meaningful interpretation
or pattern on the data. This then may sound complex, but in simple terms, what it
means is that we learn by thinking about and trying to make sense of what we see,
feel and hear. Hence the basic teaching technique associated with a cognitive
theory of language learning is the problem-solving task, and in ESP such
exercises have often been modelled on activities associated with the learners’
subject specialism, (Hutchinson & Waters ibid).
Apart from the above learning theories, there are others like the affective
factor (learners as emotional beings), learning and acquisition and a model for
learning.
5.3.4. The Affective Factor
The affective factor is grounded on the recognition about one of the human nature
paradoxes which says that although people have the capacity to think, they have
feelings as well. They are therefore considered uppermost as people, as a result,
their feelings are brought into reflection and learning is seen as an emotional
experience. This theory however, combines cognitive and emotional factors of
language learning. Thus, motivation is seen as a chief building block for language
learning achievement, (Hutchinson & Waters 1987: 46-8). Apart from motivation,
Ellis (1994: 194) considers anxiety, risk-taking, attitude and

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introversion/extroversion as some of the affective factors because they are related
to emotions and feelings.
Now that we have dealt with the affective factor, we would like to call the
readers’ attention to the next sub-section, which will deal with learning and
acquisition.
5.3.5. Learning and Acquisition
Perhaps the best way to begin our discussion on learning and acquisition is to
explain the relationship between the two terms. Brown (2000: 142-73) says that
learning is a process that takes place consciously in the classroom environment,
and acquisition is seen as a subconscious process that takes place in a natural
environment. However, these terms are frequently used interchangeably in
linguistics debates because acquisition may take place in a classroom
environment during some communicative activities, and learning takes place in a
natural environment when a learner pays special attention to the language forms
he/she is exposed to.
Following Richards and Schmidt, (2002: 284), they assert that a contrast can
be made between the two terms. Learning to mean a conscious process involving
the study of explicit rules of language and monitoring one’s performance, as it is
often typical of classroom learning in a foreign language context, and acquisition to
refer to a non-conscious process of rule internalization resulting from exposure to
comprehensible input when the learner’s attention is on meaning rather than form,
as is more common in a second language context.
We can say that learning can happen in the classroom or outside but in a
conscious way and acquisition can occurs in a natural way.
The above discussion takes us to the last theory of learning, a model of
learning.

5.3.6. A model of Learning

Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 49-51), in the light of their ideas discussed above,
draw on a model of learning which can provide a practical source of reference for
the ESP teacher and course designer. They believe that first, individual items of
knowledge have little significance on their own. As a result, they only acquire
meaning and use when they are connected into the network of existing knowledge.
Second, the existing knowledge makes it possible to construct new connections so
that the learner´s existing knowledge makes it possible to learn new items. Third,
items of knowledge are not of equal significance because some are harder to

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acquire than the others are. Fourth, the same way learners will make better
progress by developing strategies for solving the learning problems that will arise.
Fifth, language learning is a systematic process. Lastly, in learning, a need or
motivation to acquire knowledge is a paramount factor.
As a concluding remark, we can say that while behaviorism sees learning
and acquisition as a simple matter of change in behaviour and habit formation,
other theories proved to be different by showing that the mind exerts a significant
influence in the language acquisition. Thus, learners are seen as the information-
processors who take in information, embark on cognitive operations on it, and then
store it in memory.
This section dealt with ESP course design by looking at its definition, the
factors affecting course design and the theories of learning. The next section will
focus on approaches to ESP course design.

6. Approaches to ESP Course Design

ESP is based on designing courses that can meet learners' needs. Thus, at this
stage finding out what the learners know and can do and what they need to learn
or do so that the course can bridge the gap is of paramount importance.
Approaches can range from purely form-based procedures to completely
communication-based ones. The content or the syllabus of the program can be
everything from structural to functional to task-based and so on (Long and Crooks,
1992; White, 1988; Wilkins, 1976). In this section, we are going to look at three
chief approaches to ESP course design proposed by Hutchinson & Waters (1987),
namely: the language centred approach, the skills-centred approach and the
learning centred approach.
6.1. The Language Centred Approach
Following Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 65-6), they assert that in ESP course
design, the language centred approach seems to be the simplest one and it aims
to draw as direct a connection as possible between the analysis of the target
situation and the content of the ESP course. This approach can be summarized in
the figure below:

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Figure 3: A language-centred approach to course design. Source: (Hutchinson &
Waters, 1987: 66)
As it can be interpreted from the figure, this approach may seem to be very
logical because it starts with the learner where the course designer first looks at
the learners’ target situation and selects academic aspects of language. The
course designer then proceeds through various stages of analysis to syllabus like
finding out linguistic features that govern the target situation. Knowing the linguistic
features can help the course designer to create the syllabus and finally to evaluate
the mastery of the syllabus items.
However, we would like here to draw your attention to the following five
weaknesses of the language centred approach, recognized by Hutchinson &
Waters (1987: 67-8). First, it starts with the learners and their needs; the learner is

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used exclusively as a way of locating the restricted area. Thereafter, the learner
plays no further part in the process. Second, it can be criticized for being static and
unbending procedure grounded on the fact that it can take little account of the
conflicts and contradictions that are inherent in any human endeavour. Third, one
of the fascinating features of this model is that it appears to be systematic, but it
fails to provide evidences. Fourth, it does not acknowledge the factors that must
inevitably play a part in the creation of any course because data produced by
needs analysis, is not important in itself, and finally the language centred analysis
of target situation data is only at the surface level. Therefore, it reveals very little
about the capability that lie behind the performance.
It can be therefore recognized that Language Centred Approach is at least
the first to have considered that learners should be taken into account in order to
help them attain learning and target goals.

6.2. Skills-Centred Approach

The skills-centred approach is founded on two fundamental principles, one
theoretical and the other one is pragmatic. The former is grounded on the
recognition that underlying any language behaviour are certain skills and
strategies, which the learner uses in order to produce or comprehend discourse,
(Hutchinson & Waters ibid. 69). Thus, it aims at presenting both performance and
competence. The later however, as distinguished by Widdowson (1981) in
Hutchinson & Waters (op. cit.), derives from a division between goal-oriented
courses and process-oriented ones.
It should be clear from the above considerations that the skills-centred
model is a reaction to both the idea of specific registers of English as a basis for
ESP and to the practical constraints on learning forced by restricted time and
resources. In real meaning, it sees the ESP course as helping learners to develop
skills and strategies that will continue to grow after the ESP course itself. Thus, its
aim is not to grant a specific linguistic acquaintance but to make the learners into
better processors of information, (Hutchinson & Waters Loc. cit.: 70).
In addition, another promising aspect that deserves attention according to
Hutchinson & Waters (passim) is that the skills-centred approach unquestionably
considers more than the language centred approach. The reason is that (a) it
views language in terms of how the mind of the learner processes it, (b) it tries to
construct on the positive factors that the learners bring to the course and (c) it
frames its objectives in open-ended terms. Thus, in spite of its concern for the

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learner, it still approaches the learner as a user of language rather than as a
learner of language.
With the above distinction in mind, we will move to the last approach that is
the leaning-centred approach.

6.3. The Learning-Centred Approach

Learning-centred (commonly known as learner-centred) approach provides
opportunities for students to practice critical and creative thinking, problem solving,
and decision making, because it takes learners as the key factors to consider in
the learning process.
Following Wajnryb´ s (1992: 124) viewpoint, he points out that in ESP,
learning experiences should be attuned as required to meet the abilities, needs,
and interests of individuals and groups of students. This may mean providing
different amounts of time, space or materials, and offering a range of levels and
types of support to students.
Indeed, as Nunan (2013: 16) correctly observes, during the 1960s, the
relative inflexibility of centralized curricula, and a change in educational thinking
which paid more attention to the learner, led to the ‘school-based’ curriculum
development movement. School-based curricula are devised either completely or
in part within the teaching institution itself. Such curricula are capable of being
much more responsive than centralized curricula to the needs and interests of the
learners they serve. The learner-centred movement in ESL/EFL is partly an
offspring of the school-based curriculum movement.
According to Hutchinson & Waters, (1987: 72) learning is seen as a process
in which the learners use what knowledge or skills they have in order to make
sense of the flow of new information. It is therefore, an internal process, which is
crucially dependent upon the knowledge the learners already have and their ability
and enthusiasm to use it. Thus, the learner is one aspect to take into
consideration in the learning process, although it should be clear that the learner is
not the only one because we must look as well beyond the ability that enables
someone to perform and see how learners get hold of that competence.
Therefore, learning centred approach can be narrowed into four sections
as shown in the figure 4 below:

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Figure 4: Outline of a learner centred approach to ESP. Source: (Hutchinson &
Waters, 1987: 3)
The above figure shows us that in a learner-centred approach to ESP
course design, the first step is to take into consideration that ESP is based on
tailoring courses that meet the needs of the learners. After having the learners’
needs in mind, the second stage is to design the course. Some aspects are
involved in the process of course design like the description of the language, the
models of learning and the needs analysis. This process then gives place to the
application of the course and the use of the course design under which we have
the syllabus design, materials evaluation, materials design, methodology and
evaluation. Finally, orientation and resources are considered as the role of the
ESP teacher and are paramount in the application of the ESP course.

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 The broad scope of learning centred approach discussed above takes us to
conclude this section by stating that it is an approach with the avowed aim of
maximizing the potential of the learning situation because it recognizes the
learning process. It is an approach that mainly majors on the needs of the students
other than those of other involved parties such as administrators and teachers in
the education system. In this approach, the teacher is placed to facilitate the
learning, focus on the interests, needs, and learning styles of the students.
Therefore, it should be taken into account when designing an ESP course.

7. Needs Analysis

Needs analysis is essential for designing any language course for learners. It
should be considered in language teaching because it has a vital role in the
process of designing and carrying out any language course, whether ESP or a GE
course to meet the learning needs of a particular group of learners. It is the first
essential step in course design and it provides relevancy for all course design
activities. It places the learners' purposes in the central position within its
framework. This section therefore, has been included for the sake of being the
heart of our discussion. It will be the obvious to say that any teaching activity
should begin by an examination of what learners need the language for.
Furthermore, in ESP course design, the awareness of such needs is of paramount
importance to the sense that it insures the success or failure of a language course.
A number of needs analysis studies are reported in the ESP literature. For
example, Chia, Johnson, and Olive (1999) report their investigation of the English
language needs of medical students in Taiwan. Sakr (2001) reports a study into
the English language needs of textile and clothing industry workers in Cairo, and
Evangelou (1994) reports a project to explore the English language needs of
nurses.
Following Long (2005: 1) in Cacumba (2014: 32), he affirms that:
… Language teaching using generic programs and materials, not designed
with particular groups in mind, will be inefficient, at the very least, and in all
probability, grossly inadequate. Just as no medical intervention would be
prescribed before a thorough diagnosis of what ails the patient, so no language-
teaching program should be designed without a thorough needs analysis. Every
language course should be considered a course for specific purposes, varying
only (and considerably, to be sure) in the precision with which the learner needs
can be specified…

Finding out and analysing the needs of the students is vital in ESP teaching.
In fact, as acknowledged by Harding (2007: 17), a development of a thorough

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needs analysis is one of the main contributions of ESP to the wider world of
English Language Teaching.

The idea of focusing on learners’ needs originated in the 1970s resulting

from the interest in the design of language courses that could satisfy individual and
social needs. Its development evolved in association with the teaching of
languages for specific purposes, (Palacios Martinez 1992:135).

Given the above assumptions, we would like to say that in order to obtain
such information, needs analysis should be carried out. With regard to these
aspects, we pose the following question: What is needs analysis? By attempting to
answer this question, we chose two among many definitions. While Richards and
Schmidt (2002: 353) on one hand define needs analysis as a process of identifying
the desires for which a learner or number of them want to learn a language, and
how this data will be arranged in terms of priority. Basturkmen (2010: 19) on the
other hand looks at needs analysis in ESP as a course development process. She
believes that in this process the language and skills that the learners will use in
their target professional or vocational workplace or in their study areas are
considered in relation to the present state of their knowledge. their perceptions of
their needs and the practical possibilities and constraints of the teaching context.
The information obtained from this process is used in determining and refining the
content and method of the ESP course.
Defined in this way, Tudor (1996: 12 in Boroujeni and Fard, 2013: 35)
opines that the development of a perception of need within communicative
language teaching (CLT) in the 1970s had a widespread influence on needs
analysis work. Needs Analysis (NA) is considered as a basic principle of ESP
(Robinson 1991: 13) and most of the information on NA initially came from ESP.
This is probably because a Needs Analysis approach is more useful when
learners’ needs are linked to a ‘discrete set of communicative situations’. All these
uses of Needs Analysis refer to the fact that it can be used for a range of
purposes, (Boroujeni and Fard Op. cit.). For our context, we can use it to identify
students’ needs of technical schools one of which is Faculdade de Medicina and
other institutions devoted to teach special courses.
We would like here to draw your attention to an interesting point
acknowledged by Boroujeni and Fard (2013: 37). They say that, needs analysis
can be helpful in determining whether a program should be implemented by
finding out if it matches the goals and objectives of the learners for learning a

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language. At the same time used as part of a program can help in improving
various components of the program and making these more oriented to the needs
of the learners.
Munby (1978) proposed a “Communication Needs Processor” (CNP), a
model for needs analysis that was quite influential, and stated that the design of
syllabuses for language courses could only take place after a preliminary work on
the learners’ needs. However, Munby as in Hutchinson and Waters´ (1987: 54)
viewpoint, just produced a list of the linguistic features of the target situation in his
model, and as Garcia Mayo (2000) claims, there should be more to needs analysis
than that. Therefore, being aware of the needs of the learners influences not only
the content of the language course but also what potential can be exploited
through such course.
Indeed, as Hutchinson and Waters (1987:54-63) correctly observe, needs
analysis is a complex process which has to take into account what is known as
“target needs”, what learners need to do in the target situation, i.e. language use,
and “learning needs”, what learners need to do in order to learn, i.e. language
learning. In a more modern view, we should not only take into account “target
needs” and “learning needs” i.e. objective needs, but also learners’ subjective
needs, that is, their affective needs, such as their interests, wishes, expectations
and preferences.
We can gather information about learners’ needs through different media
Hutchinson and Waters (ibid.:58); Palacios Martinez (1994:143) propose that we
can use surveys, questionnaires, interviews, attitude scales, intelligence texts,
language tests, job analyses, content analyses, statistical analyses, observation,
data collection, or informal consultation with sponsors, learners and others.
Furthermore, needs analysis should not only be considered as a pre-stage for the
design of language courses; in fact, it is an “on-going process” (White 1998:91 in
Hutchinson and Waters Loc. cit.) and, as evaluation, it can be used to design,
improve and implement language programs.
According to Siribaddana (2010 in Freihat and Al-Makhzoomi 2012: 131),
needs analysis is the basis for a good educational program and should be the
foundation stone for any curriculum development activity. The needs that are
identified can be from many sources and the methods that are used in deriving
these needs can vary largely. Among these methods, Freihat and Al-Makhzoomi
(ibid.) assert that identifying learning needs would be an effective means of

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performing a need analysis and there are several types of learning needs that
should be assessed in different instances, such as:
1. Normative needs, i.e., the expected standards in knowledge in relation to a
trained individual in a particular discipline;
2. Prescribed needs, i.e., curriculum revisions can be thought of as being based
on prescribed, needs;
3. Perceived needs, i.e., students' perception on what they want to learn;
4. Expressed needs, i.e., what the students' say that they want to learn and
5. Unperceived needs, i.e., needs which are not usually recognized by the
students as needing to learn.
Once you have these points clear, you can start to work on the particular
needs of your ESP students. Two main types of needs are distinguished by
Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 54) in the process of undertaking a needs analysis,
(a) target needs (what the learner needs to do in the target situation), (b) learning
needs (what the learner needs to do in order to learn). In addition Dudley-Evans &
St. John (1998: 125) offer two more kinds of needs such as (c) present situation
analysis (which includes English language information about learners: their current
skills and experiences in language use), (d) means analysis (includes information
about the environment in which the course will be run). Nevertheless, for the
scope of this paper, we will only discuss in details the first two.

7.1. Target Needs Analysis

In the 1970s, the dominant approach in needs analysis was target situation
analysis (TSA), which initially focused on ‘how much’ English was used and then
on ‘what’ language use, and it was mainly used for investigating necessities
(Mohammadi and Mousavi, 2013: 1018). Therefore, the peak and landmark of
Needs Analysis studies drawing on TSA was Munby’s (1978) approach, which
established Needs Analysis. To have a syllabus specification, Munby used a
Communicative Needs Processor (CNP) that consisted of a range of questions
about key communication variables in order to gain a profile of the learners’
language needs which, in turn, was developed into a communicative competence
specification, Mohammadi and Mousavi (Op. cit.).
The term Target Situation Analysis (TSA), was in fact, first used by
Chambers (29) in his 1980 article in which he tried to clarify the confusion of
terminology. For Chambers TSA is “communication in the target situation” (29).

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Target situation analysis is thus as in Hutchinson and Walters’s (1987: 55-9)
standpoint, what the learner needs to know in order to function effectively in the
target situation. The analysis of target situation needs is in essence, a matter of
asking questions about the target situation and the attitudes towards that situation
of various participants in the learning process. “Target needs” is then considered
as an umbrella term because it encompasses a number of important distinctions
such as necessities, lacks and wants.
a) Necessities
Necessities can be considered as the type of need determined by the demands of
the target situation, i.e. what the learner has to know in order to function effectively
in the target situation, (Hutchinson & Waters 1987: 55). For example, general
medicine students at Faculdade de Medicina in Huambo learning English might
need vocabulary and grammar related to their environment. Thus, it is important to
observe the kind of situation the learner will need to function in and analyse the
component parts of them.
Later on, the concept of needs analysis was expanded to include learners’
lacks.
b) Lacks
Necessities identification alone is not enough because the objective is with the
needs of individual learners, thus there is a need to find out what the learner
already knows to facilitate the process of decision-making (Hutchinson & Waters,
1987: 56). Furthermore, lacks are considered by Basturkmen (2010: 18) to be the
gap between what the learner needs to know to operate in the target situation and
the learner’s present language ability. This analysis represented the point of
departure for the language-learning journey.
c) Wants
In ESP course design, learners’ views about why they need the course should be
taken into account. Richterich in Hutchinson & Waters (Op. cit.) guarantees “…a
need does not exist independent of a person. It is people who build their images of
their needs on the basis of data relating to themselves and their environment.”
The main data collection methods for needs analysis are questionnaires,
discussions, interviews, observations, and assessments (Dudley-Evans & St.
John, 1998: 132). In other words, the main sources for needs analysis are the
learners themselves. However, relevant documentation and information received
from colleagues are also important.

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 Seen in this way, Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 59) observe that the analysis
of target situation needs is in essence a matter of asking questions about the
target situation and the attitude towards that situation of the various participants in
the learning process. These questions may include the following:
1- Why is the language needed?
2- How will the language be used?
3- What will the content areas be?
4- Whom will the learner use the language with?
5- Where will the language be used?
6- When will the language be used?
Now we will shift our attention to the next sub-section, which will deal with learning
needs analysis.
7.2. Learning Needs Analysis
Learning needs describe what the learner needs to do in order to learn. Learning
needs analysis includes language learning information, effective ways of learning
the skills and the language. They are grounded in the fact that they mediate
between the lacks and necessities, because they tell the course designer how the
learners can learn in order to function effectively in the target situation (Hutchinson
& Waters, 1987: 62-3).
Some questions can be asked in order to obtain essential learning needs
information. These questions can be as follows:
1- Why are the learners taking the course?
2- How do learners learn?
3- What resources are available?
4- Who are the learners?
5- Where will the ESP course take place?
6- When will the ESP course take place?
We have provided a learning needs questionnaire in the appendices of the
current paper.
It is worth to remember that although needs analysis plays a fundamental
role in course design, it is also agreed that this process has some shortcomings
(Cunningsworth, 1983; West, 1994 Quoted by Cacumba, 2014: 45). In fact, while
acknowledging the effectiveness of the outcomes of needs analysis by growing
understanding of students’ needs, Cunningsworth (1983) insists that this process
has the following five limitations:

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1. In many circumstances, it is difficult to predict with any degree of accuracy just
what will learners’ needs be in the future;
2. Most learners are taught in groups, and groups are not always homogeneous.
So the needs of the learners in a group may not be identical and in many cases
may differ … one from another;
3. There is no fool proof method of analysing needs. Much depends on individual
subjective judgment;
4. Some of the information necessary for carrying out the analysis may be
inaccurate or missing;
5. A needs analysis may come up with a range of functions and concepts which,
when turned into language forms, cannot be organized into a coherent teaching
sequence (Cunningsworth, 1983: 153-154) in Cacumba (Op. cit.).
To sum up, we would like to say that being aware of the needs of the
learners influences not only the content of the language course but also what
potential can be exploited through such course. Needs analysis therefore, is a
complex process, which has to take into account “target needs”, what learners
need to do in the target situation, and “learning needs”, what learners need to do
in order to learn. Furthermore, needs analysis should not only be considered as a
pre-stage for the design of language courses; but as an “on-going process” and,
as an evaluation process, it can be used to design, improve and implement
language programs.

8. Criteria to Design an ESP Course

ESP course design is guided by a needs analysis and it focuses on closing the
gap between existing and desired language ability. ESP is essentially a training
operation, which seeks to provide learners with a restricted competence to enable
them to cope with certain clearly defined tasks. With the continued increase of
international contacts in various spheres, much attention has been paid to the
design of ESP courses that can prepare students for professional communication.
The purpose of this section is to suggest some criteria for an ESP course
development process that may be useful in designing a new ESP course. These
criteria may include students' analysis, formulation of goals and objectives of the
course, conceptualizing the content, selecting and developing ESP materials,
course planning and evaluating the course. The forthcoming subsections will
discuss them one by one.

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 8.1. Students’ Analysis
It is very important to start the course-development process with an analysis of the
target group of students. Some teachers do not pay attention to learners' interests
and ignore students as a source of essential information.
A point of departure for course development as asserted by Basturkmen
(2010: 52), is determining who the course is for (the target group of learners).
From this decision, other decisions follow, including determining what the course
will focus on and its content. One of the key issues in ESP course development is
the question of how specific the course should be in terms of target audience.
Basturkmen draws a distinction between courses that are ‘wide angled’ (designed
for a more general group of learners) and those that are ‘narrow angled’ (designed
for a very specific group of learners).
Graves (1996: 10) believes that with the spread of Communicative
Language Teaching (CLT), much emphasis in second language (L2) methodology
has been paid to the learner-oriented instruction. As a result, needs analysis has
been given considerable attention in making a particular course serve a particular
group's interests, meaning that students can provide information that is much more
valuable for teachers than an expression of their needs. Thus, a better expression
than needs analysis might be students’ analysis.
According to Sysoyev (2000: 2), students' analysis can give two kinds of
information. The first reflects learners' "possession" and it has to do with their
current level of L2 knowledge in contrast with their first language (L1), motivation,
methods of learning they have experienced, etc. The second represents what
learners want to achieve, what traditionally has been called "ESP needs".
There are many different ways of finding information about students’ needs
and previous experience. This can be done through various questionnaires,
surveys, group discussions, individual talks, etc. In our context for example, it
could be done by asking fourth year students of general medicine at Faculdade de
Medicina in Huambo to list areas in which everyone foresees using ESP.
Even though it is very important to outline here that, students' data should
not be overused. Finding out this information does not mean that teachers should
teach only what their students want. Of course, teaching cannot take place in

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isolation. There are certain things, such as curriculum, institutional guidelines, and
standardization, which cannot and may not be ignored, (Graves 1996: 11).
However, in developing a new course, students' analysis will help teachers
bring together the required and desired in formulating goals and objectives,
conceptualizing the content of the course, selecting teaching materials, and course
assessment, as we are going to discuss in the next subsections.
8.2. Formulation of Goals and Objectives of the Course
After having the students’ analysis results in mind, the teacher or course designer
should state the goals and objectives of the course. After formulating the goals
and objectives, (Tyler: 1949 quoted by Nunan: 1989: 14) asserts that the rational
of the ESP course should also be developed by listing, organizing and grading the
learning experiences, and by finding means for determining whether the goals and
objectives have been achieved.
Formulating goals and objectives for a particular course allows the ESP
teacher or course designer to create a clear picture of what the course is going to
be about. As Graves (1996: 12) explains, goals are general statements or the final
destination, the level students will need to achieve. Objectives express certain
ways of achieving the goals. In other words, objectives are teachable chunks,
which in their accumulation form the essence of the course. Clear understanding
of goals and objectives will help teachers to be sure about what material to teach,
and when and how it should be taught. Thus, it is important to state realistic and
achievable goals and objectives.
8.3. Conceptualizing the Content
The selection of the content should serve the learners' interests and needs. In
practical terms, determining the focus of a course may be based on findings from
needs analysis. Nevertheless, Basturkmen (2010: 53) says that the choice of a
wide- or narrow-angled course design can also be based on decisions about
grouping learners.
Conceptualizing the content is not a context-free process. When taking into
account information about the students, goals, and objectives, ESP teachers and
course designers need to determine which aspects of ESP learning will be
included, emphasized, integrated, and used as a core of the course to address
students' needs and expectations.
There may be different ways of conceptualizing the content. Sysoyev (2000:
3) suggests that course designers can focus on developing "basic skills" such as
communicative competence, intercultural competence, vocabulary awareness, etc.

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For example, fourth year students of general medicine course at Faculdade de
Medicina in Huambo, the ESP course for them can be conceptualized around their
language skills and it can also be accomplished through the integration of the
sociocultural component into teaching various elements of the language.

8.4. Selecting and Developing ESP Materials

Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 96) state that there are three possible ways of
applying materials: using existing materials, writing materials and adapting
materials. Yet, materials selection and development is not an easy task that can
be achieved by all ESP teachers. Furthermore, “Only a small proportion of good
teachers are also good designers of course materials” added Dudley Evans and St
Johns (1998:173).
Moreover, Johns (1990: 91) argues that, “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”, and according to Richards (2001:264), for many teachers,
selection of teaching materials is based on their availability. Furthermore, chosen
materials determine the content of the course. Quite often, it serves as a
justification and explanation of the use of the same syllabus with different
students.
In our context for example, there are some situations where teachers are
dependent on the materials and are required to use the same textbook repeatedly.
Potentially there is nothing bad in using the same teaching materials, if everything
is conceptualized through a learner-centred approach. The same article or audio
story can be used for developing reading or listening comprehension skills, cultural
awareness, expanding vocabulary, etc. Thus, teaching materials are "tools that
can be figuratively cut up into component pieces and then rearranged to suit the
needs, abilities, and interests of the students in the course (Graves, 1996: 27).

8.5. Course Planning

After formulating major objectives and choosing teaching material, many teachers
start planning a new course.
There may be different ways of organizing activities. In CLT, the following
pattern is traditionally used: "pre-activity, activity and follow up". Teachers start
with what students already know or with a simple task, and then pass to more
complex activities. Another approach to "recycling" materials has recently become

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quite popular. Students learn information about the L2 country and then recycle it
in the activity about the L1 country. In this way, the "Dialogue of Cultures" principle
is achieved. It is recommended that teachers be flexible in course planning, i.e.
that they be ready to adjust the syllabus and make slight changes in the course
while teaching, so that they can best address students’ interests and needs
(Sysoyev, 2000: 3).
8.6. Evaluating the Course
Evaluation has had a wide domain of application ranging from curriculum, ELT
Programmes through ELT materials to learners themselves (Malaka, 2004: 1).
This process can happen during or after the implementation of the ESP course. It
is important to think after planning and implementing the course and ask whether it
was a good one or not and why. Of course, both success and failure will make part
of the teachers' decision for plans. Therefore, when evaluating an ESP course we
should take into account the students learning.
Course evaluation as believed by Sysoyev (2000: 3), is the last but not the
least, important stage. Teachers should evaluate their courses to improve and
promote their effectiveness. Evaluation can be done in two different ways:
implicitly and explicitly. Implicit evaluation takes place during the semester, when
learners, by their grades, participation, and motivation, give clues to the teacher on
how their learning is going on. Explicit evaluation may take place at the end of the
course or after students have experienced it. This process can be done by using
questionnaires, surveys, talks, etc. teachers ask the students to express their
attitude towards the subject matter, instructional methods and activities. Evaluation
of the course is a brave step for the teacher. He should be open-minded in hearing
and implementing learners' comments (Sysoyev, ibid: 4).
This section can be concluded by outlining that in developing a new ESP
course some criteria can be followed and before teaching or designing the course,
instructors will need to formulate the goals and objectives of the course,
conceptualize the content, select teaching materials, plan the course, and be
ready to evaluate it. In the centre of the ESP course developing process should be
a particular group of students the course is designed for. From year to year, we
have different students with different needs and background. That will inevitably
make it necessary and important to modify every course and adjust it to a
particular group of students. Furthermore, quite often in the classroom things take
place in an unexpected or unplanned way. Flexible teachers are open to making
necessary changes while teaching. They can see what can or should be modified,

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added, or changed to make the course reflect students' interests and needs.
Therefore, course development can be seen as an on-going process one in which
the teacher makes necessary changes to suite students’ interests and needs,
even as the course is in progress.

CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of this work has been to implement a needs analysis and based on
the findings come up with an ESP course and materials to improve professional
linguistic competence of fourth year students at Faculdade de Medicina in
Huambo.
In the current work, we saw that the growing importance of the English
language in the scientific and technical specializations due to several factors,
mainly the inevitable crash with the globalization process has made EFL in general
and ESP in particular the undeniable field to go through in order to participate in
scientific research development. At the same time, students are urged to acquire a
correct linguistic proficiency in order to join modern professional life namely with
the introduction of multinationals and joint ventures.
It was a pertinent assumption that ESP courses are often based on different
combinations of objectives, with some courses giving more emphasis to some
objectives than others do. This may reflect the outlook of the teachers, course
designers, and institutions involved. Thus, ESP is a realistic endeavour focused on
helping students enter their chosen target workplace, professional, or academic
environments. The task of ESP is seen as that of investigating these environments
and analyse students’ needs in relation to them.
The discussion and debate referring to the difference between ESP and
GE, stressed facts that ESP constructs upon what has been learnt and studied in
previous GE classes. GE is the English language education in which learners are
introduced to the sounds and symbols of English, as well as to the lexical,
grammatical and rhetorical elements that compose spoken and written discourse.
It has been pointed out that being aware of the needs of the learners
influences not only the content of the language course but also what potential can
be exploited through such course. Needs analysis therefore, is a complex process,
which has to take into account “target needs”, what learners need to do in the
target situation, and “learning needs”, what learners need to do in order to learn.

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 Finally, we saw that before teaching or designing an ESP course,
instructors will need to formulate the goals and objectives of the course,
conceptualize the content, select teaching materials, plan the course, and be
ready to evaluate it. In the centre of the ESP course developing process should be
a particular group of students the course is designed for. Thus, course
development should be an on-going process.

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