DESIGNING AN ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP) CURRICULUM FOR SURVEYING SCIENCES

Abstract

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a distinct approach in English language teaching that caters to the equipment of language skills, grammatical properties, lexis, study skills, register and discourse based on the identification of actual needs in a target context. Though ESP curricula have been designed for diverse disciplines, a usable curriculum to address the authentic needs of Surveying Sciences undergraduates in Sri Lanka has not been available in both local and international contexts. Thus, the specific research focused on designing an ESP curriculum in exploring the research question as to how a standard ESP curriculum can be developed for Surveying Sciences. This pragmatic approach was used as opposed to general English curricula practised in Sri Lankan universities. Thus, the objectives of the study were to conduct a needs analysis, to decide language descriptions, learning theories, and course and syllabus design, to develop materials and to decide evaluation strategies. To accumulate data, the sample was primarily obtained from the Faculty of Geomatics, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka which is the fully-fledged faculty for Surveying Sciences in the country at present; semi-structured and unstructured interviews were conducted with 72 second year undergraduates, 15 lecturers and 10 graduates. Moreover questionnaires were administered to 85 first year undergraduates along with systematic participant observation. Secondary data collection sources such as books, researches and journals were too utilized in building a firm theoretical background related to the discipline. The retrieved data were analysed qualitatively. The target needs were identified to be the enhancement of communication competence of students and inculcation of Surveyingrelated terminologies, technical writing skills, and effective reading strategies via interesting task-based activities. A learner-centred course and an organizational syllabus based on structural and functional grammar were chosen based on the identified needs. Furthermore, authentic materials were selected to familiarize students with lexis, register, grammar and skills needed to ensure an effective performance in the target academic context. In terms of evaluation, both formative and summative assignments were used to demonstrate measurable outcomes of the designed ESP curriculum for Surveying Sciences.