Convergence of ESP with other disciplines

Nadežda Stojković · Gabriela Chmelíková · Ľudmila Hurajová

Jan 2019 · Vernon Press

About this eBook

In designing a successful English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course, an ESP lecturer must research the professional setting and in turn analyze, abstract and synthesize its linguistic characteristics. Expert vocabulary, typical syntactic structures, relevant morphological word formation processes, exemplary text organization and both written and spoken stylistics are no longer taught with little functional relevance, instead they are approached from a subject-specific perspective. While designing and/ or compiling teaching and learning material, an ESP lecturer must decide upon the appropriate teaching methodology and pedagogy in order to ensure that the course in its entirety simulates a particular professional situation. Only if the course is successful in this aim, will ESP learners be able to quickly engage in uninhibited communication and improve job performance in their field of work, whether that be in tourism or aviation. 

Although many professional settings share certain characteristics, they are nevertheless unique and often require different approaches. For this reason, there is little or no ready-made teaching material or methodological approaches when it comes to ESP teaching. A dedicated ESP lecturer caters for those idiosyncrasies doing a minute, multifaceted investigation into the linguistic characteristics of the relevant professional domain. Bringing together a collection of essays, this edited volume reveals the variety, depth, and quality of the ESP research and its convergence across different professional disciplines.  

About the author

Dr. Nadežda Stojković is currently Associate Professor at the University of Niš, Serbia, where she lectures in English for Specific and Academic Purposes. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes and an Advisory Editor for Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK. She was also appointed as the President of the Advisory Council for the Master’s program Theory of Foreign Language Education and Intercultural Communication at St Petersburg State University, Russia.

Gabriela Chmelíková is a Senior Assistant and Head of the Department of Languages and Humanities at STU MTF, Trnava. In 1985 she graduated in Slovak language – English language teaching from the University of Comenius. In 2008 she received her PhD in Linguistics. Chmelíková is currently Vice-president of Slovak Council of CASAJC (Czech-Slovak Association of Language Teachers at Universities). She collaborated on the accreditation file elaboration for UNIcert® II and III levels in English for Engineering Majors in the UNIcert® certification system. In collaboration with colleagues from other departments, she annually organizes the Student Research Conference. She has been also involved in several national and international projects, e.g. “Student on-line conferences of STU MTF (Slovakia) and University of Niš, Faculty of Electronic Engineering (Serbia) for the purposes of specific English language and other skills development”, or Transnational exchange of good CLIL practice among European Educational Institutions”. Her professional interests include ESP, academic skills, pedagogical competences, and the use of multimedia in teaching as well as reading and presentation techniques. 

Ľudmila Hurajová is a Senior Assistant in the Department of Languages and Humanities at STU MTF, Trnava. She graduated in Biochemistry from Comenius University, Bratislava, in 1994 and in English and Literature from Constantine the Philosopher University, Nitra, in 2006. In 2013 she received her PhD in English didactics with a focus on CLIL teacher competences. Hurajová is a member of Slovak Council of CASAJC (Czech-Slovak Association of Language Teachers at Universities). In collaboration with colleagues from other departments, she annually organizes the Student Research Conference. Currently, she coordinates an ERASMUS+ project “Transnational exchange of good CLIL practice among European Educational Institutions” and participates in the international project “Student on-line conferences of STU MTF (Slovakia) and University of Niš, Faculty of Electronic Engineering (Serbia) for the purposes of specific English language and other skills development.” Her professional interests include English didactics, CLIL methodology, language and pedagogical competences, use of multimedia in teaching as well as presentation techniques.