An Empirical Study on Enhancing Linguistic Skillsthrough English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Course for Pharmacy Students

摘要

The concept of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is extremely important as it is lays emphasis on the learner’s need for learning. This paper is a study on the need for conducting linguistic need analysis for learners of ESP courses. The sample chosen for the study was 280 students belonging to the undergraduate pharmacy course. The researcher also ensured that the 280 students had similar demographic details. The sample was further grouped in two groups –140 students belonging to the Experimental group and 140 students belonging to the Control group. Before the course the linguistic need analysis test was conducted for both the group on the four linguistic skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing). The pretest of the Experimental group was studied and the researcher tailored the syllabus, lesson plans and teaching methods/style to suit the needs of the learners of the Experimental group. The pretest results of the Control group were studied only after the post test was conducted. The researcher did not tailor the course to suit the learner’s of the Control group. The findings of the study conclude that the learners of the Experimental group performed better in the post test administered to both the groups. The placement records also show that 67% of students of the Experimental group were employed and the remaining 33% opted for higher studies/marriage/business. Whereas only 32% of students of the Control group were employed and the remaining 31% wanted to be employed and 37% opted for higher studies/marriage/business.