Page 39 - LanGuide Project: Research and Professional Insights
P. 39
What Kind of l s p Does LanGuide Propose?
As the famous tree of English Language Teaching (e lt), drawn by
Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 17) shows, e s p can take three differ-
ent roads, dealing either with English for Science and Technology (e s t),
or with English for Business and Economics (e b e), or, finally, with En-
glish for Social Sciences (e s s). e s t, in its turn, can have two possible
sub-ramifications: English for Academic Purposes (e ap), dedicated to the
Medical Studies, and English for Occupational Purposes (e op), focused
on English for Technicians, while e b e is further sub-divided into e a p,
catering for the needs of English for Economics, and e op, speaking the
language of English for Secretaries. Last but not least, e s s has its own
sub-branched approach with e a p, associated to the English for Psychol-
ogy, and eop reserved for English for Teaching. The e ap component, for
all three possible sub-types of e s p, in Hutchinson and Waters’ opinion,
retains a study-skills component, while e op, also known as English for
Vocational Purposes (e v p), obviously emphasises more the practical ter-
minology of the fields it belongs to.
According to David Carter (1983), the division of e s p would be three-
fold, as follows: English as a Restricted Language, only used for specific
contexts, such as that of a waiter, or pilot, or flight attendant, or cabin
crew, etc, thus restricted to a well-defined community and not catering for
the needs of communication outside these specific contexts, English for
Academic and Occupational Purposes, addressing the specialised termi-
nology imbued in fields such as medical studies, the academia, engineering
and technical studies and English with Specific Topics, uniquely concerned
with anticipated future English needs, e.g. scientists requiring English for
postgraduate studies or attending conferences.
However, what really highlights the specifics of defining e sp in its char-
acteristic features are: the profile of the target audience, the focus of the
content, the skills considered, users’ motivation and users’ professional
background. Lorenzo Fiorito¹ first dealt with all these 5 items in 2006 and
kept revising their specificities until 2022 on UsingEnglish.com, in his ar-
ticle Teaching English for Specific Purposes (e s p) (2005). Thus, he is of the
opinion that (emphasis added)
e s p students are usually adults who already have some acquaintance
with English and are learning the language in order to communicate a set
¹ Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Naples and European
projects manager for Aries Formazione.
39
As the famous tree of English Language Teaching (e lt), drawn by
Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 17) shows, e s p can take three differ-
ent roads, dealing either with English for Science and Technology (e s t),
or with English for Business and Economics (e b e), or, finally, with En-
glish for Social Sciences (e s s). e s t, in its turn, can have two possible
sub-ramifications: English for Academic Purposes (e ap), dedicated to the
Medical Studies, and English for Occupational Purposes (e op), focused
on English for Technicians, while e b e is further sub-divided into e a p,
catering for the needs of English for Economics, and e op, speaking the
language of English for Secretaries. Last but not least, e s s has its own
sub-branched approach with e a p, associated to the English for Psychol-
ogy, and eop reserved for English for Teaching. The e ap component, for
all three possible sub-types of e s p, in Hutchinson and Waters’ opinion,
retains a study-skills component, while e op, also known as English for
Vocational Purposes (e v p), obviously emphasises more the practical ter-
minology of the fields it belongs to.
According to David Carter (1983), the division of e s p would be three-
fold, as follows: English as a Restricted Language, only used for specific
contexts, such as that of a waiter, or pilot, or flight attendant, or cabin
crew, etc, thus restricted to a well-defined community and not catering for
the needs of communication outside these specific contexts, English for
Academic and Occupational Purposes, addressing the specialised termi-
nology imbued in fields such as medical studies, the academia, engineering
and technical studies and English with Specific Topics, uniquely concerned
with anticipated future English needs, e.g. scientists requiring English for
postgraduate studies or attending conferences.
However, what really highlights the specifics of defining e sp in its char-
acteristic features are: the profile of the target audience, the focus of the
content, the skills considered, users’ motivation and users’ professional
background. Lorenzo Fiorito¹ first dealt with all these 5 items in 2006 and
kept revising their specificities until 2022 on UsingEnglish.com, in his ar-
ticle Teaching English for Specific Purposes (e s p) (2005). Thus, he is of the
opinion that (emphasis added)
e s p students are usually adults who already have some acquaintance
with English and are learning the language in order to communicate a set
¹ Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Naples and European
projects manager for Aries Formazione.
39
