Page 79 - Apuntes de Investigación en la Enseñanza de Idiomas

63 Apuntes de Investigación en la Enseñanza de Idiomas

ESP as a Motivational Tool to Enhance Language Learning

Claudia Estela Buenfil Rodríguez
Cecilio de Jesús López Martínez

Universidad Veracruzana

Key words: course design, learning, motivation, teachers’ needs.

The University of Veracruz has been recently involved in innovation and certification processes which
have resulted in training more teachers in one of the most spoken languages: English. In this con-
text, Pedagogy School teachers need to take training courses that prepare them to take certification
exams such as EXAVER I or KET (Key English Test). The use of vocabulary involved in the content of
specialized texts from the pedagogy area appeared to be the most appropriate approach to design
an ESP course. Thus, Pedagogy teachers were asked to provide some samples of the English texts
they use in their teaching practice as well as in their professional training courses. The designers
of the materials and activities of the before-mentioned course got hold of the latest texts in English
that pedagogues tend to use more often in their own training courses and daily practice in order to
facilitate and encourage learning. Thus, the main objective of this study was to describe the extent
to which an ESP course can work as a motivational tool to communicate effectively in English in their
academic environment. In addition, a complementary objective was to determine whether this type of
course could also encourage learners become independent learners of the second language.

Exploring the Nature of ESP courses

Before designing the course, contents and time allotted for the units and modules, the researchers,
teachers and any other participant in the development of an ESP course, need to meet with the iden-
tified audience (authorities, parents, students) to discuss the specific needs of the target population;
those who will benefit from this type of course (Flowerdew, 2009; Foomani, E. & K. Khalaji, 2016).
Besides, based on the expressed certification needs of a group of learners, it is possible to design
a course incorporating lexical and grammar contents that could be identified in the texts and which
correspond to the A1 level described by the LEF (Language European Framework). However, using
specialized vocabulary as the basis for the design of a language course has apparently been ignored
as a learning tool.

One of the main benefits of ESP courses is that they may enhance motivation and can even facilitate
students’ own assessment. In order to deliver an English course that learners could find useful and
relevant for their specific purposes, a series of language classes need to be designed along with the
materials and activities for classroom work depending on their previous knowledge and skills. Ac-
cording to Lee (2011), another benefit is the use of specialized vocabulary not only as a motivational