E .S .

P
VOCAB
U LARY
English for Specific Purposes
A subset of English as a second or
foreign language. It usually refers
to teaching the English language
to students or certain people with
reference to the particular
vocabulary and skills they need.
 Vocabulary
All about words – the words in a
language or a special set of words
you are trying to learn. It is also the
words known and used by a
particular person that exist in a
particular language or subject.
 ESP
Vocabulary
 ESP – Vocabulary
Vocabulary occupies an important place in both native
and second/foreign language, since the words on the
page are the starting points for reading.
William (1985) discussed Five Vocabulary Learning
Strategies suitable for ESP reading:
a. Inferring from context
b. Identifying lexical familiarization
c. Unchaining nominal compounds
d. Synonym search
e. Word analysis
 ESP – Vocabulary
ESP teachers should not simply teach
“lists of scientific and technical words”
but should also teach the
“contexts and structural relations
within
which the words have meanings”.
Types of ESP – Vocabulary
Spoken Technical,
and Semi-
Technical
Written Discourse
and
Vocabular Structurin
General
y g and
Vocabular
Procedural
y
-------- Vocabular
y ----------
Core and
Non-Core Academic
Vocabular Vocabular
y y
Spoken and Written Vocabulary

Spoken texts tend to be vague and general words are

more frequently used in everyday speech than in written
texts.

Written data is mainly made up of lexical, non-

lexical, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions

Spoken language is the central source of the

contact to communicative language but written
language continues to be a fundamental source
for input.
Core and Non-Core Vocabulary
Core Vocabulary refers to those words that occur frequently
and more central to the language than the words. These
core words can be used to paraphrase and give definitions
to the other words

Non-core or Subject-Specific Vocabulary has this lack of

neutrality and association with a specialized topic. Learners
with specific and academic purposes may need to acquire
them for specialization
Core vocabulary example: Slim, slender, thin,
emaciated, scrawny

Non-Core vocabulary examples: Science – habitat, prey,

offspring Medicine – placebo, Dialysis
 Discourse Structuring and
Procedural Vocabulary
Discourse Structuring Vocabulary refers to summarizing and
encapsulating previously mentioned ideas and link one sentence to
the next. This structuring uses abstract nouns that are also called
anaphoric nouns.
Discourse structure example:

There are two chief duties of roots, to absorb water from the soil for the
whole plant, and to hold it firmly in the ground. These fine fibers of the
root, which are so much divided and run into the soil, serve both these
purposes, as they expose a large area to contact the soil and so can absorb
much from it, as well as getting a good hold of it.
Procedural Vocabulary is characteristically used to
explain and make sense of more complicated words,
paraphrase them, define them, and organize them during
communication. These are commonly used in dictionaries
to give learners definitions useful in building their
vocabulary

Procedural vocabulary example:

An artichoke is a type of vegetable
Technical, Semi-Technical
and General Vocabulary
Technical Vocabulary is the specialized vocabulary of any field
which evolves due to the need for experts in a field to
communicate with clarity, precision, relevance, and brevity.

Semi-Technical Vocabulary is formed by words coming from

ordinary vocabulary that have acquired two or more technical
meanings. This type of vocabulary is polysemic and has been
formed by the process of analogy adding new meanings to the
traditional meanings
General Vocabulary is a set of words useful to everyone who
speaks a given language. This might include words about food,
weather, and colours.
Academic Vocabulary
Academic Vocabulary is defined as words that are
traditionally used in academic dialogue and text.

Specifically, it refers to words that are not necessarily

common or frequently encountered in informal
conversation
For example, rather than using the simple verb “watch”, an
academic term would be “observe”.
 Conclusion
we may conclude that the teaching and learning of vocabulary, although it is
only one sub-goal of a range of goals that is important in second language
learning, plays a key role in the overall structure of any language teaching
program because of its basic functions in the language components. It is
important for learners, especially learners with specific or academic purposes
to make distinctions between all types of English vocabulary to help achieve
their goals.
 Thank You
Prepared by:

Jan Dave Olaco Rodniel John Ocate