The Origin of ESP

As with most developments in human activity, ESP was not a planned and coherent movement, but rather a phenomenon that grew out of a number of converging trends. There are three main reasons common to the emergence of all ESP:

1. The demands of a Brave New World

The general effect of all this development was to exert pressure on the language teaching profession to deliver the required goods. Whereas English had previously decided its own destiny, it now become


subject to the wishes, needs and demands of people other than language teacher.

English had become accountable to the scrutiny of the wider world and the traditional leisurely and purposes free stroll through the landscape of the English language seemed no longer appropriate in the harsher realities of the market place.

2. A Revolution in Linguistics

Traditionally the aims of linguistics had been to describe the rules of English usage, that is the grammar. In English language teaching this gave rise to the view that there are important differences between, say, the English of commerce and that of engineer.

Most of the work at this time was in the area of English for Science and technology (EST) and for time ESP and EST were regarded as almost synonymous. The gained ground that English needed by a particular group of learners could be identified by analyzing the linguistic characteristics of their specialist area of work or study.

3. Focus of the Learner

New developments in educational psychology also contributed to the rise of ESP, by emphasizing the central importance of the learners and their attitude to learning (e.g. Rodgers, 1969).

Learners were seen to have different needs and interest, which would have an important influence or their motivation to learn and therefore on the activeness of their learning. This lent support to the development of courses in the which relevance to the learners need and interests was paramount.