A Case Study On ESP Teaching In China Central University Of Science And Technology

Language plays a very important role in the development of humans since it enables people to communicate with each another and pass acquired knowledge amongst themselves for better development of the world's society, so it is obviously crucial to learn it. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) was introduced as a consequence of the latest globalization, international integration, communication and trade, and currently ESP is one of the prominent along with English as Foreign Language (EFL) taught in China. This study aims at determining the educational/pedagogical features affecting teaching ESP in China with an emphasis on the Central China University of Science and Technology. The purpose of the study was to investigate educational factors affecting teaching and learning of ESP from students' perspectives in one of the Chinese universities. The research instruments for data collection to meet the research objectives were:questionnaires which were distributed to students of ESP in Central China University of Science and Technology, so they could give their opinions and classroom observations which were conducted in order to capture the actual picture on ESP teaching in the university.This is then followed by the analysis of collected data in order to determine factors affecting teaching and learning of ESP in Central China University of Science and Technology. The findings of this research are as follows:Students were found to have positive attitude towards ESP and they enjoy learning it. However, the materials used at the university are perceived not enough and up-to-date and teaching is not content-based. The majority of the students of ESP course at the university are not excellent English speakers. It shows that the university does not consider student's qualifications in general English (GE) before admitting them for ESP course which could contribute to students not doing very well in these courses. Lack of common expectations among ESP students in the university is one of the factors that hinder qualitative learning and teaching of ESP course. Therefore, this makes it difficult for a single teacher to come with holistic ESP curriculums that satisfy diverse student's expectations as shown in the study. The majority of the students who participated in the study pointed out those ESP teachers do not offer full support and feedback to student. This undermined the efficiency in teaching since ESP is a new concept and enough support from their teachers is of paramount importance.The study suggests that understanding of the features of ESP teaching, the nature of students' field of study, choosing appropriate teaching materials, creating practice situations relevant to specific fields of study, planning appropriate assessment by teachers and administrators are all important components of a successful ESP teaching in other contexts in China universities, not only those in the researched university. Hopefully, this study would help researches, course teachers, and students to be more aware of pedagogical features of ESP teaching in HUST. Researches will be able to use the findings of this study. Course teachers will have a chance to be more prepared to plan course design which contributes to positive learning experience and students will discover learners'perceptions of themselves.