Teaching vocabulary and terminology to arts students in a general English course

The article suggests a new approach to vocabulary and terminology teaching to arts (and possibly other specialties) students within teaching them general English (GE). Teaching English for specific purposes (ESP) is normally viewed as attainable at B2 or higher levels of English proficiency. However, teaching GE at higher educations institutions (HEIs) may be de/unmotivating for students. That is why the article suggests teaching ‘pre-ESP’ to GE students to increase their motivation and engagement. A qualitative study – an interview of 10 English teachers working at three Georgian HEIs delivering arts programs – was conducted. Purposeful selection of interviewees was applied. The obtained results reveal that teachers confirm de/unmotivation of many arts students while studying GE, which is explained by the lack of links with their future professions. The teachers try to compensate it by introducing themselves arts-related topics, vocabulary and terminology and arts-based activities. This is why they believe that an art-oriented GE textbook would help them to teach more efficiently. However, they expect a possible resistance of administration based on the desire of following the existing practices and rigid curricula/syllabi. The article may be interesting for both practitioner teachers and researchers of teaching languages at HEIs.