USING PHOTOGRAPHS TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE IN ESP FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIE

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explore the potential use of photographs as a teaching material in English for specific purposes (ESP) instruction for university students of the social sciences and humanities, primarily for enhancing students’ functional competence. Therefore, particular attention has been given to the so-called macrofunctions, the mastery of which is indispensable in these fields of study. Building on the traditional use of images in foreign language teaching, we seek to identify the common denominators of the aims of social sciences and humanities studies and ESP instruction for these disciplines, on the one hand, and of the nature of photographs as a means of visual communication and expression, on the other. A three-dimensional model (descriptive, subjective-affective, hypothetical-analytical) for approaching photographs in ESP instruction has been proposed and an analysis of student responses to a range of questions corresponding to the three dimensions has been conducted in order to illustrate the potential of photographs as a teaching tool in achieving the shared objectives of ESP instruction and the academic study of the social sciences and humanities.