WHAT IS ESP?

TOM HUTCHINSON AND ALAN WATERS

THE ORIGINS OF ESP

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ESP

ESP was not a planned movement; it was

a phenomenon that grew out of a
number of converging trends. The tree
main reasons to the emergence of all
ESP are:

ESP has developed at different speeds

in different countries; it is not a
universal
phenomenon.
It
this
development ESTwas very important.

The concept of special language:

The demands of a new brave new
register analysis
world
The first phase of development of
After the Second World War the world
ESP took place mainly in the 1960s
was dominated by two forces:
and early 1970s. The advocates of
technology and commerce. There was
the register analysis were Peter
a demand for an international
Strevens, Jack Ewer, John Swales.
The aim of the analysis was to
language, because the economic
identify the grammatical and lexical
power of USA in the post-war, this role
features of the registers.
The
fell to English.
Before English became accepted as
register analysis is made I order to
an
international
language
of
make the ESP course more relevant
technology and commerce people
to learners needs. So the main
didnt know why they were learning
motive for register analysis is
English but after that, learners knew
pedagogic. The register analysis was
specifically why they were learning.
focused on language at the sentence
level.
Revolution in linguistics
Beyond the sentence: rhetorical
The first studies in English were about
of discourse analysis:
describing the rules of English usage,
the grammar. But the new studies
This is the second phase of
were focused into discovering the
development of ESP. it was focused
ways in which language is actually
on discourse or rhetorical analysis.
used in real communication.
Its
advocates
were
Henry
In the late 60s and early 70s there
Widdowsonin the UK, and also de
was a great expansion on research
Washington School (conformed by
mainly in the area of science. Most of
Larry Selinker, Louis Trimble, John
the work at this time was in the area
Lackstrom, and Mary Todd-Trimble) in
of English for science and technology
the US.

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Focus on the learner: the new

developments
in
educational
psychology contributed to the rise of
ESP because of the emphasis on the
central importance of the learners
attitude and interests, so the learners
needs were paramount.

The interest was on how sentences

are used in the performance of
different communicative acts, how
sentences
were
combined
in
discourse to produce meaning.
Therefore, the concern of research
was to identify the organisational
patterns in text and to specify the
linguistic means by which these
patterns are signalled.