General English or ESP/EAP? Rethinking College Students’ Needs for GE and ESP/EAP

• Published in: 영어어문교육, 20(1) pp. 133 - 156
• Main Author: 이지영
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국영어어문교육학회 01.03.2014
• Subjects: 영어와문학
• ISSN: 1226-2889

The purpose of the study was to explore English as foreign language (EFL) college students’ needs for General English (GE) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) or English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in terms of their attitudes towards the English courses in the EFL contexts. This study addressed the following key questions: (1) What are the EFL college students’ needs for GE and ESP/EAP? (2) What are their attitudes towards GE and ESP/EAP by gender, major, and English proficiency? and (3) Which between GE and ESP/EAP do they prefer depending on their experience of taking English-medium instruction (EMI) classes? A survey questionnaire was administered to 248 EFL college students in South Korea, and the results showed that the students needed speaking the most for GE, and having an advantage with regard to jobs for ESP/EAP. To triangulate the findings and to attain a more in-depth understanding of the learners’ needs, 15 college students were also interviewed. They preferred GE to ESP/EAP whether they had or had not experienced taking EMI classes. Accordingly, the results of this study invite discussions on the implementation of English courses in universities and offer pedagogical implications for language instructors, curriculum designers, and university administrators. KCI Citation Count: 10