English for Specific Purposes最新文献

Despite its prominence and functionality in academic writing, cohesion is under-researched in academic genres, including research articles (RAs). Moreover, there is little cross-disciplinary research on cohesion in academic discourse. Thus, this study aimed to investigate cohesion in the discussion section of RAs at sentence, paragraph and text levels, across three disciplines (i.e., applied linguistics, chemistry, and economics). To this end, 24 indices of local, global, and text cohesion were analyzed in a corpus of 300 discussion sections (100 from each discipline). MANOVAs identified significant cross-disciplinary variations in local, global, and text cohesion. Specifically, indices of local cohesion were generally higher in applied linguistics discussions, but measures of global, and text cohesion were mostly higher in chemistry and economics texts, respectively. Random forest modeling revealed that negative connectives were the most powerful classifiers of applied linguistics discussions, whereas adjacent sentence overlap noun synonyms and positive connectives were the best predictors of chemistry and economics discussions, respectively. These results are discussed with a view to offering theoretical and pedagogical implications for English-for-specific-purposes researchers and practitioners.

Although Iranian universities offer English for specific purposes (ESP) courses extensively, there are plenty of challenges in the process of teaching the courses. Drawing on multiple methods, this study explored what 5 civil-engineering ESP instructors, 5 company engineers, and 10 students expected to be included in their language courses suitable for workplace-specific requirements. It used multiple sources of data, including semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, field notes, and focus group discussions. Analysis of data showed that in addition to proficiency in general English, civil engineers need to discuss technical issues, attend conferences and seminars, read or write specific genres, and communicate orally, all of which require knowledge of both general and technical English. However, university programs are not specifically designed according to students’ specialized needs. This study contributes to the importance of needs-based curriculum development pertinent to engineering English challenges and highlights the significance of tailor-made language instruction. Furthermore, ESP educators, policy makers, course planners, and other stakeholders can take advantage of needs-based resources to help engineering students solve problems pertinent to their specialization.

Aviation English (AE) represents a noteworthy area of investigation within the realm of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), aimed at fostering English language competency among aspiring pilots. In this study, a simulation-based aviation English course was designed and implemented for improved learning gains. The present study took place at a tertiary educational institution, focusing on the analysis of AE vocabulary development, the readback performance of student pilots, and the examination of participants' perceptions of simulation-based training. Employing a mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design, data were gathered from 21 ab-initio pilots enrolled in the Pilotage Training program. The quantitative results showed that participants significantly improved their readback performance and AE vocabulary knowledge over the course of a semester. With regard to the qualitative results, student pilots overall perceived the simulation-based training as an innovative and effective method. The present study, therefore, constitutes a notable advancement in the AE research domain by documenting, for the first time, the application of simulation-based training in the aviation context. Moreover, the study offers insights into the implications for ESP practitioners and stakeholders in the aviation sector, along with recommendations for future research, which are delineated in the study's conclusion.

In light of globalization and international travel, English plays a predominant role in the tourism and hospitality industries. Hence, effective communication in English becomes a requisite skill for Food and Beverage (F&B) employees, especially in luxury resorts. Nonetheless, there has been limited research into the linguistic needs of these employees. This preliminary study explored the English language needs and problems encountered by F&B staff at a 5-star resort in Vietnam in a post-pandemic context. Data included two sets of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews of full-time F&B employees and related stakeholders. In addition, an analysis of Tripadvisor reviews was utilized to understand customers’ opinions about the employees’ English abilities. The findings showed that the F&B employees perform various tasks requiring four English skills in their daily work. Regarding problems, these employees considered listening and writing to be the most difficult skills. Also, the F&B employees expected an ESP course prioritizing speaking and listening skills to mitigate the lack of exposure to English due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its concomitant travel restrictions. Based on the findings, practical course syllabi and pedagogical implications for related ESP courses were developed.

Aviation English (AE), a specialized register of English, prioritizes precision, brevity and clarity to maximize aviation safety. While there has been a growing focus within the linguistics community on AE training and assessment since the release of a set of standards and recommended practices, its linguistic properties remain comparatively underexplored. Drawing upon Biber's (1988) multi-dimensional (MD) analysis framework, the present study conducted a corpus-based comparative MD analysis to investigate the multi-dimensional linguistic profile of AE vs. casual conversational English (CE) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to extract and interpret the co-occurring linguistic features of routine AE and non-routine AE. The comparative MD analysis shows that AE exhibits more information condensation, less authorial stance and technicality, and fewer features of online information elaboration compared to CE. The EFA shows variations in the linguistic and textual composition of the two sub-registers of AE across two dimensions. Non-routine AE demonstrates a present-focused, viewpoint/intention-oriented approach, involving higher levels of integrative information flow compared to routine AE. Routine AE is characterized by a higher degree of information condensation and is marked by a planned, procedural, and intensive use of standard phraseology. Some pedagogical implications are then proposed for enhancing AE training to cultivate pilots' and air traffic controllers' language competence for precise, unambiguous communication tailored to both routine and non-routine operational contexts.

This situated case study focuses on two international doctoral students' academic socialization processes in conference presentation preparation sessions in an engineering research team at a university located in the United States. Language socialization theory (Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986) and dramaturgical theory (Goffman, 1959) were utilized as conceptual lenses to examine the students' academic socialization processes. Based on ethnographic observations, videotaping of team interactions, and semi-structured interviews, the study focused on the research team's use of corrective feedback as the unit of analysis. The findings showed that the research team socialized the students into specific ways of using language on PowerPoint slides, professional vision, and oral conference performance. The study contributes to existing research by discussing 1) how academic socialization is inextricably linked with various competencies and thus is a multifaceted process, and 2) the systematic nature of academic discourse socialization in communities of practice which are located at the intersections of professional and academic interaction.