ESP Giants at TESOL 2015 in Toronto!

TESOL 2015 Convention Blog Post

Hello, ESPers worldwide!

If you were able to attend the conference in Toronto, I would love to hear your voice in the comments to this TESOL Blog post below! Since I was unable to attend the conference this year, I did the next best thing. I stayed in contact with TESOL ESP IS leaders throughout the conference. In what follows in this blog post, I will share with you some of the comments that I received. Enjoy!

ESP Preconvention Institute

Based on feedback from participants, the all-day ESP PCI was a great success! Since it focused on ESP best practices in program design, development, implementation and evaluation, participants came with a focus on English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and/or English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). They ranged from newcomers to the field, looking for guidance in designing new classes/programs, to experienced ESP practitioners, appreciating the chance to reflect on their current program practices and expand their network of colleagues. They represented a range of industries and content disciplines: aviation, business, computer science, economics, engineering, food science/dietetics, health professions, tourism and hospitality, and customized programs in a wide variety of domains. Participants were from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Canada, and the United States.

Kay Westerfield, Cofounder of the ESP IS

ESP Interest Section Open Meeting

ESP IS members were pleased to welcome John Swales and Ann Johns, pioneers in the field of ESP and early strong supporters in the establishment of the ESP Interest Section, to the ESP IS Open Meeting on Wednesday night.

Kay Westerfield, Cofounder of the ESP IS

When Kay brought John Swales, Ann Johns, and Christine Feak to our open meeting, John reflected on when he had been invited years ago, maybe in our 3rd/4th year of the IS and was given Honorary membership in the IS. Ann and John were honored then so those in the ESP IS (young organizationally) realized that in fact ESP already had a history and a solid one.

At that time, Monique Memet, ESPer from France brought a bottle of French wine for John and Ann, and they were given a reproduction of an ancient hieroglyphics of presumably the oldest “language for specific purposes” artifact, an ancient Egyptian medical prescription from the University of Pennsylvania Museum shop!

Margaret van Naerssen, Two-Time Past Chair of the ESP IS

This was my third open meeting. As in the previous two years, I felt the sensation of being in the presence of ESP giants. That feeling was particularly keen this year because John Swales and Ann Johns were with us. It was a very humbling experience, indeed!

It seems many of the practitioners in the room somehow found themselves in the realm of ESP without the firm foundations that these leaders have laid before us. One of our points of discussion was this lack of formal ESP training, and how that leaves many of us feeling overwhelmed. We broke up into smaller groups and discussed ways that our IS can help address this issue both by tying those new to ESP with foundational ESP principles and practices, but also how to continue discussions throughout the year that will build on those skills and help us sharpen one another. These discussions were facilitated greatly by having some of our revered veterans in the room. The group I was in came up with two concrete ideas: 1). Dig out those foundational materials that already exist to make them more accessible to new members. 2). Do regular profiles of ESP practitioners to share what people are up to and compare projects.

I look forward to working with the steering board and TESOL to see these ideas become a reality.

Jackie Gishbaugher, Chair of the ESP IS

Organizational Needs Assessment

Anne Lomperis and John Butcher gave a fascinating presentation Thursday morning, reminding us of the importance of doing an Organizational Needs Assessment before beginning a project–and looking at the importance of starting at the top down, before even beginning to deliver training.

This was done in the context of a project in Saudi Arabia involving a joint project through the University of Akron and center in Saudi for training young men to learn the chemistry and whole process of making rubber tires. Anne, John Butcher, and Rashid (sp.? )–via Skype–were the presenters. John has been doing much of the work on the ground in Saudi Arabia.

John is now also on the ESP IS Steering Board as English for Occupational Purposes Rep.

Margaret van Naerssen, Two-Time Past Chair of the ESPIS

Multilingual Scholars’ Scientific Writing for Publication

Today I attended a very good presentation by James Cororan, OISE/University of Toronto, reporting on his program on supporting multilingual scholars’ scientific writing for publication at Mexico University (UNAM). He refers to the scholars as emerging multilingual scholars and not as nonnative English speakers. He reported on THEIR perspectives as well as that of their established scientist faculty members. A very interesting idea he had was to bring in editors of various professional journals to speak with his students. A description of his presentation is in the program book.

Margaret van Naerssen, Two-Time Past Chair of the ESPIS

Coffee Shop at the Convention Center

The coffee shop in the convention center, The Second Cup, serves a maple sugar infused latte–with maple sugar also sprinkled on top. Ahhh.

Margaret van Naerssen, Two-time past Chair of the ESPIS

Don’t you wish that you had been able to attend? I do! If you were able to attend, please share your comments below for the benefit of all of us!

All the best,

Kevin