ESP vs. EGP: Investigating English Needs of University Students in Transportation Science

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate the English needs of Transportation Science students and examine similarities or differences between teachers’ and students’ perceptions on their needs; specifically, this study attempted to understand their views on English for general purposes (EGP) courses and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) ones. For these purposes, a questionnaire survey was distributed to senior students. Then, eight volunteered students, two English instructors and three subject instructors were interviewed. Based on the questionnaire and interview data, four themes were identified. First, Transportation Science students’ English needs and wants were different from their English lacks. Although the results showed that the students lacked ESP skills, they believed that they needed and wanted to learn EGP skills. Second, both instructors and students agreed that students needed to improve general English proficiency, especially speaking. On the other hand, the instructors questioned the feasibility of ESP courses due to the lack of qualified ESP instructors. Finally, regarding their views on ESP courses and EGP courses, both instructors and students held a similar view that EGP courses were more essential than ESP courses as it was more urgent to improve students’ general English proficiency.