A Systematic Review on ESP Teachers: Current Focus, Collaboration, and Sustainability

Abstract

Since its emergence in the 1960s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been a dominant subfield in language education and English language teaching. The mainstream ESP literature appears to be linguistic-oriented with less attention directed towards ESP teachers. Responding to the calls for more ESP teacher research, this systematic review aims to be a substantial starting point in scrutinising research on ESP teachers published from 2010 to 2022 in the Scopus-indexed journals to frame current research foci, explore existing pedagogical collaborations, and propose suggestions regarding the issue of sustainability. Thirty-seven empirical studies were initially short-listed, of which thirty-two were analysed. A synthesis of ESP teacher articles yields seven lines of research: teachers’ perceptions and beliefs, teachers’ identity development and agency, perceived challenges and needs, collaborative practices, teaching and innovation, teachers’ knowledge, and technology in ESP. Two distinctive types of collaboration to effective instruction across contexts are illustrated. Drawn from the twelve years of research, the sustainability in ESP is presented to depict pedagogical, administrative, and policy implications. Last, future research directions are also proposed.

The effect of team teaching on Iranian ESP learners reading comprehension

“…Most ESP students have to spend ample of time to cope with their specialized texts without following specific strategies or methods for understanding them. In contrast to English for general purposes (EGP), which is typically employed for everyday communication, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) centers on the precise application of language for effective communication within distinct academic or professional domains (Supunya, 2023). Unfortunately, although traditional methods of teaching and learning have lot of weaknesses, most Iranian teachers use them for teaching reading courses.…”

“…Ever since it first appeared in the 1960s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has established itself as a prominent area within language education and English language teaching. The primary focus of the existing ESP literature seems to be centered on linguistics, with relatively less emphasis given to ESP teachers (Supunya, 2023).…”

“…English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is viewed as a fundamentally important methodology in the realm of English language teaching (ELT). Its inception in the 1960s was prompted by the growing influence of globalization and the establishment of English as a widely used commercial lingua franca (Supunya, 2023).…”