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EsP.' Brave New lilorld?
Dissenting opinion.
Neil McClelland
Considering the laborious narure of foreign
language learning, it is necessary to questlon
the-teaChing methods we routinely inflicton
students. While there is clemly a need to
seek professional development through
experimentation with alternative app'roaches,
it is equally important to carefully weigh the
pros and cons of innovations before
idopting them into our classroom repertoires.
Due to the vogue for short, intensive
language c,ourses, it seems apgopriate p _
evaTua6 the relevance of theinfluential E-SP
paradigm of the mid-80s with regard to the
specific context of EFI- learning in Japan.
It is important to clarify exactly what is meant
by the t€rm ESP (English for Specific
Purposes) which is often used as an antonym
to'general English'. At its most facetious
level, ESP appeals to assumed voeational
needs, and focuses exclusively on perceived
end-uses of foreign languages. This
interpretation prescribes; "American Medical
English" (AME) for doctors, "Car Mechanic
Englisho (ClnIE) for car mechanics, and
"Station Master English' (SME) for station
masters. Such an Orwellian paradigm has
been criticised by Hulchinson & Waters
(i987), who re-interpret ESP as a process
rather than product approach to syllabus
design. In practical terms this involves
starting with initial needs-analysis, followed
by negotiation of the syllabus and teaching
methodology as the course progresses.
Unfortunately, like so many other good
ideas, the practice of ESP is often far
removed from the theory, a prognosis that
seems particularly ineviable in the context of
Japan. Whether viewed from the perspective
of the learners, the teacher, or tlte syllabus
12
designer, the ESP approach can be shown to
be iriappropriate to 6fi forms of English
educaliirn in Japan, but most especially to the
teaching of college students.
ln order to pertinently view the ESP-oriented
teacher from the standpoint of most Japanese
EFLlearners, itis important to consider the
wider context of the typical employment
conditions prevailing in Japan. The majority
of professional staffhave little control over
even their geographical location, never mind
the nature of their work As a consequence,
incentives verge towards the extrinsic, and it
seems likely that many EFL learners are
seeking diversion from their working lives
rather than some kind of incessant
continuation. Even without regard to
tlrc crass insensitivity of teaching vocationally
specilic English to people who may have
failed to realise betterjobs, it appears
fallacious to assume that motivation will be
enhanced through an occupation-restricted
focus on language. The interpretation by
Hutchinson & Waters (1987), that course
design should be based on needs-analysis
questionnaires, proves equally unhe-lpful, as
it seems inevitable learners will opt for
conversation skills, leaving teachers back at
square-one teaching general English,
Itseems inevitable learners
will opt for conversation
skills, leaving teachers back
at square-one teaching
general English.
In the same way that most Japanese comPany
employees are rypically faced with Hobson's
choice, college students have only very
limited options regarding their major on
matriculation, and parallels are inescapable.
Further, students' expectations are naturally
molded by realities of future work. For the
vast majority, this means induction into a
company'and allocation of an occupation with

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c€uses the most signilicant comprehension
problems for second language speakers.
Thus it again becomes clear that ESP
methodology can only have the single
outcome of emphasizing thal everydav
conversalional English is best, a conclusion
no less true for college students. while the
above discussion separates the viewpoints of
leamers, teachers, and syllabus designers, it
must be remembered that the interests of
these three groups are united by the single
goal of facilitating effective language
learning. Analysis of the realities of the
situation, however, shows that such a goal is
not necessarily facilitated by the coining of
acronyms such as EST (English for Science
and Technology), which may be
counterproductive to good EFL practice.
Indeed the generally held, but rather absurd,
notion that ENSP (English for No Specific
Purpose) is some kind of impropriety, can
only lead us to question the priorities of an
impoverished profession. Surely it is the
very gtunmar, idiom, and literature which
the ESP paradigm seeks to eliminate, that
represents the true value and interest of
learning a foreign language. From a social,
intellectual, and communicative perspective,
the restriction of language to occupational
criteria can only be seen as a disservice tn
Iearners. The irony behind original use of the
phrase uthe brave-new world oT ESP"
(Hurchinson & Waters 1987:l) seems as
poignant and relevant today as ten years ago.
References
Anderson & Lynch (1988). Listening, in C^N. Chandtin
& H.G. Widdowson (eds), Ioryuage Teaching: A schame
Jor uacher e&&ation. Oxford: OUP.
Cohen, A.D. , B. Glasman, P.R. Rosenbaum-Cohen,
Fen-ara & J. Fre (1979). Reading English for
Specialized huposes: discowse analysis and the use
of studont irformants, TESOLQuarrcr$ 13, 551{4.
Hutchinson & Waters (l9fl7) English Jor Specifu
Purposes. Cambridge: CUP.
Internationalizing
Teacher Connections
Musings on fians-organizationai &
trans-national links.
Greg Matheson,
Soonchunhyang University,
Korea
[futitorial rcte: This fall a nwnber of JALT
rnembers sailed or flew across the Japan
Sea to participate in thz annual conference
of KATESOL. Greg Matlrcson, conference
organizer, comments on thc upshot of such
crossfertilization. J
i was asked to share a few words on
international connections among EFL/LSL
organizations representing teachers around
the world and I think this means critiquing
the activities of the small number of people in
these organizations who are trying to bring
the groups together. What can I say? The
words "walking on water" are the first which
come to rnind. With or without a constituency
these leaders represent their groups
internationally, and their acts are miraculous.
The only response possible is laughter or
incredulity. It's not whether things are done
well or not, but that people make the effort
despite an apparently almost-complete lack of
interest or support from most teachers.
Like students in my classes who can't
understand what I'm doing, we may scoff.
This would be amistake. How do teachers
learn? The same way students do" from their
teachers. And snrdents are to teachers as
J.
teachers are to leaders of teachers'
organizations. Our leaders are crying in the
wilderness, perhaps, trylng to get teachers to
communicaie, but just as students must look
outward, so must teachers stmt to think
globally. The world is getting smaller and the
global village is at hand.
t4