The Effectiveness of ESP Teachers' and Learners' World Englishes Conceptualization on ESP Learners' Speaking, across Gender

Learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) aims to equip its learners to communicate in the multicultural work domain. The new emphases in learning ESP at the university level include the evolution of ESP itself over the last 50 years, and the challenges that ESP students face in speaking English. Conversely, the prevalence of World Englishes (WEs) in university contexts has made it relevant to TEIL. Because ESP aims to equip learners with practical communication skills, English Language Teaching (ELT) programmers must consider alternative approaches to address ESP students' speaking problems. This study explores the effectiveness of WEs conceptualization on ESP students' speaking achievements. It involved 11 teachers and 155 ESP learners from universities. They completed the WEs conceptualization questionnaires and a Preliminary Speaking Sample test. The study selected male and female samples with high mid and low conceptualization. Two-way ANOVA analysis confirms a statistically significant interaction of WEs conceptualization and gender on ESP students speaking, which reinforces the applicability of WEs in ESP classes. Knowledge about WEs develops teachers'/students' conceptualization of sociolinguistic truths and enhances speaking. The knowledge of WES has made it an applicable multicultural solution. Its sociolinguistic and pedagogical outcomes benefit ESP students, curriculum developers, and in-service teachers.