Implementation and peculiarities of English for specific purposes course design at Ogarev's Mordovia State University

Abstract

The following article provides the description of implementing ESP (English for Specific Purposes) courses in both foreign and Russian higher educational institutions and deals with the experience of ESP teaching at Ogarev Mordovia State University (Saransk, Russia). The purpose of the study is to consider some practical challenges and tasks of teaching ESP on both international and Russian level and provide the possible solutions for them. Due to high relevance of the stated problem, the authors pay much attention to the review of literature, pointing out some of the most prominent scholars, who have studied theoretical and practical aspects of ESP teaching process and greatly contributed to the increase of scientific awareness in the field. The authors analyze the typical issues arising in the University teaching practice and point out such aspects as: the importance of proper selection of educational materials for the ESP training courses, the issue of homogeneous or so-called ‘multilevel’ academic groups, the necessity for thorough and due ESP course design and development etc. Several important conclusions are made: the authors point out the importance of thorough students’ needs analysis prior to starting a course; the possible scenarios for significant adaptation of course contents due to constant changes in national educational standards and curricula hours; the highly responsible role of an ESP teacher, a professional, performing multiple assignments.