EFL Learners Perceptions and Attitudes Towards English for the Specific Purposes - Volume 5 - Issue 4 - 2012

Oct 15, 2026

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The study investigates EFL learners’ perceptions and attitudes toward English for Specific Purposes, emphasizing the shift from teacher-centered teaching to student-centered instruction. It focuses on tertiary students who experience difficulty with terminology and with understanding lecture English in written and spoken forms. A descriptive design examines students’ general attitudes and their specific attitudes toward ESP through a 15-question questionnaire, using SPSS for analysis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Research Design

Volume 5, Number 4, 2012 EFL LEARNERS PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH FOR THE SPECIFIC PURPOSES Mahmut Uğur Arslan, Azamat Akbarov Abstract. In the past, during a language teaching process, focus was on the teacher not on students. Today the attention is given to students namely students’ needs. At every level of teaching English, take it primary school education or tertiary education, the student is atthe center. However, when we talk about tertiary education, students’ needs become more specific because they learn English for a specific purpose. Spending 5 years teaching English at a tertiary education institution, I have witnessed cases in which students from faculties come to us and complain that we have not taught them what they need at their faculty departments. They say they mostly do not understand the terminology used in their lectures. They believe that they are relatively good at using General English in both productive skills, but they have problems understanding the English both written and spoken, being used during their lectures. What do the students think? What is their expectation? Since we always say that teaching English can no longer be teacher-centered but student-centered, we cannot neglect which English they need in their faculty departments. The aim of this study is to determine the attitude of students towards English for Specific Purposes and we want to learn their opinions about English for Specific Purposes. Key Words: General English, English for Specific Purposes, Approach, Language Acquisition Introduction The development in communication and business technology throughout the recent years has deeply influenced the field of English language teaching. Especially, after the Second World War there happened an unexpected boom in scientific, economic and technical world which required an international language. This language was English. And due to the developments in the various areas like science, economics, and technology, the attention of course designers turned from teaching English for general purposes to teaching English for more specialized purposes. In most countries, especially in the developed and developing ones, where English is the foreign or second language the aim to teach and learn English has become purposive. According to Jones and Davies (1983)“foreign languages have been learned not for their own sake but as vehicles for social and economic contactsand for the transportation of ideas.”(Cited in Kirkgoz, 1999, p.59) In Turkey like most of other parts of the world English is taught with a general aim, bearing in mind that learning a language is a good thing, it will be of great benefit in the future or one language one person, two languages two persons. That is the case especially when the learners are children. But it isnot the same with adults. According to Mackay and Mountford (1978)“Adults, on the other hand, unless they are learning a foreign language for ‘pleasure’ at evening institutes, as a ‘cultural’ and social experience, are generally highly conscious of the use to which they intend to put it. That use is frequently associated with an occupational, vocational, academic or professional requirement.” As the first author of the paper works at an international university in which medium of instruction is English, he thinks it is a good idea to draw a picture of the situation the school and the students. The main objective of IUS English Language School (ELS) is to provide high-quality intensive English Language instruction to those students who are admitted to International University of Sarajevo without the needed language skills. This way every IUS student is expected to be able to fully cope with the undergraduate programs in their faculties. All students who have been accepted to IUS are expected to have a basic knowledge of English and with the help of education they get at ELS they are expected to have a better academic life in their faculty

FAQs

Why does the paper focus on English for Specific Purposes rather than general English?

Because at the tertiary level students need English that matches their specific faculty departments, including specialized terminology used in lectures.

What problems do students report about their faculty lectures?

Students mostly do not understand the terminology in their lectures and struggle with both written and spoken English used during instruction.

How is the research designed and analyzed?

The study is descriptive, surveying students with a total of 15 questions across two parts, and analyzing responses using SPSS.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri