Digitalising ESP: Embracing progress, following the trends

Abstract

The rapid developments of technology brought about by the advent of the fourth industrial revolution have affected all fields including business, science, engineering, technology, health, and education, among others. The integration of technology and digitalisation of the language learning and teaching processes have been at the centre of research for decades. Based on learners’ specialised needs and drawing from language used in particular domains, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a field in which technology can play a major role in the language teaching and learning processes. This paper focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of an English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) course for students of Commerce, Finance and Shipping at the Cyprus University of Technology based on the latest theories of learning. More specifically, the paper elaborates on the principles on which the course curriculum was built following social constructivist and connectivist approaches. Furthermore, it presents the technologies and tools which were utilised during the course (Google Workspace for Education, Netflix, etc.) explaining the reasoning behind their choice. It also provides information on the teaching methodologies, materials, tasks and assessment processes used in the course. Finally, the paper sheds light on how students evaluated the course during the semester and upon its completion. The data related to the evaluation of the course were elicited through students’ reflections during the course and an electronic questionnaire administered to the students after the course was completed. The paper yields useful insights for stakeholders, course designers, language teachers, ESP practitioners or anyone interested in ESP or Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) in general.