1、 1 On Differences between ESP and EGP 【摘要】本文认为 ,特殊英语教学不同于一般的公共英语教学 ,应辅以特殊的教学手段。 【关键词】特殊英语教学 ;一般英语教学 ;教学方法 Introduction As an independent subject, English for specific purpose begins to separate from English for general purpose after the Second War due to the economic development, linguistic developm
2、ent, and learners needs. Strevens (1977, P. 92) gives its definition as following: ESP courses are those in which the aims and the content are determined, principally or wholly not by criteria of general education (as when English is a school subject), but by functional or practical English requirem
3、ents of the learners. And Halliday (1964) thinks “ ESP means English for civil servants; for policemen; for officials of the law; for dispensers and nurses; for specialists in agriculture; for engineers and fitters.”The developments of ESP theory have gone through five stages, which are register ana
4、lysis, discourse analysis, target 2 situation analysis, skills and strategies, and a learning-centered approach. In contrast to EGP students, who learn English to develop comprehensive abilities in reading、 writing、 listening and speaking, the ESP students study English in order to carry out a parti
5、cular role. Though ESP derives from EGP, it is different from EGP. It has its own distinctive features. Gatehouse (2001, p. 10) summarizes the absolute characteristics of ESP as follows: 1 ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learner; 2 ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activit
6、ies of the discipline it serves; 3 ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis, and register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activities. As an English teacher both for hotel English and general English, I d like to compare these two areas of English teaching, find their diffe
7、rences, contrast teachers roles in two kinds of classes, and offer my own suggestions on how to make the teacher easier to understand subject matter. Part Differences between ESP and EGP The biggest difference between ESP and ESP is due to different needs from students. Different types of students h
8、ave different language needs and what they are taught should be restricted to what they need. Rather than developing a course around an analysis of 3 the language, an ESP approach starts instead with an analysis of the learners needs. According to Richards (2001, p. 33), In ESP learner s needs are o
9、ften described in terms of performance, what is, in terms of what the learner will be able to do with the language at the end of a course study. Whereas in a general English course the goal is usually an overall mastery of the language that can be tested on a global language test, the goal of an ESP
10、 course is to prepare the learners to carry out a specific task or set of tasks. Also, Widdowson (1984, p. 6) believes that“ ESP seeks to provide learners with a restricted competence to enable them to cope with certain clearly defined tasks, while EGP seeks to provide learners with a general capaci
11、ty to enable them to cope with undefined eventualities in the future.”It is the different learners needs that lead to differences in ESP and EGP. The differences may include curriculum design, syllabus, vocabulary choices, sentence structures, contents, functions, teaching approaches, and etc. Since
12、 ESP aims to meet the needs of particular learners, it is often the teacher s responsibility to design appropriate courses for various groups of learners. While for EGP teacher, their workload in this aspect is minor. On the other hand, ESP course design mainly includes ( 下转第 182 页 )three types: 4 l
13、anguage-centered, skills-centered and learning-centered. However, there are many kinds of course design in EGP owing to adapting different approaches. ESP differs from EGP in words and expressions. For example, there are lots of specialist vocabularies in Hotel English. These words may look alike ge
14、neral words in form but differ in meanings. Generally speaking, they have exactly specific meanings in authentic context. Lets take the phrasefront officeas an example, in Hotel English it means a place where the guests are welcomed and they can deal with check-in and check-out procedures. However,
15、in EGP, it may mean the office in front of the building. So, if the learner doesnt know about this meaning in Hotel English, he or she can easily feel confused. This is also the reason why there are many English learners who have mastered a large amount of general English glossary still have problem
16、s in understanding the specific materials. Besides that, one word in ESP always stands for one exact meaning, while a general word may have many meanings in different contexts. Words in ESP are more precise than that in EGP. Therefore, mastering a large quantity of specific English words and express
17、ions are very helpful for the learners to use the English freely. For example, a waitress who can explain the menu in details in English to the guests is because she has gained a great deal of specialist 5 vocabulary, which is beneficial to her career development. Wilkins (1976, p. 19) believes that
18、“Students who are trained by ESP approach are more competent in effectively completing the communicative tasks in their future career than those who are not trained.” Grammar and sentence patterns in ESP are different. General English learning covers all English grammar, which offers a systematic gr
19、ammar explanation for learners. Oppositely, Specific English focuses on oneor several aspects of grammar, and its sentence patterns are steady. In Hotel English, the most common sentence structure is imperative sentence. It is easy for students to use because they have been familiar with it in their
20、 general English learning stage. There has no much grammar that students feel challenged in ESP. However, grammar is often a tough job for learners, especially those learners with lower English level. ESP and EGP use different teaching materials. ESP teaching just chooses material which is appropria
21、tely selected. In Hotel English teaching, no matter what kind of class, reading or listening, the teaching material is interrelated with the specific context hotel. However, EGP has no such restriction. It utilizes extensive material in exist, which contains and covers everything. Part Contrast teac
22、her s roles in ESP and EGP teaching 6 Within the classroom teacher s role may change from one activity to another. Harmer (2007, p. 57) reckons teacher can act as controller、 organizer、 assessor、 prompter、 participant、 resource、tutor、 and observer in the general English classroom. In addition to the
23、 normal functions of a classroom teacher, the ESP teacher will have to work on needs analysis, syllabus design, material writing or adaptation and evaluation. In this situation, they become analyst, syllabus designer, or material writer. Besides these, ESP teacher sometimes has to be the negotiator.
24、 In many cases, ESP teacher has to work in close cooperation with sponsors or subject specialists who are in charge ofthe learners work or study experience outside the ESP classroom because “the status of English changes from being a subject in its own right to a service industry for other specialis
25、ts.”(Hutchinson even they can discuss the specific subject with students in mother language. In many situations, teacher can be greatly enlightened by students. Despite distinctive differences, ESP and EGP teaching are 8 complementary. The general English proficiency students acquire in EGP is the b
26、asis for them to go through specific English learning. Lacking such ability, students will find it is tough for them to be successful in ESP leaning. Similarly, capabilities students acquire in ESP can promote their general English proficiency. 【 REFERENCES】 1Bell, T. (1999). Do EAP Teachers Require
27、 Knowledge of Their Students Specialist Academic Subjects? The Internet TESL Journal, 5, 10. Retrieved January 30, 2007. 2Gatehouse, K. (2001). Key Issues in English for Specific Proposes Curriculum Development. The Internet TESL Journal, 7, 10. Retrieved January 30, 2007. 3Halliday, M.A.K., McIntosh, A., & Strevens, P. (1964). The Linguistic Sciences and Language Teaching. London: Longman. 4Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English Language Teaching. (4th Ed.). Harlow: Longman