Positioning English for Specific Purposes in an English Language Teaching Context

With the unrelenting spread of globalization, the English language has been firmly established as the Lingua Franca. Now more than ever, the importance of learning English is paramount within nearly all professional and educational sectors. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has long been accepted as an effective method for teaching English as a foreign language. In recent years, it has experienced an increasing presence in secondary and tertiary education across the globe. This is predominantly due to its learner-centered approach that focuses on developing linguistic competence in the student’s specific discipline, may that be academics, business or tourism, for example. Positioning English for Specific Purposes in an English Language Teaching Context attempts to present and define the relevance and scope of ESP within English Language teaching. From mobile phones as educational tools to the language needs of medical students, the contributors to this volume examine and propose different epistemological and methodological aspects of ESP teaching. Its unique approach to ESP marks this volume out as an important and necessary contribution to existing ESP literature, and one that will be of use to both researchers and practitioners of ESP.