# Designing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Courses

ESP courses teach the English learners need for a defined job or study purpose (Hutchinson and Waters 1987;
Dudley-Evans and St John 1998). Everything starts from needs analysis.

## Needs analysis

| Component | Question | Methods |
|-----------|----------|---------|
| Target situation analysis (TSA) | What tasks, texts and interactions will learners face in English? | Job descriptions, interviews with learners and managers, observation, workplace documents, recordings |
| Present situation analysis (PSA) | What can learners do now? | Placement test, task-based diagnostic (role play, writing sample), self-assessment |
| Learning needs | How do they learn best; constraints? | Questionnaire: time, preferences, motivation, technology, budget |
| Means analysis | What does the context allow? | Course hours, group size, sponsor expectations, materials, teacher expertise |

Gap = TSA - PSA. Priorities = tasks that are frequent, important and difficult (`needs_analysis.py`).

Sources: learners, their managers or tutors, experts in the field, documents and recordings from the workplace.
Triangulate; learners and sponsors often see needs differently.

## Survey design (task list)

1. Interview 2-3 practitioners to draft a list of 10-25 tasks in the target situation (*give handover reports*,
   *write incident reports*, *explain procedures to patients*).
2. For each task ask: How often? (1 never - 5 daily), How important? (1-5), How difficult in English? (1-5).
3. Add open questions: hardest situation in the last month; examples of misunderstandings.
4. Pilot with two respondents; then survey the group (and managers separately).

## Course design steps

1. Write outcomes as can-do statements for the core tasks (*I can give a structured handover using SBAR*).
2. Choose a syllabus type: task-based or genre-based (usually), with language mapped to tasks.
3. Collect authentic materials from the workplace (with permission and anonymised).
4. Analyse genres and interactions: stages, typical phrases, register, specialist vocabulary.
5. Sequence: core tasks first; recycle language across tasks; simulations increase in complexity.
6. Assessment: performance tasks matching the workplace (role plays, document writing) with criteria agreed with
   subject experts.
7. Evaluate: learner feedback, manager feedback, performance in real tasks.

## Genre analysis (example: nursing handover)

| Stage | Language |
|-------|----------|
| Situation | This is Mr Jones, 72, in bed 4. He was admitted yesterday with... |
| Background | He has a history of... He's on... |
| Assessment | His obs are stable. He's in pain - 6 out of 10. |
| Recommendation | He needs... Could you check... in two hours? |

## Common ESP fields

| Field | Typical core tasks | Notes |
|-------|--------------------|-------|
| Medical / nursing | Handover, patient explanations, history taking, documentation | OET for registration in some countries; patient safety language |
| Aviation | Radiotelephony, non-routine situations | ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements: Operational Level 4 minimum for pilots and controllers in international operations |
| Legal | Contracts, client letters, negotiation | Precision; plain English movement |
| Hospitality and tourism | Guest interaction, complaints, bookings | Politeness, upselling, intercultural awareness |
| Engineering / technical | Reports, specifications, meetings, safety | Technical vocabulary, describing processes |
| Business | Meetings, emails, presentations, negotiations, calls | Often combined with intercultural skills |
| Academic (EAP) | See the EAP course planner skill | |

## Teacher's role

The ESP teacher is a language expert, not a subject expert: work with practitioners, let learners teach the
content, and focus on how the language works in their tasks.