The reality and challenges of english for specific purposes: A case of An Giang university

The paper investigates the perceptions of English as Foreign Language teachers and learners towards those ESP courses including their objectives, teaching and learning practices as well as the successes and challenges of those courses. Observations, questionnaires, and interviews were conducted with 90 third-year students who had taken ESP courses and 5 teachers who had taught these courses.

AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 THE REALITY AND CHALLENGES OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES: A CASE OF AN GIANG UNIVERSITY Nguyen Thi Dung1 An Giang University, VNU - HCM Information: Received: 16/01/2019 Accepted: 02/05/2019 Published: 11/2019 Keywords: ESP teaching and learning, reality, challenges ABSTRACT English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses reflect the world’s development and English language learners’ interests in studying the language and skills for their future profession This paper attempts to identify the reality and challenges in teaching and learning ESP courses at An Giang University (AGU) The paper investigates the perceptions of English as Foreign Language teachers and learners towards those ESP courses including their objectives, teaching and learning practices as well as the successes and challenges of those courses Observations, questionnaires, and interviews were conducted with 90 third-year students who had taken ESP courses and teachers who had taught these courses The findings confirm students’ satisfaction with the subjects regarding teachers’ support In addition, the study also identifies the challenges faced by the teachers in these courses Based on the findings, solutions are offered for teachers and students at AGU to improve their teaching and learning of ESP courses INTRODUCTION Kennedy and Bolitho (1984), ESP is the consequence and the demand of the economic growth and development of professional mobility, as well as the facilitation to approach the scientific and technology sources For example, English for Agriculture provides language skills for learners to evaluate information about the scientific revolution or new inventions in this field As a result, they are able to enhance their professional knowledge and skills The requirements of being able to work in a multi-cultural environment have been increasing in this integration era If desiring to survive and promote their career, workers need more than one language In fact, AGU students even need to demonstrate their language proficiency to get a professional practice position in big companies or corporations such as Victoria Hotel-Thien Minh Group or VinGroup However, communicating well in English does not mean performing well in their professional fields; consequently, the establishment and development of English for specific purposes (ESP) courses represents the global interest (Ahmed, 2014) According to To respond to the real world’srequirements, Vietnamese higher education institutions (HEIs) have paid more attention to the quality and quantity of ESP courses in their training programs In other words, how ESP courses are 42 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 conducted, what knowledge should be included, how ESP courses are assessed, how many ESP courses should be included in the curriculum, how long each course is, and when students can take ESP courses should be considered carefully (1987) affirm that ESP is an approach which does not relate to a specific kind of language – ESP is not a special form of English and is not distinct from other forms, teaching material or method; however, the core of ESP is the purpose of learning English Belcher (2009) also shares the idea that ESP is an English teaching and learning process whose goal is learners’ capacity to use English in particular fields Consequently, AGU - the second largest university in the Mekong Delta providing a large number of workers for the region as well as Ho Chi Minh City (AGU Self-assessment Report, 2017)– cannot stay out of this trend AGU has been improving and upgrading academic programs with the ultimate goal of training students to become global, multifaceted and multi-dimensional citizens (AGU mission) In fact, most of the academic programs in AGU (except Music Teaching Education and Art Teaching Education) have two to three ESP courses However, from the researcher’s teaching experience, it is seen that current ESP courses at AGU have some problems due to lecturers’, students’ and the labor recruitments’ complaints The teachers find it difficult to choose appropriate textbooks and pedagogy for their courses, whereas some students feel uncertain about how to apply what they have studied into future jobs Furthermore, after interviewing entrepreneurs who offered internships for AGU students, the researcher was told that students’ professional skills and language skills did not meet the job requirements Therefore, this research paper aims at investigating the reality and challenges of ESP teaching and learning at AGU Some recommendations are also offered for the university, the faculties and the teachers who teach ESP courses to improve the quality and teaching methods of ESP courses to meet the requirements of potential employers Bojović (2006) defines ESP as a phenomenon developing from numerous converging trends whose importance are mentioned as follows (1) the growing demand for English to serve specific professional needs; (2) developments in the linguistics field – the core of learning English changing from defining formal language features to using language appropriately in real contexts; therefore, leading to the demand of English for particular purposes; and (3) educational psychology – learners’ needs and interests impact on their learning motivation and effectiveness Strevens (1988) defines ESP by making a distinction between absolute characteristics (the learners’ particular need is the priority of language design such as content to particular disciplines, occupation and activities, etc.) and two variable characteristics – language skills and methodology which is not based on the preordained Features of ESP courses: According to Carver (1983), successful ESP courses have three common features The first is authentic materials – which is possible to use for the intermediate or advanced students with or without the teachers’ modification It is not advised for the teachers to translate the terms from their own language to English because of some inappropriateness The second feature is purpose-related orientation It means that ESP is the language in context which requires real life scenarios in teaching and learning LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of ESP Since the concept ESP first appeared in 1960 (Anthony, 1997), Hutchinson and Waters 43 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 processes The last feature is self-direction in which learners are expected to turn into users; in other words, students’ autonomy is encouraged They should be active to decide the content, the time and the ways that best meet their professional targets in ESP courses largely depend on the teachers; however, they should take learners’ needs and professional requirements into serious consider Objectives of ESP Cook (2002) distinguishes two goals in ELT, external and internal goals External goals are related to the out-of-classroom uses of language such as ordering a meal, asking for personal information, or buying a mobile phone, etc meanwhile internal goals relate to educational aims of the classroom, for example, improving learner’s attitude, promoting thinking skills such as analysis, memorizing and critical thinking ESP courses are considered to be largely concerned with the external goals ESP learners are engaged in academic, professional and occupation pursuits and are expected to use English as tools to achieve those pursuits In other words, learners are expected to be able to use language appropriately in the real context requiring specific linguistic competencies Therefore, the ESP teachers or the ESP course collaborators need to figure out what the language-based objectives are in the occupational targets or academic disciplines to ensure that they are included in the ESP course content (Basturkmen, 2010) Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) suggest ESP features including absolute and variable ones Absolute features statethat (1) ESP meets learners’ specific purpose; (2) ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline its serves and (3) ESP is centered on the language related to the mentioned activities in terms of skills, discourse and genre Besides, variable features are mentioned as follows (1) ESP is related to or designed for specific disciplines; (2) ESP is different from General English in terms of specific teaching methodology and situations; (3) ESP is mainly designed for adult learners at tertiary level or professional situations and possibly for high school level; (4) ESP is mainly designed for intermediate and advanced level and (5) the basic language knowledge is important but not compulsory in ESP courses, so they can be used for beginners Belyaeva (2015), after conducting research about ESP, also suggests some features of ESP courses Firstly, ESP courses at college should combine enhancing both general English and English for specific professional situations and contexts With professional contexts, learners’ English proficiency needs to meet the academic requirements of their study programs, access study materials and communicate their findings Secondly, ESP is both an approach to organizing instruction and the end product of education as the sum of language units and communication strategies Finally, ESP course development has to combine need analysis, learning theories analysis, methodology development, and content selection The selection of the content and methodology used Benefits of ESP Taken in comparison with General English, ESP courses may bring learners some benefits as follows (1) learning speed because ESP not only follow the pattern of native speaker acquisition in which learners obtain what they need and when they need in authentic and content-based contexts but also provide opportunities to learn in accelerated, intensive contexts;(2) learning efficiency because when taking ESP courses, learners most exploit their learning resources which are helpful for acquiring specific, pre-identified linguistic terms and skills Uncertainly, the need analysis is highly important in helping teachers or course instructors to ensure that the course 44 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 design can meet learners’ needs; (3) learning effectiveness because on completion of ESP courses, learners may be able to use language appropriately and precisely in job relevant tasks which are identified prior to the courses from need analysis result Besides, learners are prepared for further training related to the career and result in greater academic and professional performance (Wright, 1992) books, audio files, pictures, video clips, handouts, brochures, leaflets, and real information about related companies and work Based on the particular type of learners, teachers have to design suitable courses and provide necessary materials For example, despite teaching English for tourism, the courses and the materials are different for English major students and Tourism major students Teacher’s Roles Being a researcher Due to the complexity of an ESP teacher’s work, ESP teachers should be considered as “a practitioner rather than a teacher” (DudleyEvans & St John, 1998) Research is an inevitable work of ESP teachers because of the diversity of learners ESP courses of one university cannot always be applied to teach students of another university Therefore, ESP teachers need to conduct research on their own students and teaching context so that they can re-design the ESP courses and develop teaching materials to best suit their students based on the research findings Being a teacher The role of a teacher is the traditional one in a language classroom; however, in ESP courses, the teacher is not the unique source of knowledge but is, rather, a facilitator In fact, students may have more knowledge about the content of the course than the teachers Consequently, teachers should negotiate with the students to pave the way for how to operate the activities to best suit the students and help them to achieve their professional target In these courses, teachers need to consider themselves as students’ partners and consultants as well as need to be open-minded, flexible and ready to take risks in their teaching In fact, in ESP classrooms, the teacher is not the primary source of knowledge, sometimes students know more than the teacher in case they are engaged in the topics Therefore, ESP teachers should be open-minded to listen to and learn from their students Being a collaborator Subject specialists are trusted to be an important factor of ESP course success This collaboration can be a task in a specific business situation that students need to complete, “some integration between specialist studies or activities and the language”, some specific language prepared for students business presentations or specialists’ checking and comments on the ESP teaching materials or syllabus prepared by the ESP teacher It is believed that the best ESP class is provided by the cooperation of subject expert and language teacher Being a course designer and material provider Being an evaluator Teaching ESP is a high time-consuming work since it is hardly possible to implement it with only one textbook A huge amount of supplementary materials is essential to facilitate students to achieve the learning target Types of supplementary resources are so diverse with ESP teachers are the key factor in evaluating ESP courses because of their involvement in different types of assessment First of all, ESP teachers can assess students’ progression – whether they obtain enough language skills to perform well in their future career Secondly, 45 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 they can assess how much knowledge students can gain from the ESP courses The last but most important part is assessing the course design and the teaching materials This evaluation should be made during, at the end and after the course to make sure that students can adapt, what is not useful and what they are not prepared for As a consequence, course design and teaching materials are adjusted and developed problem of ESP teaching Maruyama (1996) figures out the reasons of students’ vocabulary deficiency such as students’ belief about their ignorance of the ESP words because of their uncommonness, students’ lack of motivation to learn these ESP terms because of its rare use and the English teachers’ unfamiliarity with the ESP terms (i.e science, technology, biology, etc.) Fifthly, students’ lack of vocabulary, especially ESP terms, results in students’ dependence on their dictionary when they are faced with new words and get stuck The last difficulty related to students concerns the four skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking In fact, Rezaei, Rahimi and Talepasan (2012), concerning with reading skill, point out that students often misunderstand the text meaning because they cannot identify and understand the sentences’ syntaxes, and there are too few scientific and technological English terms ESP teaching is an important but complicated part of the curriculum of a university It needs to be developed sufficiently to offer students the best courses which are useful, updated and adapted to the current work requirements Difficulties in teaching ESP Difficulties related to the students Firstly, Suzini et at (2011) suggests that learners’ demand for ESP has a big impact on the success of an ESP course In fact, if the students’ demand is not adequate, they will have the tendency to be timid and passive in class It has a big negative impact on students’ learning motivation and the learning environment Secondly, the differences in English proficiency among the students in a university or among the universities also influence on ESP teaching and learning For example, the English proficiency of Englishmajor students is much higher than nonEnglish-major students (i.e information technology, biology, financial banking) Thirdly, the distinctions between the native language and English, especially ESP, also result in certain obstacles for students (Maruyama, 1996) For instance, the Japanese’ writing system has no relationship with English, so this causes a lot of difficulties for learners to master English, especially ESP terms Vietnamese also has a lot of differences in terms of pronunciation, grammar, even lots of words derived from Chinese Fourthly, students’ lack of vocabulary is a considerable Difficulties related to the teachers According to Lam (2011), the first difficulty is lack of qualified materials and textbooks Some teachers think vocabulary articles in the university is adequate for students ESP learning; thus they often self-develop their own ones which mainly focus on readings and vocabulary, and cannot attract the students to engage in the lessons The second difficulty is the teachers’ qualification and teaching methods In fact, Ho (2011) claims that the teachers lack specialized knowledge because they not have the chance to attend the courses on method and knowledge of ESP teaching The last difficulty related to the teachers is lack of theoretical framework to support teaching English for specific purposes Chen (2011) suggests this problem leads to the confusion of deciding what content should be compulsory, considered as skills or practical knowledge to help students more confident in their knowledge after graduation METHODOLOGY 46 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 Participants trained about the ESP fields they teach, the obstacles they have encountered in their teaching, how they self-study for their professional development and their expectations from the faculty and the university to develop the ESP courses and their teaching Five ESP teachers of AGU whose teaching experiences were from nine years to twentyseven years joined the study Two of the teachers have trained professional knowledge (economic studies, tour guide skills, Vietnamese geography) while the others have not Ninety third-year students who have already taken ESP courses also participated in this study They were divided into two groups – group A learned with the trained teachers while group B learned with untrained teachers Observations The observations were carried out to record directly how the ESP classes were conducted and how the ESP teachers and students performed in ESP classes, for example, the activities the teachers used in class, how the students engaged in those activities, the teachers’ explanations and examples, and how the teachers gave feedbacks Instruments Questionnaire The questionnaire for students included seven questions whose aim was to determine the students’ satisfaction with courses in terms of their support to the learners’ professional interests and intentions; especially, whether they were satisfied with the ESP courses and the teaching activities There was a comparison between the two groups of students – A and B – which was made in each data collection instrument to best explore the reality of ESP teaching and learning and to draw the most effective conclusions FINDINGS Interviews From the questionnaires The interviews with the ESP teachers were conducted to explore whether they have been Table Students’ assessment on the overall quality of the ESP course Below Average Average Group A Group B 47% Good Excellent 17% 83% 53% Table describes how students rated the quality of the ESP course they have taken As can be seen from the table, students studying with trained teachers appreciate the courses more with the rating of 83% excellent and 17% good Meanwhile the rate for the other group is much lower with only 47% average and 53% good Table Students’ satisfaction with the courses’ duration and arrangement Don’t agree The courses have suitable amount of time The courses are arranged suitably in the training schedule 2% 47 Partly agree Agree Absolutely agree 7% 83% 10% 5% 80% 13% AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 ‘Table indicates the students’ satisfaction with the courses’ duration and arrangement in the training schedule The courses’ amount of time is considered to be suitable by 93% of the students with 83% agrees and 10% absolutely agrees They are also regarded as arranged fittingly in the training schedule with 80% agree and 13% absolutely agree However, there are 2% of the students who not think that the courses are properly organized Table Students’ satisfaction about the courses’ content and the methodology Don’t agree Partly agree Agree Absolutely agree Group A Group B Group A Group B Group A Group B Group A Group The courses’ content can be applied into future career 0% 3% 3% 47% 77% 47% 20% 3% The teachers have background knowledge and practical experiences about the ESP fields 0% 3% 7% 37% 63% 60% 30% 0% The teachers use heuristic methods and practical activities in the lessons 0% 3% 10% 47% 73% 50% 17% 0% The teachers investigated the learners’ need at the beginning of the course 0% 20% 7% 30% 80% 50% 13% 0% Table displays the students’ satisfaction with the courses’ content and teaching methodologies However, there are the differences between two groups of the students; students studying with the trained teachers seem to be more contented B lower Only 50% of them think that the knowledge is useful for their future jobs while 47% of them partly agree and 3% not think that they can apply what they have studied Secondly, students in group A more highly appreciate their teachers than those in group B Ninety three percent of those in group A agree that their teachers have background knowledge and practical experiences in the ESP fields they teach while the equivalent number of students in group B is 60% Thirty seven percent of students in group B partly agree and 3% of them not agree Firstly, 97% of students in group A agree that they can apply the courses’ content into their future career (77% agree and 20% absolutely agree), and no students in this group think they cannot use the course knowledge in their future career Nevertheless, the number of students in group B appreciate the courses’ content is much 48 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 Thirdly, having the correlation with the teachers’ knowledge and experiences, the teaching methods and activities used by teachers are more highly valued by students in group A 90% of students in group A consider that their teachers have implemented heuristic methods and practical activities that help them feel inspired and obtain the knowledge easily while the number of students in the counterpart group who agree is 50% Firstly ESP teachers not have as much knowledge about the ESP fields as the students (Dudley-Evans &St John, 1998), so they have to self-study to gain knowledge to best serve their teaching Consequently, beside the ordinary preparation, ESP teachers confess that they read books, magazines and research papers on the ESP fields, take partk in online courses and learn as students, watch videos on Youtube to approach real situations in the fields to select suitable and practical knowledge for their lessons Finally, 93% of the students in group A said that they investigated their needs at the beginning of the course while only 50% of students in group B admitted they were involved in the investigation at the beginning of the course On the opposite side, 20% of students in group B confess that they were not asked about their needs Beside the theoretical knowledge, the real understanding about the labor demand and requirements is also essential Two of the teachers affirm that they have investigated the labor demand and requirements by updating news about labor market, conducting informal talks with the job recruiters, and staying in touch with alumni Meanwhile the three others confess to not investigating because of the limited time and relationship In general, what can be inferred from the questionnaire findings is that students strongly valued the courses taught by the teachers trained with ESP field knowledge In fact, they rate these courses higher and consider these courses’ to be more applicable than the others Besides, they also think that the teachers in trained groups have more background knowledge and practical experiences; as a result, they can assign more heuristic methods and lifelike activities so that students easily master the knowledge and perform well in their future jobs It is also believed that, teachers trained in ESP fields pay attention to the importance of investigation learners’ need more than those in the other group In addition, the support from the faculty and the university is also important and is the motivation for the teachers to improve their professional development and teaching Four of the teachers admit that they have received the support of the faculty and the university in the form of providing authentic textbooks, offering chances to attend courses or workshops, or offering chances to choose the ESP fields to teach However, one of them states that he or she has not received any support The last section of the interviews is for stating the difficulties the ESP teachers encounter in their teaching The teachers share that they had no experience teaching ESP courses in the beginning and also have little knowledge about the field they teach Besides, there is a limitation of teaching and learning resources and updating materials Selecting a suitable textbook and what to teach is also a hard job of ESP teachers because of their limited From the interviews The interviews were conducted with teachers in the research sample Two of them were trained about the knowledge and skills in the ESP fields they teach while the three others were not The findings from the interviews reflect the teachers’ perspectives toward how to improve the ESP teaching and the obstacles they have encountered 49 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 understanding about the ESP fields Students’ low English level is also a big obstacle in their teaching In addition, there is a large number of students unaware of the ESP courses’ importance due to the availability of interpretation services In fact, companies can hire an interpreter for cabin interpretation, direct interpretation and document translation easily with suitable prices (80,000 – 100,000 VND per A4 page) Although most of the students consider the duration of the courses suitable, the teachers think that it is not enough for them to transfer all necessary knowledge to their students learn not only from the textbooks but also from the teachers’ experiences which is much more worthy IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION Implications For the university and faculty To help the ESP teachers be more confident and better perform their teaching, the university should sponsor teachers to attend courses to develop their English proficiency, background knowledge and skills about the ESP fields Moreover, in-service training and on-the-job training should be provided for ESP teachers to get more practical experiences For example, the university and the faculty can organize short-term courses providing knowledge of the fields, ESP teaching methodology or the teachers can some training practice at relevant offices and companies (i.e work as receptionists, secretaries or interpreters) to update knowledge and real experiences In addition, ESP teachers should be encouraged to attend more workshops and teacher networks to exchange and get more teaching experiences from the other ESP teachers all over the world The university library should equip the ESP textbooks and reference books upon suggestions of ESP teachers and the faculty Furthermore, the faculty should also create chances for the experts in the ESP fields to coteach with the ESP teachers which are considered as the ideal conditions for ESP teaching and learning (Ghafournia & Sabet, 2014) From the observations After observing some ESP lessons from the two groups, there are some similarities and differences identified On one hand, both trained and untrained teachers can involve their students in the lessons with interactive activities such as group presentations, skits, problem solving, video clips, etc On the other hand, there are some shortages of untrained teachers in comparison with the trained ones In fact, the classroom atmosphere of group A is much more exciting than those in group B because the students are much more engaged in the activities and the teachers’ sharing about their experiences related to the fields Besides, group B teachers lacked confidence because of their limited knowledge of the fields while the students have more understanding of the ESP field than they Sometimes, they are afraid of saying something wrong, and being ashamed by their students In addition, group B teachers have the tendency to focus more on the textbooks rather than on their own experience activities outside meanwhile the other group usually implements practical ones with appropriate explanation about their necessity Finally, the trained teachers provide more appropriate and practical feedback Thus, when studying with trained teachers, students can For the teachers The ESP teachers need to self-inspire by meeting other ESP teachers to learn experiences, share difficulties and get help to overcome the difficulties despite the limitation of knowledge and time Besides, they should exploit the students’ practice training in the companies to build the relationship with the 50 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 recruiters and find out the labor market demand and requirements as the foundation of collaborating in developing the training curriculum and ESP courses’ content In addition, the students’ characteristics and needs should also be considered in designing the ESP courses to best assist their study and prepare for their future jobs https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f5ee/81c0e698 4a5a592808b37a85dad82bac7da3.pdf Basturkmen, H (2006) Ideas and Options in English for Specific Purposes London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Belcher, D (2009) What ESP is and can be: An introduction In D Belcher (ed.) English for Conclusion In general, as can be seen from the research findings, although all of the teachers try their best to self-study and update knowledge, the teachers who have been trained in the ESP fields obtain more benefits than the untrained ones To be able to survive in the ESP teaching, teachers need a lot of time to study and prepare themselves Language capacity is essential but not enough for an ESP teacher performing well and provide useful courses for students As a consequence, the university, the faculty and the teachers need to consider carefully following implications to help the ESP teachers and students have qualified ESP courses and increase teachers’ confidence and inspiration in their careers Specific Purposes in Theory and Practice – 20 Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press Belyaeva, A (2015) English for specific purposes: characteristic features and curriculum planning steps Sustainable Multilingualism, (7) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/2335-2027.7.4 Bojović, M (2006) Teaching Foreign Language for Specific Purposes: Teacher Development Association of Teacher Education in Europe, Proceedings of 31st Annual ATEE Conference Retrieved from http://www.pef.uni-lj.si/atee/978-961-663706-0/487-493.pdf REFERENCES Ahmed, M K (2014) The ESP Teacher: Issues, Tasks and Challenges English for Specific Purposes World Retrieved http://www.espworld.info/Articles_42/issue_42.htm Carver, D (1983) Some propositions about ESP The ESP Journal, 2, 131-137 from Chen, Y (2011) The institutional turn and the crisis of ESP pedagogy in Taiwan Taiwan International ESP Journal, 3(1), 17-30 An Giang Univrsity Self-Assessment Report (2017) Cook, V (2002) Language Teaching Methodology and the L2 User Perspective In V.J.Cook (Ed.), Portraits of the L2 User Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Retrieved from http://www.agu.edu.vn/bao-caotu-danh-gia-truong-nam-2017 Anthony, L (1997) Defining English for Specific Purposes and the Role of the ESP Practitioner Dudley-Evans, T & St John, M J (1998) Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A Retrieved from multidisciplinary approach Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press 51 AGU International Journal of Sciences – 2019, Vol (1), 42 – 52 Lam, Q Đ (2011) English for specific purposes: Problems of teaching contents [Tiếng Anh Ghafournia, N & Sabet, S A (2014) The Most Prominent Roles of an ESP Teacher International Education Studies, Vol 7, No 11, page 1-9 chuyên ngành: Một số vấn đề vệ nội dung giảng dạy; trad] Báo Ngôn ngữ Đời sống sốLanguage & Life, 11(193) http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v7n11p1 Ho, B (2011) Solving the problems of designing and teaching a packed English for specific Maruyama, H (1996) Difficulties in Teaching Technical English in Japan Revista de Lenguas purposes course New Horizon in Education, 59(1), 119-136 para Fines Específicos, Hutchinson, T & Walters, A (1987) English for specifc purposes A learning-centred Rezai, A., Rahimi, M A., & Talepasan, S (2012) Exploring EFL learners reading approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press comprehension problems in reading ESP texts Sino-US English Teaching, 9(3), 982-987 Introduction about An Giang University Strevens, P (1988) ESP after twenty years: A re-appraisal In M Tickoo (Ed.), ESP: State of the Retrieved from http://www.agu.edu.vn/gioithieu/about-angiang-university.html#mission Art (pp 1-13) Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Centre Kennedy, C & Bolitho, R (1984) English for Specific Purposes London: Macmillan Suzani, S M., Yarmohammadi, L., & Yamini, M (2011) A critical review of the current situation of teaching ESP in the Iranian higher education institutions The Iranian EFL Journal, 7(6), 179-204 52 ... understanding about the labor demand and requirements is also essential Two of the teachers affirm that they have investigated the labor demand and requirements by updating news about labor market,... listening and speaking In fact, Rezaei, Rahimi and Talepasan (2012), concerning with reading skill, point out that students often misunderstand the text meaning because they cannot identify and understand... biology, financial banking) Thirdly, the distinctions between the native language and English, especially ESP, also result in certain obstacles for students (Maruyama, 1996) For instance, the Japanese’