International Arab Journal of English for Specific Purposes
Abstract
English has been increasingly used as the international language of science, technology, and business. Most scientific books, journals, and research articles are now in English. Thus, graduate and postgraduate students who do not master English usually go through hard times especially when it comes to learning technical terms and jargons. This has led to the emergence of a different approach to English language teaching, namely English for specific purposes (ESP). The present paper aims to review the history and development of ESP as well as studies conducted on this teaching approach. Starting with a brief historical background of ESP, the paper moves to discuss its definition and highlights the difference between ESP and EGP (English for general purposes). It then unveils the main features of ESP, its different branches, and major challenges of ESP instruction. Also, a detailed account of the notion of needs analysis is offered. Finally, the paper ends with a review of empirical research on ESP in the Moroccan context
