Remodeling the Use of English Course in Nigeria with the ESP Model: A Focus on an Engineering Faculty

Destiny Idegbekwe () and Diri Teilanyo ()

International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 2019, vol. 8, issue 1, 36-45

Abstract: New undergraduates frequently puzzle over why they must take the Use of English course, which is usually inconsistent with their discipline. This study aims at a remodeling of the mandatory Use of English course in all Nigerian universities by implementing the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) model, ensuring its relevance to the various disciplines offered; this would replace “General English” that is not specific to any field and thus too vague to interest new students mindful of their chosen discipline. To prove ESP should be the approach taken to teach English to undergraduates from another discipline, the researchers designed two questionnaires for 50 final-year engineering undergraduates and 10 top managerial staff from a Nigerian engineering firm. The findings reveal that a large number of the students cannot efficiently write a technical report or execute other communication needs of an engineering firm, despite studying the Use of English course for two semesters. This study recommends the development of new and improved course outlines specific to the different fields and faculties in Nigerian universities.

Keywords: ESP; English language; Nigerian universities; Use of English; Engineering; ESL; TESOL (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:asi:ijells:v:8:y:2019:i:1:p:36-45:id:438

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