An overview of syllabuses in teaching English for Specific Purposes

Abstract

When teaching courses of English for Specific Purpose, the course instructor is mainly concerned with finding and adapting the type of syllabus which best equips learners with skills and knowledge in order to meet the learners’ future language needs. The article starts with describing the main types of syllabuses there are in English Language Teaching (ELT) and emphasizes that the syllabus designer must keep in mind many important criteria when choosing to design and implement a syllabus, especially in ESP. The various syllabuses described in this article are valuable input for the syllabus designer in creating a language program and course. The twelve types of syllabuses are examined and deined in separate contexts and it is almost impossible for one type of syllabus to be used and be successful in one English Language Teaching settings. It is becoming more and more convenient to use the integration of some types of syllabus. In ESP, like in most other courses, the syllabus gives details the content of what the learners will be taught during the course. It is through the syllabus that the teacher and the learner are able to measure progress. What is particular in ESP, it is the needs analysis process which is carried out prior to syllabus design which determines which language skills are needed by the learner. ESP makes extensive use of content-based approaches. Teaching activities are speciic to the subject matter being taught and are arranged in a way to stimulate students to think and learn through the use of the needed language. Finally, the article draws on the types of syllabuses studied to suggest on the most appropriate syllabuses to be used when considering designing a course of English for specific purposes. The recommendation is based on the essential features of ESP, that is the analysis of the needs of the learner and based on this criteria some syllabuses such as task-based, and content based are recommended.