English for Specific Purposes in Spanish Higher Education Settings: A Diagnostic Focus on Students‟ Preliminary Language Awareness, Attitudes and Expectations
|
| Title | English for Specific Purposes in Spanish Higher Education Settings: A Diagnostic Focus on Students‟ Preliminary Language Awareness, Attitudes and Expectations |
| Authors | |
| Abstract | The present study tries to illustrate and analyse the initial or preliminary level of ‘ESP awareness’ that Spanish students from different scientific degrees have when first joining an ESP course. It also seeks to examine their motivations, expectations and attitudes towards the subject. By means of an anonymous questionnaire filled in during the first session of the course, Spanish students from Pharmacy, Biology and Environmental Sciences degrees reflected on the ESP teaching-learning process. The results obtained have revealed the (too) many aspects of specialised languages that students are not familiar with and the preliminary lack, in general, of basic English language knowledge from their disciplines. Presumably, as this and further studies on the topic will try to corroborate, this may be due to a nearly total lack of exposure to English language both in their everyday life and in their degrees, something illogical given the lingua franca status of this language nowadays and thus its importance in the transmission and spreading of scientific knowledge and results. On the basis of students’ answers and views on the different aspects posed, a series of conclusions have been drawn and a broad course of action grounded on awareness-raising practices and students’ attitudes and expectations has been suggested with the aim of overcoming the problems and inconsistencies brought to light by the questionnaires. Hence, this study is intended to be the first in a series analysing final performance and thus the evolution experienced. |
| Publisher | ACADEMY PUBLISHER |
| Date | 2012-03-01 |
| Source | Theory and Practice in Language Studies Vol 2, No 3 (2012) |
| Rights | Copyright © ACADEMY PUBLISHER - All Rights Reserved.To request permission, please check out URL: http://www.academypublisher.com/copyrightpermission.html. |