1.7.2 Course design in ESP
According to Hutchinson and Waters ( 1987) «a course
design is the process by which the raw data about a learning need is
interpreted in order to produce an integrated series of teaching/learning
experiences, whose ultimate aim is to lead the learners to a particular state
of knowledge»(P.65) . That is, course design helps in interpreting
information about learners' needs in order to produce teaching-learning
experience such as course objectives, timetabling, materials and so on, in
order to help ESP learners to achieve their goals.
For Richards (2001), ESP learners' needs and expectations
should be given more attention. So, course design is a negotiating process in
which learners play an essential role. That is, course design is not a
teacher-centered approach. Rather it is an ongoing process based on collecting
the maximum information about teaching and learning experiences (Hutchinson
& Waters, 1987). It is a hard task for ESP developers to carry out this
process because it is a learner-centered approach, and it is not always easy to
identify learners' needs and expectations (Haddam 2015).
1.7.3 Types of ESP Course Design
Hutchinson and Waters have distinguished three types of ESP
course design, labeling them as the language-centered course design, the
skills-centered course design, and the learning-centered course design
(Hutchinson & Waters, 1987)
1.7.3.1 Language-centered approach
It is concerned with identifying linguistic features of target
situation in order to create syllabi and to design instructional materials .
According to Hutchinson & Waters (1987)
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The Review of Literature
«a syllabus based on language-centered approach
highlights the linguistic structures of the discourse. It focuses on Technical
words and scientific terminology» (P.100).
This approach looks logical. However, it has some
shortcomings; it neglects many factors that come into play in the learning
process. These factors include learners' interests, motivation, social
background, etc. Furthermore, the approach has been criticized as being
structure-centered as it gives much importance to linguistic forms rather than
developing the skills that enable the learner to communicate effectively in the
target situation (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).
1.7.3.2 The skill centered course design
This approach focuses on the learner performance and language
skills needed . It aims to help learners for developing skills and strategies
which help them to be competent in a language. The goal of this approach is to
gather all the skills that might be used in the target language. The emphasis
is not on achieving a particular set of goals but on enabling the learners to
achieve what they can within a given constraint. It is then a useful means for
the teacher to discover potentials and abilities learners bring to the
classroom, but in facts it has weaknesses as it fails to handle the learning
needs (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987)
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