Challenges English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers face in a vocational institution: a case study
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Publisher
Universidad del Norte
Maestría en la Enseñanza del Inglés
Instituto de Idiomas
Maestría en la Enseñanza del Inglés
Instituto de Idiomas
Abstract
Description
Research has revealed that many English teachers may not have the necessary knowledge and skills to work in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context. As a result, their class planning and delivery may be negatively affected, as well as their students’ learning and motivation. Hence, this paper seeks to shed light on the main challenges English teachers face in an ESP teaching situation. The participants of this study were 19 English teachers that work in different programs at SENA, a public vocational institution in Colombia. A qualitative method, a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and document analysis were used to collect and analyze the data. The findings reveal that teachers perceive the lack of previous and constant pedagogic and linguistic preparation, lack of collaboration between teachers, lack of appropriate resources and materials, lack of an integrated curriculum that meet all learners’ needs, and lack of support from administrative staff, as difficulties to achieve an effective ESP teaching. In addition, some recommendations were provided to cope with this situation. The results of this study are significant since they may help other teachers and institutions using the ESP approach work on the difficulties they face in their context, and thus, their programs can have a greater impact on students. Keywords: ESP, challenges, teachers, collaboration, preparation.
Keywords
Profesores de inglés -- Formación profesional., Inglés -- Enseñanza, Estrategias de aprendizaje