Theoretical Framework of ESP: The Major Case Studies in the Hotel Industry and Translation as Necessary Input

Abstract

The present paper aims at providing a theoretical overview of English for Specific Purposes as one of the major areas of EFL teaching since its beginnings in the 1960s. It presents the developments related with the theoretical aspects concerning ESP and needs analysis as the cornerstone in designing ESP courses in English language teaching and learning. The most influential ESP teaching theories are summarised briefly, beginning with register analysis which paved the way for course designers to design specific courses based on teaching the linguistic features of a language to the urgent need for developing communication and translation. At the end, based on the nature of the hotel industry, the purpose of this paper is twofold: 1) to mention some previous case studies related to hotels because most of the linguistic researches conducted by ESP specialists focused in particular on the formal aspects of a language especially in the academic field and neglected the needs of the occupational settings; 2) to discuss the major needs of the employees in hotels and the significance of translation in this industry and therefore proposing possible solutions to overcome any deficiencies.