INTRODUCTION to ESP [Madrasati @ Abdessalami On

Nowadays, most students wonder if the type of education they are exposed to is of any utility. So they seldom choose to take school for serious. Through their observation, they can find out why there are many unemployed young diploma-holders amongst them. They easily come out with the idea that the sort of education they are "undergoing" is completely barren. They are obliged to go to school, all the same. Nevertheless they are aware that going there is just a social image. A "student" is a better title than "idle". Because they must go to school, they only associate learning with exams. They rarely think of a long-term use of any of the subjects they take at school. They don't seem to care much about the importance of studying because they cannot see immediate results to what they are learning, except for the exams. They consider them their ultimate goal. They're initially interested in success at the end of the school year. They don't bother think of something farther because the future sends them gloomy messages. Joblessness will "swallow" them sooner or later. They don't realize that learning is a long term investment. The results don't manifest so early. The students are in a critical situation; their parents seem to pay for it all. All this apart, the best students, the elite, are not threatened by unemployment because our education system is becoming more and more selective.

English as a school subject never seems motivating for the high school students because it has no apparent function in their immediate social environment. They simply believe it is optional in their quest for a job-based learning. There are many reasons behind this belief; the most important of which is that English in Morocco has not yet been introduced in our economical schedule. French is more effective in the labor market here. In Morocco, a non-English speaking country, any one can share this idea with the students. English is still valueless. It serves no goals that the French language can't. In other words, French is greatly sufficient for them.

This realistic view of the issue has made teachers suffer their students' indifference vis-à-vis English. However; good language learners, who excel at English, do that on purpose to show off as speaking English is more a privilege than a necessity for them. The syllabus designed and assigned to them makes things worse. It doesn't meet the students interests and needs. It is not motivating at all.

Like many other teachers, I believe that teaching English in Morocco should be dealt with in a different manner. It is not necessary to forge or coin a new teaching method. There is a ready made approach which can be appreciated by the students as well as the teachers. English for Specific Purposes (E.S.P) proves the most useful approach to teaching nowadays. When we decide to adopt it, we can really make a great change in the perception of the efficiency and the utility of English in our schools. ESP can make our students their attitude and cease to be indifferent to English. They'll take it seriously when they realize its real impact on their future professional careers. The ESP approach has that powerful quality as to make the syllabus based on the analysis of the learners' needs and their own personal specialist knowledge of using English, not as a privilege, but for real communication. Furthermore, this methodology is rich as it can be identified in terms of three types.

According to David Carter (1983), the three types of ESP are as follows:

English as a restricted language. (e.g, Language used by a tourist-guide or a taxi-driver).
English for Academic and Occupational Purposes. (It includes EST, EBE and ESS).
English with Specific Topics. (for postgraduate reading studies/ Situational language)

ESP also could be seen in terms of abilities:

BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills. (Informal language use)
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. (Formal language use)

This approach is also capable of operating effectively in Heterogeneous learner group as well as in a Homogeneous learner group.

All in all, I wouldn't have recommended ESP if I have a slight doubt about its efficiency in the educational system we are all in need of. ESP is perhaps the sole outlet available to fix this problem of giving English the right value and position in our educational and professional tissue.

The following pages are trying to reach a full understanding of the importance of ESP as a methodology and its utility in a Moroccan context where French is still prevailing as the only language required in the labor market.

N.B: This is almost an abstract! It may incite you to do a deeper research in the field if you are interested.