The following sections first briefly outline some crucial issues regarding both ESP teachers and learners. This is followed by a more in-depth discussion of important
issues regarding ESP materials ESP teachersAn issue frequently raised with regard to ESP teachers is whether they need to beexperts in the subject area in question. The general assumption is that they areprimarily language teachers engaged in Teaching English as a Foreign Language(TEFL) and should, above all, be experts in the language and language teaching, andare not required to have specialized subject knowledge. Nevertheless, they do need
to have some understanding of the subject area, which is ideally accompanied by a
positive attitude towards it. ESP teachers should also have the ability to actively
integrate student knowledge about the subject matter or, as Ellis and Johnson
(1994: 26) put it: “It is the learners who have the specific content knowledge and
who are able to bring that knowledge to the classroom”. Good ESP teachers will thus
above all be “experts in presenting and explaining the language,” who also have the
ability “to ask the right questions and make good use of the answers” (Ellis and Johnson, 1994: 26). Other valuable sources of information for ESP teachers are subject teachers and subject-matter textbooks.
To sum up, to make best use of the resources mentioned above when designing a syllabus, selecting, and/or writing materials, as well as teaching the course, ESP teachers should have at least some basic knowledge about the subject matter in question, which is ideally supported by a genuine interest in it. It is even more important that they act as facilitators and encourage pupils to share their own knowledge about the subject matter with the class and to actively participate in the learning process. This characteristic of effective teachers is beautifully articulated in Kahlil Gibran’s novel The Prophet: “If the teacher is indeed wise, he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind” (as cited in Harmer, 2007: 107).
