ESP vs EGP

ESP teaching approach is known to be learner-centred where learners’ needs and goals are of supreme value, whereas General English approach is language-centred, and focuses on learning language from a broad perception covering all the language skills and the cultural aspects of the English speaking community.

Robinson (1980, p. 6) states that “the general with which we are contrasting the specific is that of General education for life, culture and literature oriented language course in which the language itself is the subject matter and the purpose of the course”. However, In ESP after the identification and the analysis of specific learning needs, students learn “English en route to the acquisition of some quite different body of knowledge and set of skills” (p. 6).

Further distinction between General English courses and ESP is that, learners of the latter are mainly adult with a certain degree of awareness concerning their language needs (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). Whereas, General English courses are provided to pupils as a compulsory module at schools, their unique purpose is to succeed in the examinations.

Basturkmen (2006) maintains that General English Language teaching tends to set out from a definite point to an indeterminate one, whereas ESP aims to speed learners and direct them through to a known destination in order to reach specific objectives. “The emphasis in ESP on going from A to B in the most time- and energy-efficient manner can lead to the view that ESP is an essentially practical endeavour” (Basturkmen, 2006, p. 9). It is observed from the above distinctions that ESP and General English are different in the aims and objectives of the courses, the nature of the learners and the themes. The latter is also a point of disagreement between the linguists concerning ESP branches or the categorization of its subjects of practice.