Challenges when implementing content-based language programs and ESP courses
It is not surprising that content-based language classes have proven to be very effective if administered well, but there are challenges for both the administration and teachers when attempting to implement them. The administration may claim CBLT classes are too specific for their students, and therefore attract too few students. Low enrollment could pose a problem to the school that needs to employ a teacher to teach such few students. Unfortunately, however, the greatest issue seems to be teachers and teacher training (Kirschner, 2002; Smala, 2013). Smala (2013) found in her research of CLIL programs in Queensland that there are not only difficulties with the administration but also with the teachers who were trained in the content of the course and not in language instruction. She found that many teachers believe that teaching language is outside their job description as a main subject teacher. Furthermore, Kirschner (2002) found issues pertaining to language teachers who are expected to teach content that is foreign to them and claims that ESL/EFL teachers are not and cannot be expected to be experts in the content field. Not surprisingly, the same issue is present when examining the implementation of ESP courses.
Accompanying the increased implementation of ESP courses in academic contexts is the problem of teacher training and preparation. Teachers and administrators ask whether ESL teachers are really trained to teach ESP classes, and the issue of teachers and their knowledge of the content taught or lackthereof is a prominent concern when implementing ESP programs. Both Chien & Hsu (2010) and Aibakhshi (2011) agree that a fundamental problem with the incorporation of ESP in university education is the preparedness of the teacher. They stress how an ESP teacher is trained to primarily teach the language and doesn’t necessarily have the knowledge to effectively teach the content. One solution proposed is to collaboratively teach the ESP class with a teacher who is not a language teacher but rather a teacher in the content area (Chien & Hsu, 2010). A second proposal is for the ESP teacher to remember that an ESP class is not only content-based but also learner-centered and these learners are usually adults; therefore, the learner should be actively participant in the lesson planning stage (Alibakhshi, 2011). What most ESP teachers would agree upon, however they choose to resolve the problem of teacher preparedness, is that “ESP professionals are more than English language experts for their potential clients. Indeed, ESP practitioners must be ready to become journalists, researchers, and detectives, even mediators” (Salas, Mercado, Ouedraogo & Musetti, 2013, p. 14). An ESP teacher, whether an ESL language instructor or a mainstream content instructor, needs to be flexible and willing to step into a new realm of instruction. The ESP teacher needs to not only take control but also lean on the students and on other professionals in order to prepare and conduct the course well. ESP courses were defined earlier as learner and content based (Chien, 2010). In order for them to be learner-based, the teacher needs to be willing to include the learner throughout the duration of the course.
In an attempt to solve the problem described above regarding who should actually teach these courses, teachers might propose to work with a mainstream content teacher or to teach the course together. Macià and Mancho-Barés (2014) propose that ESP teachers collaborate with content lecturers in order to sufficiently increase the students' proficiency in English. They believe that “this collaboration can take place both through the integration of language in content courses and through the integration of content in ESP courses” (p. 63). Although this is an excellent idea, the administration could argue that they would then be paying two teachers to teach one class.
Copyright © December 2015 by Abby Burgoyne
Accompanying the increased implementation of ESP courses in academic contexts is the problem of teacher training and preparation. Teachers and administrators ask whether ESL teachers are really trained to teach ESP classes, and the issue of teachers and their knowledge of the content taught or lackthereof is a prominent concern when implementing ESP programs. Both Chien & Hsu (2010) and Aibakhshi (2011) agree that a fundamental problem with the incorporation of ESP in university education is the preparedness of the teacher. They stress how an ESP teacher is trained to primarily teach the language and doesn’t necessarily have the knowledge to effectively teach the content. One solution proposed is to collaboratively teach the ESP class with a teacher who is not a language teacher but rather a teacher in the content area (Chien & Hsu, 2010). A second proposal is for the ESP teacher to remember that an ESP class is not only content-based but also learner-centered and these learners are usually adults; therefore, the learner should be actively participant in the lesson planning stage (Alibakhshi, 2011). What most ESP teachers would agree upon, however they choose to resolve the problem of teacher preparedness, is that “ESP professionals are more than English language experts for their potential clients. Indeed, ESP practitioners must be ready to become journalists, researchers, and detectives, even mediators” (Salas, Mercado, Ouedraogo & Musetti, 2013, p. 14). An ESP teacher, whether an ESL language instructor or a mainstream content instructor, needs to be flexible and willing to step into a new realm of instruction. The ESP teacher needs to not only take control but also lean on the students and on other professionals in order to prepare and conduct the course well. ESP courses were defined earlier as learner and content based (Chien, 2010). In order for them to be learner-based, the teacher needs to be willing to include the learner throughout the duration of the course.
In an attempt to solve the problem described above regarding who should actually teach these courses, teachers might propose to work with a mainstream content teacher or to teach the course together. Macià and Mancho-Barés (2014) propose that ESP teachers collaborate with content lecturers in order to sufficiently increase the students' proficiency in English. They believe that “this collaboration can take place both through the integration of language in content courses and through the integration of content in ESP courses” (p. 63). Although this is an excellent idea, the administration could argue that they would then be paying two teachers to teach one class.
Copyright © December 2015 by Abby Burgoyne