EDITOR’S NOTE

Abstract

Over a year ago, I presented the Senate of the University of Niš the idea for starting a journal on English for Specific and Academic Purposes. My arguments were convincing enough. The Senate and the Rector approved, gave me full freedom in every aspect of the work on the journal, at the same time their support. The credit they invested acknowledged. Along with the message.

My personal thesis is that English for Specific Purposes, or Professional English, as I prefer to call it, is the most needed and thus most present form of ELT among adult population of learners worldwide, beginning with students. However, my tentative hypothesis on its perspective is that for long to come, ESP will not admittedly become the main stream ELT because it goes against the grain when it comes to the number of textbooks publishing houses can sell. The fact is there exist only general ESP textbooks, and they do not sell much. All the teaching/learning material, so badly needed, is designed by lecturers themselves. Just like in everything else regarding their work, yes, they still are and will be those solitary ‘dwellers in a strange and uncharted land’ who produce amazing quantity of research, the quality of it, the depth and insights, all being outstanding. This unenviable situation, I realized, can be turned into a huge advantage called - freedom.