This document provides an overview of strategies used in an intensive English program course to incorporate English for Specific Purposes (ESP) principles into multidisciplinary academic English courses. The course utilized student-led needs analyses, field-specific text analysis, document formatting aligned with individual fields, and ESP-adapted presentation assignments. Examples of assignments include having students interview professors in their fields, analyze language features in field-specific articles, learn citation styles of their disciplines, and give presentations defining vocabulary terms or discussing issues from their areas of study. The document demonstrates how ESP principles can make such multidisciplinary courses more relevant to students' academic needs.

1. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses
Presented by
Ethel C. Swartley,
University of Denver
Ethel.Swartley@du.edu
Presented March 25, 2010
TESOL 2010
Boston, Massachusetts
Abstract:
Since Dudley-Evans and St. John distinguished between English for General and Engilsh
for Specific Academic Purposes (EGAP/ESAP) in 1998, EGAP courses have become the
norm in budget-driven university language programs. While semi-specific courses like
“English for Business” are sometimes offered, many administrators believe they cannot
afford more specialized courses that do not draw a large enrollment. As a result,
“academic English” courses often include students from diverse fields like finance,
theology and computer science in the same classroom. Nonetheless, since these students
have dramatically different needs, ESP principles are relevant when designing these
multidisciplinary classes. This presentation demonstrates ESP strategies used in graduate
preparation courses offered at one university intensive English program (IEP) and makes
suggestions for applying ESP principles to other teaching settings.

2. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses – Ethel C. Swartley
TESOL 2010 – Event #
STUDENT-LED NEEDS ANALYSIS
Writing Workshop: Assignment #1 (Description given to students)
In order to help you better understand what is expected of you in graduate school, one of the first
assignments we are going to do in this class is to interview a professor (or some other expert)
from your program of study. The main objective of this interview is to learn more about the types
of reading and writing you will be doing in graduate school. To prepare for your interview, you
will brainstorm questions about the types of reading and writing assignments you might have to
do in graduate school and prepare a final list to use in your interview. Therefore, for our next
class session, your assignment is to brainstorm a list of at least five questions that you could ask
your contact person. Keep in mind that you want to understand what types of reading and writing
you will have to do in graduate school. You might want to ask specific questions about the
names of common journals in your field, the type of style used in your field (APA, MLA, etc.) or
other more specific types of questions.
For tomorrow’s class, bring your list of questions. After class tomorrow, contact a
professor from your department and arrange to interview this professor before the end of the
week. Please let me know immediately if you have trouble contacting someone in your field.
Also, it is perfectly fine to conduct your interview over the phone or using email.
You are going to write up the results of your interview in a one- to two-page paper that you
will turn in on (DATE). In your write-up, you are going to summarize the key findings of your
interview. You may want to include the questions that you asked in the interview but integrate
the questions into your sentences. Do not make a list of questions and answers or you will
receive a zero on this assignment.
CONTACTING YOUR PROFESSOR
(Guidelines given to students and role-played in class)
1. Identify yourself and the purpose of your call.
a. Who are you? (name – slowly!)
b. What is your relationship to this professor? (current, future)
c. Why are you calling?
2. Ask for an appointment.
a. In person?
b. By phone?
3. Confirm appointment.
a. Time?
b. Place?
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3. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses – Ethel C. Swartley
TESOL 2010 – Event #
Professor Interview Follow-up Discussion Questions
(Discussed in groups in class)
1. How long is the typical writing assignment in your department? How long do students
have to complete these assignments?
2. How long is the typical reading assignment in your department, and how long do
students have to read it?
3. What are the major categories of writing assignments in your field? What are the major
categories of reading assignments in your field?
4. What journals or periodicals do students typically have to read in your department?
How long are the articles in these periodicals?
5. What kinds of writing and reading assignments are unique to your department
(different from assignments in other fields)? Describe these types of assignment to your
partners.
6. What did the professor tell you that you already knew was true before the interview?
7. What did you learn from your professor interview that surprised you?
8. What “themes” emerged from your interview? For example, did the professor talk
more about writing than reading? Did the professor put a heavy emphasis on content but
not grammar? Brainstorm a list of themes or emphases with your group.
9. As a result of your interview, how do you feel about entering your department? Are
you nervous or excited? Why?
10. Do you feel like you are already well-prepared for your major, or do you feel
underprepared? If you feel underprepared, in what ways? What can you do to get more
ready for your graduate studies? Find out whether your classmates have any suggestions
for you.
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4. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses – Ethel C. Swartley
TESOL 2010 – Event #
Writing Workshop: Field-Specific Text Analysis (instructions given to students)
Look at the article you chose last week from your field’s database. In class today, read
your article, and then exchange articles with another student and read his/her article.
Then meet together with your partner and discuss the language used in your articles.
Can you find examples of:
- academic grammar styles described on pages 22-24 of our text (Swales &
Feak)?
- formal vs. informal verb choices (see pp. 18-19 of text)?
- Linking words or phrases that give the article “good flow”?
- punctuation choices that improve the article’s flow or that highlight the
relationship between ideas (see pp. 27-28)?
- This + summary words structures that maintain flow (see pp. 32-33)?
If these elements are not present in the article, discuss why they may be missing.
- Are there other style elements that serve the same functions (flow, summary,
formality/informality) as the elements that we discussed in class? If so, what
are these elements?
- Do you think these are usual for your field or unique to this particular article?
- Are there other style elements in the text that you noticed which you think
might be important? What function do they seem to play?
Writing Workshop: Field-Specific Document Formatting and Style
(instructions given to students)
For all future assignments in this class, format your papers in the style used by your
academic field. In order to become familiar with this style, work individually on this
activity. First, go to the appropriate online resource for your field’s style: (see resources)
Then, read through the materials on the website and answer the following questions.
1. What should the heading of your papers contain, and how should the first page of
a paper be formatted?
2. What is the format of in-text (or parenthetical) citations in your field? What
information do these in-text citations include?
3. What do you do if the author of an article or case is not known? How should these
be cited?
4. How are direct quotations formatted in your field’s style? Are long and short
quotations treated differently? If so, how?
5. Does your field’s document style allow footnotes or endnotes? Which is
preferred?
6. Do academic papers in your field include a Works Cited page, a Reference page
or a Bibliography page?
a. What is the format for entries in this section?
b. How are entries in this section organized/listed?
7. Should authors’ titles or degrees be included in your reference list? Should they
be included in your in-text citations?
8. How are articles, books, and electronic sources cited differently in your academic
field? Give an example of each.
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5. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses – Ethel C. Swartley
TESOL 2010 – Event #
Speaking Workshop: ESP-Adapted Presentation Assignments
PRESENTATION #4 – A Definition Speech
In Class (Instructions given to students)
With your classmates who are in the same or a similar field, brainstorm a list of words
that are important to your field. Don’t worry about trying to eliminate or rank the words
in any order. Just write down the first 10-20 words that come to your mind when you
think of your academic field.
Choosing a Term to Define (done together as a whole class)
Read your list of words out loud slowly to the class. As you read your words, classmates
who are not in your field will indicate whether they are familiar with the term or not. For
any of the terms that your classmates do not know, the instructor will write this term on
the board. Do not try to define these terms yet.
From the list of words that the instructor wrote on the board, choose one term. You will
use this term as the topic for your next presentation.
Prepare a Definition Speech (Instructions given to the students)
For the term that you chose in the last activity, prepare a short (3-5 minute) speech to
teach the class the meaning of this term. Based on the handout from Academically
Speaking (Kayfetz & Stice), your presentation should include a definition and reasons
why the audience should understand this term, an analogy comparing this term to
something else that your classmates are already familiar with, and an example of how this
term is used in your field.
PRESENTATION #5 - A Persuasive Speech (Guidelines given to students)
Topic:
Think of an issue within your field of study – something controversial or
something that you feel strongly about – and prepare a speech about that topic. Your goal
in this speech is to persuade the members of our class to agree with you on this topic.
You may want to choose one of the topics that has been discussed on your blog or a topic
that you have researched previously. Your topic does not have to be complex, but it
should be one that allows you to practice using the vocabulary and communication style
of your academic field.
Organization:
You may use any of the organizational patterns suggested in Chapter 10
(Ferguson) for persuasive speeches, but since our class has students from different
academic study fields, you may want to include some background or a description of the
issue in your introduction.
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6. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses – Ethel C. Swartley
TESOL 2010 – Event #
Speaking Workshop Weekly Assignment: Blog Watching (instructions to students)
This quarter, you have been asked to choose and follow a blog (written in English) that is
related to your academic field. This blog can be one kept by someone who works in your
field, a student studying in your field, a news agency that reports often about your field, a
specific company’s employees or former employees, etc. The blog should be one that is
active, with new information being posted to it at least once a week. If you choose a
student blog, you will want to focus on issues that are raised which relate to your field,
not personal issues about the student’s daily life, dating relationships, pets, etc.
As you watch this blog over the course of this quarter, you may choose to be a lurker
(someone who simply reads the blog) or a post-er (someone who posts occasional
questions, responses, or opinions on the blog). Whether you post or lurk, your main
objectives in watching the blog are:
- to gather information about what topics are “hot” in your field right now so
that you can with others (in upcoming classes, in your future job, etc.) about
these issues
- to learn more about how people in your discipline communicate with each
other about the field (vocabulary, style, jargon, openness, euphemisms) and
how they describe the discipline to others outside the field
- to provide interesting content for our class discussions
On Mondays, we will spend part of our class period reporting on the blogs you are
watching. Each week, you will have an opportunity to summarize one or more of the blog
“threads” you have read about and to tell about anything you found surprising or
interesting in the online discussions. These surprising things can relate to something you
learned, news that is being discussed, vocabulary or jargon that you didn’t know before,
work or study patterns in the country where the blog is based, etc.
The Monday blog reports will be student-directed and will give you an opportunity to
initiate and pursue your own discussion topics. In addition, they will give you the
opportunity to improve your ability to select and explain concepts in your field in a way
that is interesting and clear to others.
WEEKLY BLOG REPORTS (Assignment given to students as homework)
Choose one problem or issue that was discussed on your blog this week. Plan how to
summarize this issue; then, create 2-3 discussion questions to lead your group in
discussing the issue.
Remember: Good discussion questions should be open-ended (not yes/no questions) but
specific enough so that people know where to begin (especially if your group members
are not very familiar with the topic), and good discussion questions allow for many
different opinions to be offered.
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7. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses – Ethel C. Swartley
TESOL 2010 – Event #
Speaking Workshop: Panel Discussion Reviews
(Discussed in class after students watched field-specific professional panels online)
Among the members of your group, at least two different panel discussion videos were
assigned. Review these discussions using the following questions. Don’t focus too much
on the content of the panel discussions; instead, focus on how they were organized and
what made them flow smoothly.
1. Give an overview of the general topic of the panel discussion you watched,
including a general summary of each speaker’s position or role in the discussion.
2. Describe the role of the moderator in the panel discussion that you watched.
a. How did the moderator introduce the topic of the panel discussion to the
audience?
b. How did the moderator introduce each speaker?
c. How did s/he direct the panel discussion while it was in process?
d. How often did the moderator speak, and for how long? What kinds of
things did s/he say? (I.e., did s/he only ask questions, or did the moderator
also give his/her own opinion? If so, when and how?)
3. Describe the role of each of the panelists in the discussion.
a. Who were the panelists?
b. How did the panelists express their points of view? (strongly, weakly,
argumentatively, passively, clearly, “beating around the bush”, with
examples, with visual aids or not, etc.)
c. Did the panelists have very different points of view from each other, or
were they similar?
d. How and how much did the panelists interact with each other, if at all?
e. Did all of the panelists participate equally, or were some more dominant
than others? How did the moderator control this?
4. Describe the role of the audience in this panel discussion.
a. When and how much did the audience participate in this panel discussion?
b. Did audience members ask questions, tell stories, or give opinions?
c. How did the panelists interact with the audience? Did they address the
audience directly, or did they address the moderator?
d. Did the audience address questions to specific panelists or to the whole
panel in general?
e. How did the moderator interact with the audience? Did s/he repeat
audience questions, call on specific individuals, or answer questions
him/herself?
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8. Adding “the ESP” to Multidisciplinary EAP Courses – Ethel C. Swartley
TESOL 2010 – Event #
RESOURCES
Dudley-Evans, T. & St. John, M. J. (1998). Developments in English for specific
purposes: A multidisciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ferguson, S. D. (2008). Public speaking: Building competency in stages. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Hacker, D. & Fister, B. Research and Documentation Online.
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/ (detailed information about researching and
documentation in APA, MLA, CSE and Chicago Manual styles).
Hemmert, A. & O’Connell, G. (1998). Communicating on campus: Skills for academic
speaking. Burlingame, CA: Alta Book Publishers.
Kayfetz, J.L. & Stice, R. L. (1987). Academically speaking. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Martin, P.W. (2010). Introduction to basic legal citation (Online ed.).
http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/.
Oates, L.C, Enquist, A. & Kunsch, K. The legal writing handbook: Analysis, research,
and writing (3rd Ed.). New York: Aspen Publishers.
Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University. (2010). http://owl.english.purdue.edu/.
(detailed information for learning citation formats in APA and MLA styles)
Swales, J. M. & Feak, C. B. (2004). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential
tasks and skills. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
UC Berkeley Webcasts http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php (check archives of past
semesters if you do not find your students academic fields in the current semester
listing)
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