TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES: CHARACTERISTICS OF SPECIALIZED DISCOURSE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS

Abstract

In this paper, we point out the importance of specialized discourse very obvious in some of the various activities/exercises used in the textbooks of English for specific purposes taught at the Polytechnic University of Tirana as well as the features that characterize this discourse, clearly reflected in the textbooks.  History of the ESP methods used in this educational institution, which of course over the years and with the development of technology have been better adapted to the concrete needs of engineering students, giving a very important role to terminology and the communicative aspect of the language.

The purpose of the paper is to highlight the importance and features of the specialized discourse used in university textbooks for teaching/learning a foreign language for specific purposes, focusing not only on the terminology of the field of study, but also on other elements of this discourse, which distinguish it from other discourses. It is these elements that make the difference in the various activities/exercises used in these textbooks, making the process of giving and receiving knowledge in specific fields more accurate and sometimes simpler, and thus also bringing the change in approach between the teaching/learning of the general language and that of language for specific purposes.