Group 2FATIMA GULMARRIYAM

TARIQ SITARA AYAZ

ABIDA PARVEEN

ABSTRACT• The aim of this research is to have an overview of the needs

and thereby design English for Special Purposes (ESP) writing course outline.

• The questionnaires were distributed between the targeted group (engineers) and authentic data analysis was taken from engineers working place.

Makkays Pvt. Ltd

TOPIC

THE PROCESS OF

DESIGNING AN ESP

WRITING COURSE FOR

ENGINEERS IN A

PAKISTAN

Introduction

Maurice Strong

"Sustainable development will be

impossible without the full

input by the engineering

profession."

Engineering students have

specific English needs.

Engineering students and

engineers have expressed

long-term

dissatisfaction with

their English abilit

y

(Watta

nasakunpusakon,

1996; Kitti

dhaworn, 2001).

EFFECTIVE USE OF

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

WRITTEN

ORAL

AIMS

give st

udents a ch

ance to

grapple w

ith th

e challe

nges

of engin

eering d

esign. En

coura

ging s

tuden

ts

to s

ynth

esize

and

inte

grate

thei

r

know

ledge

in th

e

broad

er e

nginee

ring

conte

xt.

To equip st

udents with

a

variety of re

ading tech

niques

and strategies

A nee

ds a

naly

sis will

be

used

to

dete

rmin

e th

e

key

com

pone

nts

nece

ssar

y fo

r de

sign

ing

a writing

cou

rse.

Writing and reading, as

engineering activities, are

introduced.

Bump your students up to a higher level of global

language proficiency

Literature Review

ESP (English for Specific Purposes) is one

important branch of the EFL/ESL (English

as a Foreign/Second Language) system

that functions as the main branch of

English language teaching ELT. Therefore,

ESP is not a particular kind of language or

methodology, but rather an approach to

language learning whereby the content

and method are based on the learners

particular needs to learn the language

(Hutchinson, and Waters, 1987).

ESP is an “attitude of mind”,

Graddol (1996) indicates that a quarter of

the world’s population is fluent or

competent in English and no other

language in the world today can match

the steadily growing spread of the

English language.

World English can be argued to be shaped through

linguistic imperialism where the spread of English is viewed as

language imposition (Phillipson, 1992).

Three quarters of the world’s emails are currently in English and 90% of the materials on the Internet are in English (Crystal 2003).

IN OTHER WORDS, L2 LEARNERS NEED TO DEAL WITH DISCOURSES FROM DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IN ORDER TO FULFILL THEIR COMMUNICATIVE NEEDS. THIS PROCESS GIVES THEM A CHOICE TO EXPAND THEIR PREVIOUS DISCOURSES TO INCLUDE NEW

ONES.

This bilingual standpoint enables L2 learners to

contribute different aspects from their L1 to the

English language in a process leading to the use

of English as a lingua franca.

Analysis

According to Nunan techniques

and procedures for collecting

information to be used in

syllabus design are referred to

as a needs analysis (Nunan,

1988: 13).

Approaches to needs analysis

• sociolinguistic model• A systemic approach• A learning-centered approach

• Learner-centered approaches

• A task-based approach

The learning needs

Principles for a nalyzing learner needs • Give first priority to communication needs • Give equal importance to learning needs • Take ‘context’ into account • Invite multiple perspectives • Employ multiple data collection methods• Treat needs analysis as an ongoing activity

The Information Gathering Process/Methodology

Questionnaires

Questionnaires are more efficient for gathering information on a

large scale than any other approach (Brown1995).

Questionnaires were determined to be the best means of investigation in this study. They were selected as the source of data collection for the following reasons.

1- The number of participants was expected to be fairly large.

2- They require minimal time from participants and provide a flexible and convenient way to participate in the study.

3- Participants could be assured of a certain degree of anonymity in their responses and could respond candidly.

Analysis of

questionnaires

How far English is important in your opinion?a. Very important b. somehow important c. no importance

a.b. (4)c. (96)

2. To what extent you have to communicate with people in English?

a. Frequently b. occasionally c. No communication

a (74)b (24)c (2)

3.With whom you have to communicate in English?a. With boss b. with colleagues

c. with native customers d. with foreign customers e. with other

departments g. with all

a (10)b (3)c (1)d (80)e (6)

4. Do you think that your profession requires the practice of skills, such as reading, writing, listening

and speaking?a. Yes b. no

a (89)b (11)

5. Which type of speaking skill is required in your profession?a. Formal speaking b. presentation skill

c. informal communication d. all of the above

a (86)b (4)c (3)d (7)

6. Which type of writing skill your profession requires?

a. Technical writing b. business letter writingc. report writing d. above all

a (50)b (20)c (20)d (10)

7. Which type of material you have to read?a. Reports b. advertisements c. manuals

d. documents e. agreement f. bills g. invoice

h. delivery notes

a (53)b (2)c (7)d (20)e (7)f (6)g (3)h (2)

8. Is listening problematic for you, at any situation?a. Yes b. no c. don’t know

a (4)b (96)c

\

9. What is the weak area in which you want to be proficient in English? a. technical vocabulary b. grammar c. pronunciation

a (50)b (4)c (36)

10. Which time of the day is convenient for you, to attend this course?

From 9 a.m- 11 a.m b. from 3 p.m – 5 p.mc. from 7 p.m- 9 p.m

a (1)b (40)c (59)

11.Which day of the week is suitable for you, to attend this course?

a. Saturday - Sunday b. Friday- Sundayc. Tuesday- Wednesday

a (82)b (8)c (10)

12. In which methodology of teaching you will want to learn English?

a. Through text books b. through discussion session

through lecture delivery methodology

a (10)b (50)c (40)

13. In your opinion, which method of evaluation will be useful?

a. Daily base assignments b. daily base class test

c. only one test at the end of the coursed. only one project

e. no proper evaluation criteria

a (10)b (20)c (42)d (28)

FINDINGS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE

FIRSTLY, THE QUESTIONNAIRE ESTABLISHED

THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR ENGINEERS TO

WRITE IN ENGLISH AND THE MAJORITY OF

ENGINEERS CONSIDERED ENGLISH TO BE

HIGHLY IMPORTANT IN CARRYING OUT THEIR

WORK SUCCESSFULLY AND EFFICIENTLY

SECONDLY, THE QUESTIONNAIRE, AS

COMPLETED BY THE ENGINEERS, GAVE AN

INDICATION OF THEIR LEVEL OF WRITING

SKILLS. IT DEMONSTRATED THAT HALF WERE

HAPPY, WHILST MOST (80%) SAW

THEMSELVES AS EITHER GOOD OR VERY

GOOD AT WRITING

THIRDLY, ANALYSIS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

HAS PROVIDED ME USEFUL INFORMATION FOR

DESIGNING A COURSE. ACCORDING TO THE

QUESTIONNAIRE, THE MAJORITY OF ENGINEERS

PREFER SHORT COURSES BETWEEN 2 AND 6

WEEKS. THE QUESTIONNAIRE REVEALED THAT

MOST OF THE ENGINEERS EDIT AS THEY WRITE

BEFORE PRODUCING A FAIR COPY. IN OTHER

WORDS, ENGINEERS USUALLY HAVE TIME TO

CORRECT THEIR WORK AND PERHAPS INVITE

SOMEONE TO READ AND COMMENT.

AUTHENTIC DATA ANALYSIS

I have adopted th

e framework

suggeste

d by Ellis and Jo

hnson

1994 (see appendix1). I

n the

next secti

on I will

demonstrate

how this

framework w

as use

d to

analyze extra

cts of th

e engineers

work.

Collecting the authentic documents

In order to obtain these documents, I took help

of my brother engineer (Waqar Ahmad) working

for Makkays pvt .ltd. After explaining the aim of

the study, he agreed to e-mail me some

extracts of engineers’ authentic written

documents.

In fact report writing is considered to be one of the most common activities engaged in by engineers, especially given that there are many different types of reports for instance: inspection or trip reports, laboratory report, and progress report (Beer,and McMurrey 1997).  According to Beer, and McMurrey, all reports are similar in that all start with a prologue and end with a conclusion. In fact, this is not always the case, as the reports in this study will show.

Report writing

Analyzing samples of the engineer’s written work revealed that all documents collected were written only in English,

and that all these documents were reports.The documents appeared to suffer from language problems, specifically with organization, sentence

structure, and grammar. However, these problems seem not to be so fundamental that a short course could not

help rectify them. The table on next page summaries the most important features of these documents and will

indicate the framework required for a course of study in writing.

Summary of findings from the

authentic data documents

Limitation of the Study

Firstly, this study looked only at the engineers needs, whilst

there were other people who should have been involved in the

needs analysis. According to Brown, administrators and teachers

are two important sources for information, in addition to the target

group (Brown, 1995). Unfortunately, d

ue to word limitation in this

project, other groups were not addressed.

Teaching Methodology

There are three main

approaches relative to the

teaching of writing:

the product approach,

the process approach,

and the genre approach

(Badger, R. and White G

2000).

Process Genre ApproachSince each of these approaches have their

strengths and weaknesses this has led to the development of an effective method, which engages both process and genre. This approach aims to look at each approach and tries to adapt it for a particular situation (Key, and Dudley-Evans, 1997).

Syllabus

TOPIC S

structural/situational

syllabus,

functional/notional

syllabus,

skills syllabus,

situational syllabus,

functional/task-based

syllabus,

discourse/skills syllabus,

andskills and strategies.

 Having determined the engineers needs

through the two research tools I have used,

namely a questionnaire and authentic data

analysis, the discussion will take place

around, determining the outline for the

technical writing course.

Course outline

Aims and objectivesTo promote engineers ability to write different types of reports1. Inspection reports2. Specification reports3. Instruction reportsThe objectives of the course will be as follows:� Recognize the organization of different report genre.� Use appropriate grammatical structures, and functions.� Write a full report with 80% accuracy.� Assess each other’s writing.� Use the appropriate technical and semi-technical vocabulary.� Use appropriate layout and punctuation.� Employ the process of editing and drafting.� Using linking devices, where appropriate, to produce cohesive text.� Express a variety of functions in writing.� Promoting writing fluency

FunctionsBy the end of the course the engineers should be able to:•Describe the condition of something, e.g. piece of equipment.•Give instructions or orders•Suggest actions to be taken.•Clarify actions that have been taken.

Content

•Present continuous•Present simple•Modals (shall, should)•Modals + passive infinitive•Simple present passive•Past simple•Simple past passive

The structure

The course will cover technical and semi-technical vocabulary. There will be specific vocabulary input such as areas that may be problematic or unknown to the engineers e.g. spelling, multi-word verbs, and compound nouns.

The vocabulary

Designed course

Course Code/Name: Eng 401

ESP for E

ngineers

Level: Graduate

Type of the Course: C

ompulsory

Components:

•Planning: The instructor presents students with a language task and explains the rationale behind it. Students are then asked to plan their own approaches to the task; choosing strategies that they think will facilitate its completion.•Monitoring: During the task, students are asked to ‘self-monitor’ their performance by paying attention to their strategy use and checking comprehension.•Problem-solving: As they encounter difficulties, learners are expected to find their own solutions.•Evaluation: After the task has been completed, students are then given time to ‘debrief’ the activity, e.g. evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies they used during the task.

O’Malley and Chamot (1990):

Method of Instruction Lecture; team/class discussions; communicative/meaningful language exercises;  in- and out-of-class reading/writing tasks; presentations; library research; online research; workshops.

Length and period: 3 hrs a day, 6 weeks in total

References

•Fatima Gul (junior faculty members )•Sitara Ayaz (junior faculty members )•Maryam Tariq (junior faculty members )•Abida Parveen (junior faculty members )

Teaching Staff

•Rashid Sheikh (senior faculty

member)

•Muhammad Tariq (senior

faculty member)

•Ayaz Khan (senior faculty

member)

AttendanceCode of Academic ConductGrading •midterm exam: 25%•active participation during the classes,  attitude  toward the course, preparation for the pre-  assigned   chapters, assignments handed in due time : 10%                 - Delivery of presentation: 20 %                           - Technical report writing: 20 %                - Final exam: 25%

Learning level Associated action verbs

Knowledge define, describe, state, list, name, write, recall, recognize, label, underline, select, reproduce, outline, match

Comprehension identify, justify, select, indicate, illustrate, represent, name, formulate, explain, judge, contrast, classify

Application predict, select, assess, explain, choose, find, show, demonstrate, construct, compute, use, perform

Analysis analyze, identify, conclude, differentiate, select, separate, compare, contrast, justify, resolve, break down, criticize

Synthesis combine, restate, summarize, precise, argue, discuss, organize, derive, select, relate, generalize, conclude

Evaluation judge, evaluate, determine, recognize, support, defend, attack, criticize, identify, avoid, select, choose

Objectives Writing Objectives for Lesson Plans Using Bloom’s Taxonomy and Associated Action or Performance Verbs

ABCDs of Writing Objectives •A-Audience: The who. "The student will be able to…" •B-Behavior: What a learner is expected to be able to do or the product or result of the doing. The behavior or product should be observable. •C-Condition: The important conditions under which the performance is to occur. •D-Degree: The criterion of acceptable performance. How well the learner must perform in order for the performance to be considered acceptable.

1.HOW DO YOU LEARN BEST