A Critical Evaluation of the Iranian Universities’ English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) Courses: the Case of the ESAP Courses for Engineering Students of the Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University

As one of the major strands of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) movement, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses play a significant role in equipping university students with the necessary competence to handle the academic discourse. On account of the effects that the specific knowledge of English language, its macro- and micro-skills have on the students’ post-graduate studies and future job, this study was conducted to critically evaluate the English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) courses of the Iranian Universities. For this reason, the ESAP courses of the power electrical, mechanical and civil engineering of Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University were selected and through classroom observations, interviewing the instructors, questionnaires for students and evaluating the text-books, useful information about strengths and weaknesses of these courses was revealed. It is hoped that the implications and suggestions offered in this study will be helpful to ameliorate the EAP status of the Iranian Universities.

Keywords:

ELT , ESP , EAP , EGAP , ESAP , language , skills , macro-skills , micro-skills , evaluation