LSP teacher education: Review of literature and suggestions for the research agenda

Abstract

Given the varied roles Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) teachers typically play and the demanding nature of LSP teaching, the literature on teacher education for LSP is surprisingly limited. This paper examines the literature on LSP teacher education including literature on teacher education in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). The Introduction discusses the needs of LSP teachers, whose work typically involves investigating needs and specialist discourse, developing courses and materials as well as classroom teaching. It is argued that teacher needs are an important basis for determining content for LSP teacher education programmes and that further research is needed to identify these needs. Section 2 identifies themes in the existing literature. It focuses on two themes in particular, the role of specialised knowledge and suggestions for the content of the teacher education programme. Section 3 discusses models of teacher education with particular reference to LSP in-service contexts. Section 4 identifies gaps in the literature and suggests topics for the research agenda to develop understanding of the nature of LSP teaching expertise