Characteristics Of ESP

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English has been included as a compulsory course in different levels of education because of its affects in many sphere of life and society. English has become the international language of business. English is used as offshore English for the English spoken who do not share their native language and have learn English for practical rather than academic purposes. Mostly the English medium communication in business is from non-native speakers to non-native speakers, the English which they share is the International English. Hence it is no matter of wonder that local organizations at present prefer employees with better proficiency in writing and speaking.
ESP and Characteristics of ESP: ESP stands for English for Specific Purposes. It is a linguistic field of study that address the immediate and very specific needs of learners for a target language which is required for academic or professional purposes. ESP is a part of a more general movement of teaching Language for Specific Purposes (LSP). The focus of LSP is on the teaching of languages such as Germany, French and English for specific purposes. This approach is very similar to ESP in many situations. The important issue in ESP is the communicative competence. ESP has number of features which differentiate it from General English and these features are distinguished into absolute characteristics and variable characteristics by Strevens(1988).
Absolute Characteristics:
• design to meet the specific needs of the learners.