Vol. 16, Issue 1, Jul-Dec 2023

Page: 1-7

PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES TEACHERS IN IRAQ

Zainab Tariq Abdul Kareem

Received Date:

Accepted Date:

Published Date:

English language has become the lingua franca, people around the world learning English for specific purposes. The aim of this study is to investigate the most common challenges that the teachers of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in Iraq face when they give lectures to students who study different majors in English language. The study uses a quantitative research design using a questionnaire survey to collect data from 50 ESP teachers in Iraq in the studying years 2017/2018. The findings showed that teachers face three types of challenges which are: students related challenges like students low proficiency and lack of learners' needs analysis, teachers related challenges like lack of qualifications, lack of specialised knowledge and lack of contact with subject teachers, and environment and context related challenges like the lack of suitable teacher material, the heavy focus on examination and large number of students in the classroom. The study recommends that teachers should be carefully trained and makes workshops with subject teachers to expand their understanding.

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