An experiment in minimal teacher- training for ESP

This article is an account of a teacher-training session aimed at presenting ESP to a group of in-service of EFL trainees. The following areas are given priority: basic information on ESP; procedures for course-design; criteria for evaluating course materials; criteria for selecting or establishing classroom procedures.

The materials and the approach for each part of the presentation are described. The case-study, concerning the planning of a course for hotel personnel, is produced here in a more extended and detailed format, as it is felt that this part may offer guidelines for teachers who work under similar constraints as the ones described herein.

From a methodological standpoint, syllabus design is focused on the learning environment of a school-based ESP course rather than on specification of vocational/professional target needs alone; and classroom procedures are considered to derive from the evaluation of crucial variables pertaining to the classroom situation rather than from a priori judgement.