MAKING THE MOST OF EXPERIENCE: FROM SYLLABUS TO TEXTBOOK DESIGN

Abstract

A well-crafted ESP syllabus fosters learning by bridging the gap between foreign language learning and the field of profession. Besides, ESP syllabi should promote a specific genre and content-based tasks established on and integrated with functional grammar and lexicon. In our classroom, we have adopted the situation-based learning approach and context-based vocabulary learning. Experimental science with English-based instruction offers the first-hand experience through observation inside laboratories to our students of biology, chemistry, and environmental science. Building up students’ language competence is vocabulary-based and thus special attention is paid to word chunks and wordlists. Although often regarded as a ‘service activity’, ESP is also a medium between academic and popular genres. Teaching a foreign language, especially English as the lingua franca of our age, is not just a stultifying practice of teaching a thoughtful discipline but providing students with valuable vocational knowledge.