Investigating English Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Teaching ESP And Identifying Their Needs

Abstract

Growing as a subfield of English Language Teaching, ESP refers to teaching English in a particular domain. Considering that new disciplines are new worlds for English teachers, and thus, teaching ESP can be more demanding for them, a detailed analysis to identify their needs becomes inevitable. The focus of the previous studies in ESP has often been on the educational needs of learners for enhancing materials and curriculum for them. However, very little work has been done and the field has not adequately addressed ESP teachers and their needs. In line with this gap, the present study is framed within ESP to provide a deep insight into the English teacher’s attitudes towards teaching ESP and the needs that appear throughout the process. A qualitative research method is adopted with a sample of 15 English teachers and two administrative executives working at a military academy. The study has revealed that although a minority of teachers have developed positive attitudes towards teaching ESP as it fosters self-improvement, the sense of satisfaction for the teachers, is not monotonous and allows them to design more interactive courses, the majority has developed negative attitudes towards ESP courses as the teachers feel incompetent and insufficient with the content and terminology because of lack of professional guidance. To tackle the situation, it is crucial to provide the teachers with professional assistance, guidance, and training programs tailored to their needs in ESP to encourage and promote their professional and pedagogical development.