ABSTRACT

Global economic exchange and trade have led to the expansion of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses in many Asian higher education institutions. A similar demand for ESP course design is observed in the Cambodian higher education context, mainly triggered by the ASEAN economic integration in 2015, which introduced English as the working language of the ASEAN member countries. Despite the development of ESP courses in the Asian region, research on how ESP course development addresses Asian student needs remains limited. To address this gap, this study examined the perceptions of both academic and industry stakeholders on challenges and measures needed for designing an ESP course in the field of STEM in a Cambodian tertiary institution. Data were obtained using document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 24 stakeholders, which were thematically analysed. Several challenges were reported, which comprised shortage of appropriate ESP training for teachers, lack of teacher motivation, students’ low English proficiency and difficulties in materials development for that context. The study discusses recommendations for ESP course design in STEM in the higher education context in Cambodian and other Asian EFL contexts with similar circumstances.

摘要

全球经济交流和贸易导致许多亚洲高等教育机构扩展了特定用途英语 (ESP) 课程。在柬埔寨高等教育背景下观察到对 ESP 课程设计的类似需求，主要是由 2015 年东盟经济一体化引发的，其中将英语作为东盟成员国的工作语言。尽管 ESP 课程在亚洲地区有所发展，但关于 ESP 课程开发如何满足亚洲学生需求的研究仍然有限。为了解决这一差距，本研究调查了学术界和行业利益相关者对在柬埔寨高等教育机构设计 STEM 领域的 ESP 课程所需的挑战和措施的看法。数据是通过对 24 个利益相关者的文件分析和半结构化访谈获得的，进行了主题分析。据报道，存在一些挑战，包括教师缺乏适当的 ESP 培训、教师缺乏动力、学生的英语水平低以及针对这种情况的材料开发困难。该研究讨论了在柬埔寨和其他具有类似情况的亚洲 EFL 环境中高等教育环境中 STEM ESP 课程设计的建议。