What does the acronym ESP stand for?

• A. English for General Purposes
• B. English for Specific Purposes
• C. English for Professional Presentations
• D. English for Practical Communication

Answer: (B)

ESP stands for English for Specific Purposes. This approach centers on teaching the language that learners actually need for particular fields, jobs, or tasks, rather than a broad, general range of topics. So, a course might focus on medical English, English for aviation, English for business meetings, or English for academic writing in a specific discipline. The idea is to tailor vocabulary, genres, and discourse patterns to real tasks learners will perform in their field, making the language more directly transferable to work or study.

Compared to general English, which aims for broad communicative ability, ESP targets the specialized language and communication conventions of a chosen domain. The other options describe broader or different emphases, but they don’t capture the field- or task-specific focus that defines ESP.