English is considered as the Universal Language. It is a medium that connects the world into one certain similarity. Learning the language plays a vital role in the globalization of learners. If a person will not be successful in learning English, we can say that in some ways, that person will end up being isolated from the rest of the world due to language barriers.
English as a subject in education is given vital importance. In fact, it is taught from the start of the primary education until the early tertiary level.
Students will be educated with simple subject-verb agreement, going to the parts of speech, down to figures of speech, and would be required to do hundreds of speaking activities and a ton of essay writing tasks. If the K-12 curriculum demands that students accomplish 12 years of basic education, it also means that students will face 12 years of English as a part of their academic requirements. 12 years is a long period of time when it comes to facing a subject – the reason why some students lose their patience and get bored in learning the complexities of English.
One major reason why students lose their interest towards the subjects is the “usability” of the concepts given in their subjects. Automotive students will declare that they will never see Shakespeare’s name inside the car engine, so why are they even required to read his works. This is where the concept of English for Specific Purposes should be applied. Learners have different tracks and different line of interest. As language teachers who always take in consideration the needs of the students, educators should always be flexible and adjust the materials that they offer to match the needs of the students.
Authenticity of material should always be considered in giving the students reading texts. Engineering students should be exposed with reading materials or activities that have relevance and congruency with their line of specialization. This removes the tendency of students to ask the ‘why-am-I-even-studying-this’ type of questions.
Moreover, English for specific purposes gives additional training to students. The reading passages and related-to-real-life language tasks gives a peek at the world the students will embrace once they become professionals.
Language teachers who incorporate ESP go beyond ‘by-the-book English’. ESP is English of high relevancy in the respective specialization of language learners. This is the English that people use in conversing in an everyday context. The English that is not merely concepts written inside books but ESP is the English that people use in the ‘real world’.
By: JETHRO M. NOCOM | Teacher I | Hermosa National High School
