CHALLENGES OF ESP PRACTICE AT NON-ENGLISH UNIVERSITIES

The rapid advancements in science and technology within the digital era have highlighted the limitations of traditional, teacher-centered language teaching models in addressing the evolving linguistic demands of learners. These models often fall short in equipping students with the necessary skills for effective communication in various professional fields such as business, engineering, medicine, hospitality, and education. The growing recognition of these gaps has drawn significant attention to English for Specific Purposes (ESP), a specialized approach to language teaching designed to meet the specific needs of learners in particular domains. ESP focuses on teaching English as a second or foreign language by tailoring course content and methodologies to the learners’ professional or academic goals (Ahmed, 2014; Otilia, 2015). Hutchinson and Waters (1987) described ESP as an approach where all decisions regarding content and methods are driven by the learners’ motivations and requirements for learning.