ESP COURSE and SYLLABUS DESIGN

Name/NIM

1. Putri Nova Syafitri/ 17012098

2. Tasbihun Najah Wassaadah/ 17012101
3. Wiwik Indah Cahyani/ 17012104
Definition of Course, Syllabus, ESP Curriculum and ESP syllabus Design, types of Syllabus

A. Definition of Course
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is known as a learner-centered approach to teaching
English as a foreign or second language. It meets the needs of (mostly) adult learners who
need to learn a foreign language for use in their specific fields, such as science, technology,
medicine, leisure, and academic learning. This course is recommended for graduate students
and foreign and second language professionals who wish to learn how to design
ESP courses and programs in an area of specialization such as English for business, for
Civil Engineering, for Academic Purposes, and for health service purposes. In addition, they
are introduced to ESP instructional strategies, materials adaptation and development, and
evaluation.
ESP will focus on a single occupation or profession, such as Technical English, Scientific
English, English for Medical Professionals, English for Waiters, English for Tourism, etc.
Despite their seemingly limited Focus, ESP courses can be far-reaching, as can Environmental
English.

B. Syllabus
A syllabus is a learning plan for a certain and / or group of subjects / themes that includes
competency standards, basic competencies, subject matter / learning, learning activities,
competency achievement indicators for assessment, assessment, time allocation, and learning
resources (Kunandar, 2011: 244).
Meanwhile, according to Yulaelawati, the syllabus is a set of plans and arrangements for
the implementation of learning and assessment which are arranged systematically, containing
interrelated components in achieving mastery of basic competencies.
The syllabus is a set of plans and arrangements for the implementation of learning and
assessment which are arranged systematically containing interrelated components to achieve
mastery of basic competencies.

C. ESP Curriculum and ESP Syllabus Design

1. ESP Curriculum
The curriculum for ESP is based on the needs of students in the world of work. Based
on the theory of Hutchinson and Waters (1987) ESP is a language teaching approach where
all decisions for content and methods are based on learners' reasons for learning. This
matter in accordance with Tsao (2011) which explains that the teaching of English in ESP
is designed to meet the specific needs of students. For this reason, the English learning
curriculum is tailored to the needs of students in their world of work. After adjusting the
formation of the curriculum according to the needs in the field, then it is known that
students are less able to adapt to the existing curriculum arrangements.
In fact, several theories state that the curriculum plays an important role in achieving
learning goals. According to Dudley-Evans (2000) the key stages in ESP are needs
analysis, syllabus design, material selection (and production), teaching and learning, and
evaluation. The sequence of activities is inseparable, linked and / or linear, and represents
overlapping and interdependent phases.
 Teachers have a duty and responsibility to ensure that students are able and in
accordance with the demands of the curriculum that has been designed. Print (1993) states
that teachers facilitate the curriculum and must be able to implement it and make it suitable
for the learning environment (including characteristics of learning levels, local needs,
cultural backgrounds). Based on Handler (2010), on the practical side, teachers have
responsibilities to be involved in decisions such as understanding curriculum content,
planning activities, and assessments based on curriculum focus, and matching content to
several standards in the curriculum syllabus.
Teachers also have an important role in delivering the curriculum. Linsey et al., (2010)
describes the term 'curriculum delivery' as the point at which learners interact with
curriculum design. These interactions consist of teaching, learning support, advice and
guidance, coaching, mentoring, peer and collaborative learning, feedback and assessment,
planning and personal development guidance, skills development and practice, and access
to resources all requiring the instructor to act as a facilitator. Most of the considerations
come from the experiences of teachers with language teaching backgrounds, and therefore
very much based on real situations.
There are a number of theories related to the preparation of English learning materials
in general. Richards (2013) describes the development of a language teaching curriculum
in the fields of input, process, and output. Input describes the process of identifying what
the student will need or course content. Process is the identification of a methodology or
how learning will be takes place and outputs, requires defining learning outcomes after
learning takes place. Needs analysis as described by Munby (1978) is a method for finding
and identifying target needs: a top-down approach. By doing so, the curriculum created
can answer those needs which indicate what should be done by students at the end of the
learning process. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) defines two specific areas for needs
analysis: learning needs and target needs.
Learning needs are what learners need to function effectively in language; target needs
are what students need in the future. Nunan (1990) stated that needs must be analyzed
contextually and respond to the needs of the learner and the situation at the moment.

2. Syllabus Design
Another major issue in ESP course design is syllabus. The course designers have to
decide what language has to be taught, and to specify the language items he/she has to refer
to a syllabus. Graves (1996) discussed "the language curriculum and syllabus". She
described the curriculum:
As broad statement of the Philosophy, purposes, design and a implementation of the
entire language teaching program and the syllabus as a specification and ordering of
content of a course (Graves, 1996, as cited in Basturkmen, 2006, p.21).
The success of teaching and learning process lies on a lot of crucial aspects involved in
the process. One of the aspects is a well-designed syllabus. To Richards, (2002): “a
syllabus is a specification of the content of a course instruction and lists what will be taught
and tested”. The process of making the plan of the instruction, list, and the test for a course
is called syllabus design (Richard, 2002). Moreover, according to Richard, (2002),
Syllabus design involves several processes or dimensions, they are:
a. Course Rationale
The first dimension is course rationale. It provides short explanation and illustration
of why the course is designed or made. It illustrates the targeted learners, competence,
skills or things that the course wants the learners learn, and teaching learning method.

b. Describing entry and exit level

The second dimension is describing entry and exit level. In this dimension, the syllabus
designer describes the level of the language mastery of the students and the expected level
when the students finish the course or program.
c. Choosing the course content
The third dimension is choosing the course content. It provides lists of the possible
topics, units, skills, material etc.

d. Determining the scope and sequence

The fourth dimension is determining scope and sequence. Scope explains the breath
and the depth of materials, topics, units, and skills which have been selected.

e. Planning the course structure

The fifth dimension is planning the course structure. It involves two processes, they
are: selecting a syllabus framework and developing instructional blocks. Syllabus
frameworks are types of syllabus. The types of syllabus can be: situational, topical,
functional, and task-based.
f. Need Analysis
Curriculum and syllabus are designed to meet the needs of learners. Each learner might
have different needs to other learners. Thus, curriculum and syllabus need to be designed
to address the needs of the learners. To know the needs of the learners, needs analysis has
to be done. According to Richards, (2002: 51) needs analysis is procedure used to collect
information about learners’ needs. It involves the assessment of the needs of learners or
group of learners. Moreover, need analysis serves several purposes: firstly, to find out
what language skills a learner needs in order to perform a particular role. Secondly, to
help determine if an existing course adequately addresses the needs of potential students.
Thirdly, to determine which students from a group are most in need of training in
particular language skills. Fourthly, to identify a change of direction that people in a
reference group feel is important. Fifthly, to identify a gap between what students are
able to do and what they need to be able to do. Sixthly, to collect information about a
particular problem of learners are experiencing.
g. Editing
The main aims of editing are to remove any obstacles between readers and what the
author wants to convey and to find and solve any problems before a book or a text goes
to the typesetter. It is done in order the production can run smoothly without interruption
or unnecessary expense. According to Butcher (2006: 2), there are several types of
editing: Substantive editing focuses on improving quality of a text or piece or writing on
its content, scope, length, level, and organization. In this process, the editor. Detail editing
for sense focuses on the flow if idea written by the writer, choice of words, the
punctuation, the use of abbreviations, relevant data presentation, illustration, etc.
Checking for consistency focuses on mechanical process. It covers process of checking
 spelling, checking the numbering of illustrations, tables and notes, and any cross-
references to them, and also the consistency of bibliographical references. Clear
presentation of the material for the typesetter, this type of editing, an editor has to make
sure that the text is complete and that each part in the text is clearly identified.

D. Types of syllabus
Syllabuses can be synthetic (language is segmented into discrete linguistic items for
presentation one at a time) or analytic (language is presented in whole chunks at a time without
linguistic control (Basturkmen 2006, p.21).
The design of a syllabus a teacher adopts is dependent on the needs it is meant to serve.
Various types of syllabuses can be designed to serve different needs. Before we go into the
different types of syllabuses, let us first of all look into the two kinds of syllabus sequencing
known as "Linear" and "Spiral" Syllabuses.
Language is mainly used either for production or reception. Usually, the same resources
of language are used in different combinations to express different meanings. New bits of
language are gradually learnt by experiencing them intermittently in different contexts.
Repeated experiences of the same features of language are necessary. This is the concept
behind the "cyclical" or "spiral" syllabus. It reflects the natural process of learning a language
whereby the same things keep turning up in different combinations with different meanings.
1. Linear Syllabus
Most language courses, especially in the past, were usually "linear" whereby new
points are strung along in a line and each point was completely utilized before moving
on to the next. That is, Language items like grammar and vocabulary etc. are presented
once. They are presented in the first unit for example and then we don’t go back to
them again. All the learning points were isolated and they were presented one after
the other in some order. They require a great deal of practice before moving on to the
next item.
2. Cyclic or Spiral syllabus
Cyclic or Spiral syllabus or Language items are presented more than once. For
example, if the course has 24 units, every Unit is composed of 4 lessons including
language items and the fourth Unit is always a revision. Revision is cyclic which is
better. It helps learners to learn more on the general level. The "spiral" syllabuses
have greater pedagogical and psychological advantages; they are more difficult to
organize. That could be the reason why "linear" syllabuses are more readily found.

A syllabus can also be external or internal to the learner. While external syllabus
exemplifies external specifications of the future learning, internal syllabus shows internal
constructs developed by the learner. External syllabus is interpreted when the course designer
has input to make in the designing of the syllabus but uninterpreted if otherwise. Syllabus
types can be grouped under interpreted and uninterpreted as represented by Umera-Okeke
(2005, p.57) in the figure below..
 The Syllabus

External Syllabus Internal Syllabus

Uninterpreted Syllabus Interpreted Syllabus Learner Syllabus

Evaluation Organizational
Syllabus Syllabus

Material Syllabus Teacher Classroom

Syllabus Syllabus
Fig 4: Types of Syllabus (Adopted from Umera-Okeke, 2005, p. 57)
 Factors Affecting ESP Course Design

In relation to the factors affecting course design Hutchinson and Water used Kipling’s honest
serving men to outline the basic questions that we need to know before designing course, as follows:

1. Why does the students need to learn?

2. Who is going to be involved in the process? This will need to cover not just the students, but all
the people who may affect on the process: teachers, sponsors, inspectors, etc.
3. Where is the learning to take place? What potential does the place provide? What limitation does
it impose?
4. When does the learning take place? How much time is available? How will it distributed?
5. What does the student need to learn? What aspect 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?
Based on the question, Hutchinson and Water identified factors affecting to ESP course design
namely language description, theories of learning and need analysis, as can be seen in the
following figure:

Factors affecting ESP Course Design by Hutchinson & Waters (1987, p. 22)
The above figure shows that there are three main points affecting ESP course design. The first is
language descriptions, the answer of question of what. Language description shows the language
knowledge needed by the learners that put at the syllabus. The second factor is how the learner learn
a language, and the third factor is the nature of particular target and learning situation.
E. Language Descriptions
Language has been described in a number of ways by various developing schools of
thought in Linguistics. It is the main concern of the course designer where language
description can be properly and effectively used in developing the course of ESP learners.
The aim of language description is to understand the features of the development stages and
incorporated the ideas in the course design. There are six major stages of development in
language which affect ESP teaching, they include:
1. Classical or Traditional Grammar
2. Structural linguistics
3. Transformational Generative Grammar
4. Language Variation and Register analysis
5. Functional/Notional Grammar
6. Discourse (Rhetorical) Analysis

1. Classical or Traditional Grammar

Under classical grammar, languages were described based on the classical languages –
Greek and Latin. They described language in terms of case based (Nominative, Genitive,
dative, Instrumental cases). Inflections were used to mark grammatical classes. Traditional
grammar is seen as prescriptive grammar because it is rule governed. It is seen as word
grammar because it fails to show language as an integrated systemic event. The grammar of
a language is the rules that enable the language user to generate the surface structure
(performance) from the deep level of meaning (competence). At a point, traditional grammar
could no longer account for all the possibilities in grammar. However, register analysis draws
heavily from its terminology and it shows how language operates.
2. Structural linguistics
The structural or descriptive linguistics school emerged in the 20th century, around the
1930s-1950s. It is characterized by its emphasis on the overt formal features of language,
especially of phonology, morphology, and syntax. It is usually a synchronic approach to
language study in which a language is analyzed as an independent network of formal systems,
each of which is composed of elements that are defined in terms of their contrasts with other
elements in the system.
The father of modern structural linguistics is Ferdinand de Saussure, who believed in
language as a systematic structure serving as a link between thought and sound; he thought of
language sounds as a series of linguistic signs that are purely arbitrary. It is an approach to
linguistics which treats language as an interwoven structure, in which every item acquires
identity and validity only in relation to the other items in the system.

3. Transformational Generative Grammar

In the 1950s the school of linguistic thought known as transformational-generative
grammar received wide acclaim with the publication of Noam Chomsky’s Syntactic
Structures in 1957. Chomsky further mentioned that language cannot be viewed in isolation,
it is a process of human mind and hence a sentence possesses two levels of meaning. One is
a deep level concerned with the organization of thoughts and a surface level where these
thoughts are expressed through syntax of the language. Thus the grammar of the language is
not the surface structure but the rules that enable the language user to generate the surface
 structure from the deep level of meaning. Chomsky asserted that language is rule governed.
His idea to incorporate the relationship between language and form influenced ESP by making
the difference between performance (i.e., the surface structures) and competence (i.e. the deep
end rules) (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p.27). In its initial stages of development, ESP
stressed more on explaining the performance needed for communication in target situation
and ignored the competence behind it.

4. Language Variation and Register analysis

Dialect variation is language variation which helps to distinguish one person, or group of
people from others. But all of us are also involved in another kind of language variation, which
is much more rapid. We vary our language from one situation to another many times in the
same day. Typically, the English we use when we write is different from the English we use
when we speak, the language students use to write literature essays is different from the
language used to write linguistics or biology essays, and the English we use in formal
situations like lectures and seminars is different from the English we use when chatting with
friends in a market place or beer parlours. This means that language varies according to
context of use. Thus we can have Legal English, Medical English, etc. This kind of language
variation, which can vary from minute to minute in the same day, is usually called register.
Register analysis defines that language varies according to the context of use and it helps to
differentiate formal from informal, written from spoken, self sufficient language from context
dependent language. If language varies according to context it is easy to identify the kind of
language associated with specific context, such as an area of knowledge or an area of use.

Register can vary according to medium, domain and tenure.

a. Medium (sometimes called 'mode'): Your language changes according to the medium used
(e.g. 'the language of speech', 'the language of writing').
b. Domain (sometimes called ‘field’): Your language changes according to the domain that
the language is related to. This includes (a) the subject matter being spoken or written about
(e.g. the language of science, the language of law) and (b) the function that the language is
being used for (such as the language of advertising, and the language of government).
c. Tenor: The tenor of your language (e.g. how politely or formally you speak) changes
according to (a) who you are talking or writing to (e.g. the language we use when talking
to close friends compared with that used when talking to strangers or people who are
socially distant from us) and (b) the social situation you find yourself in (e.g. a child whose
mother is a teacher will talk to her in different ways, depending on whether they are at
home or at school).

5. Functional/Notional Grammar
The next work on language as communication which influences ESP is functional and
notional concept of language descriptions. Functions are concerned with social behavior and
represent the intention of the speaker or writer whereas notions reflect the way in which
human mind thinks. This is an offshoot of work into language as a communication that has
greatly influenced ESP. The functional view was adopted into language teaching in the 1970s.
Then, there was a move from syllabuses organized on structural grounds to ones based on
functional or notional criteria (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p. 32). The move towards
 functionally based syllabus has greatly influenced ESP because the adult ESP learners, who
must have mastered the language structure, probably at school are acquiring English for the
needs. This is learning to use the structures already acquired.

6. Discourse (Rhetorical) Analysis

The next development that influences ESP is Discourse (Rhetorical) analysis. Discourse
analysis is a logical development of functional/notional view of language. The discourse
analysis helps the ESP learners by making them more efficient readers, making them aware
of the underlying structure of the text and the way in which language has been organized. The
different developments discussed are not separate entities neither they are independent nor
complete in itself, rather each description is based on the ideas of the former one and each has
got its own place in the ESP course design.

F. Learning theorist

Another important aspect of language teaching is how students learn a language because
language learning capacity is totally a process of human mind. Hutchinson and Waters (1987)
speak about “´learning theories´ which provide the theoretical basis for the methodology, by
helping us to understand how people learn” (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p.23). So it is very
essential to keep in view the language learning theories. The major theories related to language
teaching and how they influence ESP learners are: (a) Cognitive Code, (b) Behaviourism (c)
Mentalism (d) Constructivism (e) Humanistic Theory/ Affective Factor (f) Learning and
Acquisition.

1. The Cognitive Theory

The mentalist idea of mind as a governing body in the learning process gave rise to the
cognitive theory of learning. Cognitive view considers that the learner's mind is the actual
source of information (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). According to this theory the learner is
an active participant in the learning process; he tries to make sense of the things presented to
him, and learns through solving the exercises. The cognitive theory learning has had a vital
effect on ESP teaching where language is taught through problem solving tasks.
The weakness of this method lies in its too limited concept of what is involved in learning
and using language. Being able to learn, and then apply it to an academic exercise involving
translating sentences (often isolated sentences) from the L1 to the L2 is hardly fully
representative of real-life language use in normal situations.

2. Behaviorism
This theory is primarily derived from the work of Pavlov and Skinner. Behaviourist's
school of language learning views that: “Language learning is a mechanical process of habit
formation and proceeds by means of frequent reinforcement of stimulus response sequence
(Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p.40)”. Behaviourism is a learning theory that only focuses on
objectively observable behaviours and discounts any independent activities of the mind.
Behaviour theorists define learning as nothing more than the acquisition of new behaviour
based on environmental conditions. According to behaviourist thinking it wasn’t really
necessary for learners to internalize rules; instead they should learn the right patterns of
linguistic behaviour, and acquire the correct habits.
 3. Mentalism
This theory is of the opinion that thinking is rule-governed. Chomsky’s viewed that
thinking is a "rule governed behavior" and learning comprises not of forming habits but of
acquiring rules. The mentalism theory says that mind does not respond to a stimulus, it uses
the individual stimuli in order to find the underlying pattern or system. The theory of
mentalism is very important because it gives rise to cognitive theory which plays an important
role in ESP course design.

4. Constructivism
Constructivism is an educational philosophy which holds that learners ultimately
construct their own knowledge that then resides within them, so that each person's knowledge
is as unique as they are. Constructivist learning is based on students' active participation in
problem-solving and critical thinking regarding a learning activity which they find relevant
and engaging. They are "constructing" their own knowledge by testing ideas and approaches
based on their prior knowledge and experience, applying these to a new situation, and
integrating the new knowledge gained with pre-existing intellectual constructs.

5. Humanistic Theory/Affective Factor

Though human beings think rationally or practically, they also have feelings and
emotions, they are not just a thinking being but emotional in nature also. Thus the learning
process is also influenced by human emotions. The affective factor stresses the emotional cues
as an important part in language learning. The cognitive and emotional aspect if put together,
lead to very important aspects in ESP learning and that is motivation. Motivation of the
student affects their learning the most (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).

6. Learning and Acquisition

These are two psychological concepts. While acquisition is a subconscious, natural
process and the primary force behind foreign language fluency, learning is a conscious
process that monitors or edits the progress of acquisition and guides the performance of the
speaker. It is used to correct errors in speech. There ESP should exploit both processes.
Of all the theories studied, there is none that is superior to the other. They all help us to
know how to imbibe or inculcate a given knowledge to a learner. Learning theories provide
theoretical basis for methodology by helping us to understand how people learn as language
is a reflection of human thoughts processes.

G. Need Analysis

The next important factor that affects the ESP course design is Needs Analysis. It actually
determines the type of communication a learner requires to learn when they are put to perform in
a specific situation. The need can be of two types, the target centered needs and the learning
centered needs. The target need is that which focuses on the language use, i.e. what language or
language skills learners need to perform in their target situation, where as learner centered needs
is based on analyzing what skills of strategies learners are going to apply in order to achieve the
target language (Hutchinson and Water, 1987).
 For Jordan (1997), “needs analysis is the requirement for fact-finding or the collection of
data” (p. 22). Brindley (cited in Johnson 1989) states that it is “a vital pre-requisite to the
specification of language learning objectives” (p. 63) while Hutchinson and Waters (1987) add
that needs analysis is “the most characteristic feature of ESP course design.”
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) classified needs into necessities, lacks and wants.
Necessities are what the learners have to know in order to function effectively in the target
situations. By observing the target situations and analyzing the constituent parts of them, we can
gather information about necessities.
Lacks are the gap between the existing proficiency and the target proficiency of learners. Wants
are what the learners feel they need.
Wants perceived by learners may conflict with necessities perceived by sponsors or EAP teachers
and this conflict may have a de-stabilizing effect on motivation. Therefore, ESP course designer
or teacher must take into account such differences in materials and methodology (Hutchinson &
Waters, 1987).
Jordan (1997, p. 23) sees needs analysis as a systematic thing and identified the steps a needs
analyst must follow in conducting needs analysis. The steps are as represented below:

10. Evaluate procedure and results; implement decision

9. Syllabus, content, material, methods, etc.

8. Determine objectives
7. Analyze and interpret results

6. Collect data

5. Select methods of collecting data

4. Acknowledge constraints/limitations

3. Decide upon the approach(es)

2. Delimit student population

1. Purpose of analysis

Steps in Needs Analysis (Jordan R. R. 1997:23)

Approach and techniques for need analysis; principles for analyzing learners needs

H. Sociolinguistic Model

In his attempt to make a contribution to syllabus design, Munby (1978) proposed his
approach to needs analysis which soon drew great attention from syllabus designers, particularly
ESP architects. His work was a landmark in ESP and had a huge influence on ESP since it provided
a new vision on individual needs (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).
His model can be used to specify valid ‘target situations’ (Jordan, 1997; West, 1994) that is,
target communicative competence. Target-situation analysis proceeds by first identifying the target
situation and then carrying out a rigorous analysis of the target tasks, linguistic features and
knowledge requirement of that situation (Robinson, 1989). The best-known framework for target-
situation analysis is devised by Munby. The core of this framework is the “Communication Need
Processor” in which account is taken of the variables that affect communication needs and the
dynamic interplay between them. After operating with this framework, we can obtain a profile of
students’ language needs and convert them into a “communicative competence specification” from
which a syllabus is drawn up (Jordan, 1997).
To counter the shortcomings of target-situation needs analysis, various forms of pedagogic
needs have been identified to give more information about the learner and the educational
environment. These forms of needs analysis should be seen as complementing target-situation
needs analysis and each other, rather than being alternatives. They include deficiency analysis,
strategy analysis, and means analysis. Before we move into another approach to needs analysis,
let us consider these other needs analyses complementing target-situation analysis:
Deficiency Analysis gives us information about what the learners' learning needs are (i.e.,
which of their target-situation needs they lack or feel they lack). This view of needs analysis gains
momentum when we consider that the question of priorities is ignored by standard needs analysis.
In discussing learners' perceptions of their needs, deficiency analysis takes into account lacks and
wants, as well as objective needs of the learners (Allwright, 1982).
Strategy Analysis seeks to establish how the learners wish to learn rather than what they
need to learn. By investigating learners' preferred learning styles and strategies, strategy analysis
provides a picture of the learner's conception of learning.
Means Analysis, on the other hand, investigates precisely those considerations that Munby
excluded. These relate to the educational environment in which the ESP course is to take place
(Swales, 1989).
1. Systemic Approach
Richterich and Chancerel (1977) proposed a systemic approach to identify the needs
of adults learning foreign languages. This approach fills the gaps in the sociolinguistic
model in terms of flexibility and shows different concerns for learners. The students are
the center of attention, and their current situation is thoroughly investigated.

2. Learning-Centered Approach
As a result of the attention paid to strategy analysis, a new generation of ESP materials
was established. This new generation of material is based on the concept of language or
conceptions of needs. His concern is with language learning rather than language use. It
is no longer just assumed that describing and exemplifying what people do in language
will allow one to learn it. A truly valid ESP approach will be based on an understanding
 of the language learning process. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) call this approach a
learning-centered approach and emphasize the importance of a teaching / learning style
that is lively, interesting and relevant in ESP material.

3. Student-Centered Approach
Berwick (1989) and Brindley (1989) are leaders in contributing to a learner-centered
approach to needs analysis. Three ways of looking at students' needs are offered:
perceived vs. perceived need; product vs. process-oriented interpretation; and objective
vs. subjective. 'Perceived need' comes from an expert perspective whereas 'perceived
need' comes from the learner's perspective (Berwick, 1989). In product-oriented
interpretation, the learner's needs are seen as the language the learner needs in the target
situation. In process-oriented interpretation, the focus is on how individuals respond to
their learning situations, which involves affective and cognitive variables that influence
learning (Brindley, 1989). Finally, objective needs are explored prior to the course,
whereas subjective needs are addressed as the course progresses. The teaching of
communicative language, content and teaching-learning procedures must take into
account the interests and concerns of learners, as well as the socio-economic and cultural
context in which the language program will be implemented.

4. A Task-Based Approach
A task-based syllabus supports using tasks and activities to encourage learners to
utilize the language communicatively so as to achieve a purpose. It indicates that
speaking a language is a skill best perfected through interaction and practice. The most
important point is that tasks must be relevant to the real world language needs of the
learner. Long (2005a) recommends taking a task-based approach to needs analysis as well
as with teaching and learning based on the argument that “structures or other linguistic
elements (notions, functions, lexical items, etc.)” should not be a focal point of teaching
and learning. “Learners are far more active and cognitive-independent participants in the
acquisition process than is assumed by the erroneous belief that what you teach is what
they learn, and when you teach it is when they learn it” (p. 3). In this approach, tasks are
the units of analysis and “samples of the discourse typically involved in performance of
target tasks” (p. 3) are collected.

I. Principles for Analyzing Student Needs

1. Give First Priority to Communication Needs

Communication needs to be a concern when it is believed that what is taught to
learners should be specifically what they will actually use, and that this should define the
content of the ESP course (Munby, 1978; Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998).

2. Give Equal Importance to Learning Needs

Cognitive and affective variables and learning situations are influential in determining
the way in which a language is learned or should be learned (Berwick, 1989; Brindley,
 1989). Hutchinson and Waters (1987) argue that the study of language description,
namely the study of communication needs, does not allow a person to learn a language.

3. Consider "Context"
Context influences ESP teaching and learning (Holliday & Cooke, 1982; Jordan, 1997;
Richterich & Chancerel, 1977). Language teaching and design that don't take into account

Certain student groups tend to be inefficient or inadequate (Long, 2005b). For

example, teaching English to engineering students could be based directly on the student's
specific knowledge, i.e. technique, as suggested by Hutchinson & Waters (1987). Civil
engineering students from the course under study will come from a technical background.
On the other hand, teaching English to academic students may not be too closely tied to
their specific knowledge, as they did not have much knowledge of specific content prior
to taking ESP courses.

4. Invite Multiple Perspectives

Learners’ English needs depend on various expectations, interpretations and
individual value judgments (Berwick, 1989; Brindley, 1989). Vandermeeren (2005:161)
points out that “researchers, too, have attitudes concerning language needs, which
inevitably influence their choice of research objectives and their interpretation of the
findings”. It is therefore important to ensure that interpretations consider the perspectives
of all involved. Multiple perspectives refer to institutions, teachers and learners (Benesch,
1999; 2001; Richterich & Chancerel, 1977). ESP relates to work or professional study
situations (Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001; Jordan, 1997). Therefore, stake-holders from
both locations should be invited to participate in needs analysis research.

5. Employ Multiple Data Collection Methods

Use of multiple data collection methods is recommended when dealing with complex
needs and for validating data (Gilabert, 2005; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Jasso-Aguilar,
2005; Richterich & Chancerel, 1977). Jasso-Aguilar’s (2005) study reveal that some of
the language needs of hotel maids could not have been found if participation observation
had not been employed in addition to the study of task force predictions. Long (2005a,
2005b) calls for more attention to ‘methodological options’ in needs analysis. It is also
recommended that limitations of data collection methods should be dealt with both before
and during the research process.

6. Treat Needs Analysis as an On-going Activity

Finally, an ESP program that aims to meet the ever-changing needs of the learners will
include an on-going system of evaluation, aiming to provide information on how the
program itself can be improved through the introduction of changes that are deemed
necessary. Learner needs should be analysed on an on-going basis because they are likely
to change over time, depending on contextual and human affective variables (Brown,
1995; Holliday, 1994; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Nunan, 1988; Richterich &
Chancerel, 1977). This principle expands the attention of needs analysis to include both
curriculum development and action research.
 Approaches to Course Design
Course design is the process by which the raw data about a learning need is interpreted in order to
produce an integrated series of teaching-learning experiences, whose ultimate aim is to lead the learners
to a particular state of knowledge. In practical terms this entails the use of the theoretical and empirical
information available to produce a syllabus, to select, adapt or write material in accordance with the
syllabus, to develop a methodology for teaching those materials and to establish evaluation procedures
by which progress towards the specified goals will be measured.
There are probably as many different approaches to ESP course design as there are course designers.
We can, however, identify three main types: language-centered, skills-centered, and learning-centered.

J. Language-centered course design

This is the simplest kind of course design process and is probably the one most familiar to
English teachers. It particularly prevalent in ESP.
The language-centered course design process aims to draw as direct a connection as possible
between the analysis of the target situation and the content of the ESP course. It proceeds as
follows:

Identify learners’ Select theoretical

Target situation Views of language

Identify linguistic features of target situation

Create Syllabus

Design materials to
exemplify syllabus
items

Establish evaluation procedures to test

acquisition of syllabus items

*Figure a language-centered approach to course design

 This may seem to be a very logical procedure. It starts with the learner, proceeds through
various stages of analysis to a syllabus, thence to materials in use in the classroom and finally to
evaluation of mastery of the syllabus items. However, logical and straightforward as it may seem,
it has a number of weaknesses:
1. It starts from the learners and their needs, and thus it might be considered a learner-centered
approach, but it is, in fact, not learner-centered in any meaningful sense of term. In the learner-
restricted syllabus, when considering needs analysis, the learner should e considered at every
stage of the process. Yet, in this model the learning needs of the students are not accounted
for at all. It is, therefore, not learner-centered, but simply learner-restricted.

2. The learner-centered process can also be criticized for being a static and inflexible procedure,
which can take a little account of the conflicts and contradictions that are inherent in any
human endeavor. Any procedure must have flexibility, feedback channels and error tolerance
built in so that it can respond to unsuspected or developing influences.
3. One of the alluring features of this model is that appears to be systematic. Unfortunately the
role of systematization in learning is not so simple. Certainly, there is a lot of evidence to
show that the systematization of knowledge plays a crucial role in the learning process: we
learn by fitting individual items of knowledge together to create a meaningful predictive
system. But the most important point here is that it must be an internally-generated system
not an externally-imposed system.
4. The language-centered model gives no acknowledgment to factors which must inevitably play
a part in the creation of any course. To take a simple example, one of the primary principles
of good pedagogic materials is that they should be interesting. An analysis of language items
cannot tell you whether a text or an activity is interesting. Thus, it materials are based on the
language-centered model, then either there are other factors being used, which are not
acknowledged in the model, or, sadly this is what seems so often to be the case, these learning
factors are not considered to be important at all. As a teacher once remarked at a seminar on
materials writing, ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s boring. It’s ESP.’
5. The language-centered analysis of target situation data is only at the surface level. It reveals
very little about the competence that underlines the performance.

In summary, then, the logical, straightforward appeal of the language-centered approach is,
in effect, its weakness. It fails to recognize the fact that, learners being people, learning is not a
straightforward, logical process.

K. Skills-centered course design

 The skills-centered approach to ESP has been widely applied in a number of countries,
particularly in Latin America. Students in universities and colleges there have the limited, but
important need to read subject texts in English, because they are unavailable in the mother tongue.
The skills-centered approach is founded on two fundamental principles, one theoretical, the other
pragmatic:
1. The basic theoretical hypothesis is that underlying any language behavior are certain skills
and strategies, which the learner uses in order to produce or comprehend discourse. This
approach aims to get away from the surface performance data and look at the competence
that underlies the performance. This example from a Brazilian ESP syllabus for Library
Science students is given in Maciel et al. (1983) (our brackets):
General Objective (i.e. Performance level):
 The student will be able to catalog books written in English.
Specific Objective (i.e. Competence level):
The student will be able to:
 Extract the gist of a text by skimming through it.
 Extract relevant information from the main parts of a book.

2. The pragmatic basis for the skills-centered approach derives from a distinction made by
Widdowson (1981) between goal-oriented courses and process-oriented courses. The role of
needs analysis in a skills-centered approach is twofold. Firstly, it provides a basis for
discovering the underlying competence that enables people to perform in the target situation.
Secondly, it enables the course designer to discover the potential knowledge and abilities
that the learners bring to the ESP classroom. The skills-centered approach, therefore, can
certainly claim to take the learner more into account than the language-centered approach :
a) It views language in terms of how the mind of the learners processes it rather than as
an entire in itself.
b) It tries to build on the positive factors that the learners bring to the course, rather than
just on the negative idea of ‘lacks’.
c) It frames its objectives in open-ended terms, so enabling learners to achieve at least
something.
Yet, in spite of its concern for the learner, the skills-centered approach still approaches
the learner as a user of language rather than as a learner of language. The process it is
concerned with are the processes of language use not of language learning. It is which this
distinction in mind that we turn to the third approach to course design.
 Theoretical
views of
language

Identify Analyse Write Select text Establish

target skills/ syllabus and write evaluation
situation strategies exercises to procedures
required to focus on which
cope in skills/strate require the
target gies in use of
situation syllabus skills/
strategies in
syllabus

Theoretical
views of
learning

*A skills-centered approach to course design

L. A learning-centered course design

Before describing this approach, we should expand our explanation of why we have chosen
the term learning-centered instead of the more common term learner-centered.
The learner-centered approach is based on the principle that learning is totally determined
by the learner. As teachers we can influence what we teach, but what learners learn is determined
by the learners alone. Learning is not just a mental process, it is a process of negotiation between
individuals and society. Society sets the target situation and the individuals must do their best to
get as close to that target as is possible.
To return to our discussion of approaches to course design, we can see that for all its
emphasis on the learner, the skills-centered approach doesn’t fully take the learner into account,
because it still makes the ESP learning situation too dependent on the target situation. The learner
is used to identify and to analyze the target situation needs. But then, as with the language -centered
approach, the learner discarded and the target situation analysis is allowed to determine the content
of the course with little further reference to the learner:
A language-centered approach says: This is the nature of the target situation performance
and that will determine the ESP course.
 A skills-centered approach says: That’s not enough. We must look behind the target
performance data to discover what processes enable someone to perform. Those processes will
determine the ESP course.
A learning-centered approach says: That’s not enough either. We must look beyond the
competence that enables someone to perform, because what we really want to discover is not the
competence itself, but how someone acquires that competence.
We might see the relationship in this diagram:

Identify target situation

A language centered approach

Analyse target situation

Considers the learner to here

Analyse learning situation

A skills-centered approach

Write syllabus
Considers the learner to here

Write materials

Teach materials

Evaluate learner achievement

A learning-centered approach

*Comparison of approaches to course design

Must consider the learner at
every stage
That diagram shows that a learning-centered approach to course design takes account of the
learner at every stage of the design process. This has two implications:
1. Course design is a negotiable process. There is no single factor which has an outright
determining influence on the content of the [Link] ESP learning situation and target
situation will both influence the nature of syllabus, materials, methodology and evaluations
procedures.
2. Course design is a dynamic process. It does not move in a linear fashion from initial analysis
 to completed course.
But, if we took a learning-centered approach, we would need to ask further questions and consider
other factors, before determining the content and methodology of the course.
a) How the learner can learn that knowledge most effectively
b) What are the implications for methodology of having a mono-skill focus?
c) How will the students react doing tasks involving other skills, and they appreciate the
greater variety and interest of the activities.
d) Do the resources in the classroom allow the use of other skills. The teacher handle an
integrated skills approach.
e) How will the learners react to discussing things in mother tongue
f) How will the learners' attitudes vary through the course?
g) How do the learners feel about reading as an activity?