Abstract
ii ABSTRACT This study was carried out to find out if English, related to the students' specific purposes, can be learnt by students in mixed-discipline classes, as well as by students who learn English for their specific purposes in homogeneous classes, and to provide this, whether an efficient ESP course syllabus can be designed and run. This research project is a three-year experimental study conducted on the undergraduate preparatory-level university students of various disciplines but grouped in the same classes (mixed-discipline/non-homogeneous classes). The main and the most important aspect of this research study is to answer the needs of the universities that are financially inadequate to run English courses for a few students' individual specific purposes in homogeneous classes. Therefore, this study designs a course which would be financially inexpensive in adaptation, easily applicable in any university preparatory programme or in any language centre, and also efficient enough for the requirements of the target community. The focus of this study is on the undergraduate preparatory students in non-homogeneous classes (mixed-classes) learning basic English for their specific purposes (here academic), to prepare them for their first-year departmental courses, and to answer the requirements of the target communities, which are the departments the students will study on in the future. Chapter 1 introduces a brief description of the core of the study, the problem, the purpose, the assumptions, and the limitations. Chapter 2 reviews literature relevant to the subject. It covers information about the major trends and the general principles of syllabus design, and also the definitions, related to concepts such as `ESP`, `Authenticity`, `Autonomous Learning`. Chapter 3 presents the research design and methodology, working hypothesis and the rationale for the study. Also, it is in this chapter that our model course design, participants, testing and evaluation criterion are introduced. Chapters Ü, 5, and 6 cover the data analysis. In the final chapter the significant conclusions and some practical suggestions are presented. The overall conclusion of this present study is that there is no need to have homogeneous classes to teach ESP. It can also be learnt in mixed-discipline classes as well as in homogeneous ones. To provide this, an effective course which would be financially inexpensive in adaptation, easily applicable in any university preparatory programme or in any language centre, and also efficient enough for the requirements of the target community can be designed and run.-
