Over the past 30 years, English for specific purposes has established itself as a viable and vigorous movement within the field of TEFL/TESL. In this paper, English for specific purposes is defined and its distinguishing features examined. The international nature and scope of the movement are particularly emphasized. Finally, questions and controversies surrounding the movement are discussed.The study of languages for specific purposes has a long and varied history (Strevens, 1977). In recent years, the focus of research and curriculum development has been upon English, as it has gained ascendancy in international science, technology, and trade. As TESOL enters its second quarter century, the demand for English for specific purposes (e.g., English for science and technology, English for business, vocational ESL) continues to increase and expand throughout the world.This paper celebrates the modern history of English for specific purposes (ESP), an international movement characterized by a concern with adult students' "wider roles" (Swales, 1988, p. viii; i.e., their roles as English language speakers and writers outside of the classroom) and by its grounding in pedagogy, for ESP "distrusts theories that do not quite work out in the litmus-paper realities of the classroom" (Swales, 1988, p. xvii). We will begin by presenting a standard definition of English for specific purposes, and continue by discussing the distinguishing characteristics of the movement, needs assessment and discourse analysis, that have set it apart from "general purpose English." (For an excellent ESP retrospective, 1962-1981, see Swales, 1988 Following the discussion of these
