TITLE:
Developing ESP Teaching Materials Based on the Analysis of Information Engineering Majors’ Needs
AUTHORS:
Haiyun Gu, Hua Bo, Lei Ren
KEYWORDS:
ESP for Engineering, Students’ Needs Analysis, Teaching Materials, Online Resources, Interactive Teaching
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.7 No.10,
October
17,
2019
ABSTRACT: Currently in China, the available ESP (English for Special Purpose) textbooks for engineering are still focused on reading, translation and grammar. Considering that Chinese undergraduates’ general English levels have been improved greatly in the recent years, and many engineering students have plans to apply for graduate study or work in joint ventures in the future, their needs for ESP course have gone beyond the contents of current available textbooks. This study aims to analyze Chinese engineering undergraduates’ needs on ESP course, and discuss how to develop ESP teaching materials and reform ESP teaching methods correspondingly. According to our investigation, the communication skill demanded by EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) courses and English workplace is the most desirable professional English ability. About 85% of the students prefer using e-textbook, and 53.33% of the students vote for interactive teaching method. Moreover, cross-analysis result shows that students with different vocational plans have different priorities on professional English skills. ESP practitioners need to consider these different needs, and design diverse activities for students.