Teaching grammar in esp classroom (in technical colleges) Introduction

Teaching grammar in ESP classroom (in technical colleges)

Introduction

English for Specific purposes is a branch of applied linguistics which is aimed for learners of specific fields. It is known with the abbreviation ESP. It usually refers to ways of teaching English to university students with curricula compatible to their study programs. It is also taught to people who are already employed and need to learn English specifically for their job. The programs include necessary and particular vocabulary and skills. As such, it could be in hand of those who need it strictly for different domains such as: medicine, science, arts or any other field. Globalization has enhanced the need of speaking English as a passing-visa to a more successful career for every profession. But, where are the roots of ESP? Initially, there has been a branch of language for specific purposes (LSP) which “can be traced as far back as the Greek and Roman empires” (Dudley-Evans and ST Johns, 1998). Regarding English for Specific Purposes as it is used today (ESP), it appeared around the end of Second World War and researchers claim that it was some kind of phenomenon grown out of language learning trends, and it was not really planned to be developed. According to researchers, ESP has found ways to operate in diverse forms, but there are three main reasons seen as the ones which made ESP emerge at the time that it did. These reasons are the needs and demands of a brave world, undoubtedly a revolution in the field of linguistics and the most important one: the focus on the learner. The last one is still the stamp of the ESP of today’s world. The focus on the learner and his needs are basically the elements that keep ESP so attractive not only for the learners themselves but for language researchers as well.

Defining ESP

Various definitions have been given about ESP by researchers of the language field. For example, Falaus (2016), claims that “As any other kind of language teaching, English for Specific Purposes is first and foremost based on the process of learning, a process which nevertheless addresses the needs of certain communities of learners, namely individuals interested in acquiring some professional skills and performing jobrelated practices”(1). WhileChmel defines ESP as “The field of English for Specific Purposes comprises efficient, intensive and scientifically grounded subject oriented on the development of professional communicative competence of engineering students”.
Chilingaryan (2014) states that ESP has absolute and variable characteristics. Meeting specific need of the learner through grammar, lexis, discourse are in the first group.The variable ones are connected to specific teaching situations designed differently from learning general English. The absolute characteristics of ESP are:

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  meet specific needs of the learners;
  
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  the used methodology serves to the specific discipline;
  
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  the focus is centered on the language
  

On the other hand, Belcher (2006) indicates that it is required willingness by the part of the teachers, because the ESP approach in fact sometimes represents an area of unfamiliar domains. Besides being lectured for strict programs, ESP is also part of curriculums in almost every university, depending on the program where it is included. The main purpose is preparing specialists in fields of different backgrounds. However, ESP is also promoted by organizations and companies which organize courses meant to improve and enhance the level of English of their employees. Those courses prepare the employees for different professional situations which can help the successful building of the company. Since it is a specifically designed curriculum, teaching ESP carries some challenges in the way how it is delivered to the learners. One of the challenges is undoubtedly teaching grammar to ESP students. Scholars and teachers have worked and researched on this issue and of course there are some fruitful and important suggestions and ways how to teach grammar in the classes aimed for specific use of language. Teachers sometimes find it unnecessary to pay too much attention to the grammar, and that is also seen the same way by students too. Teaching reading, writing or focusing on building and enriching vocabulary is not the only way of teaching ESP successfully, let alone not the best one.
Grammar is a difficult part of the language learning process and this is probably accepted by teachers and students too. However, according to DeKeyser (2005) there are some factors which play a role in its difficulty. Those are the complexity of: meaning, form and the relationship between form and meaning. Grammar is the part which in fact gives ESP learners the way how to understand the meaning of the sentences, or how to properly use the vocabulary they learn in their ESP classes. It has always been a topic of discussion the issue whether grammar is needed or not in ESP classes. Moreover, the discussions have continued on how or how much grammar should be taught to ESP learners. Chen, states that grammar is mainly concerned with the structure of a language and it also contributes to producing sentences. He believes that the ability to perform language skills as reading, speaking, listening and writing joined with grammar knowledge is very much needed in teaching ESP.
It is easy to say that if grammar is presented in meaningful context, in areas that are part of the learner’s interest or are an attractive topic, but is that true and really in hand of ESP teachers?
In order to make it attractive, teaching ESP should be based on creative ideas planned by the teachers which will make the classes more acceptable and easier to remember. Onofreiet al.,(2012) suggest reinforcement of all the stages in the teaching order, starting from the warm up, lead in, pre and post translation part, and follow up assignments. They point out that “suggestopedia” could be an attractive way how to introduce a grammar part which should be taught. Suggestopedia is one of famous approaches in learning a foreign language, which was developed by the Bulgarian psychotherapist Lozanov. According to him, using this approach learner can acquire a foreign language three to five times quicker than through any other method or approach.
When it comes to these modern approaches, it should be mentioned that including video materials and visual elements can help a lot in offering a relaxed and more acceptable way of learning grammar. In this respect, videos are worldwide multimedia tools that include visual and audio content. The contents of videos are creative and offer diversity. They can arouse interest in learners and also make them curious. Chmel, states that videos are a very important tool for teaching ESP but they are at the same time a little bit underestimated. He claims that using videos in teaching can play different roles and it should be seen as a tool which “It drives active learning in the class, stimulates hearing and visual sensors which, in its turn, increases attention and trains memory, helps to master language skills of students and, consequently, build the learners’ self-confidence.
At this point, it is very important to mention that technology use in the classroom is unavoidable and therefore teachers should find ways how to incorporate it in their classes in order to achieve quicker and better goals.
Besides all, Pop and Berariu, (2015) claim that “Despite being considered obsolete, grammar teaching/learning has given generations of fluent foreign language speakers, although some methods such as the teaching of sets of rules failed to make more fluent speakers and writers and were, therefore, discontinued” (76). The material that follows presents some examples how to teach grammar in ESP classes, in cases when there is material provided and when there is nothing ready given to introduce grammar-wise.