These days, the resources that we have online for training teachers are phenomenal, compared to what they were when the fax machine was still in use and e-mail was amazingly slow. It was during that period of time, long ago, when I introduced T-Mail (training mail) to train teachers in Japan. In my presentation, I shared examples of online efforts to train teachers using relatively simple technology in the hope that those English for Specific Purposes practitioners (ESPers) doing work in countries less technologically advanced would benefit. The five challenges and solutions that I presented were as follows:

The first challenge was the need to train a large faculty (primarily 100 to 200 part-time trainers) at a career college in Tokyo where there was no budget for substantial training. The solution was to create T-Mail, which was e-mail adapted to meet the needs of corporate trainers. T-mail was also used to create training programs related to stakeholder satisfaction and global focus themes. In addition, teacher-training websites were created with one of the websites focusing on standards.

The second challenge was the need for a communication tool that could be used to train ESPers and their corporate clients. The solution was a PowerPoint created by four authors from the TESOL ESP-IS over a 1-year period and titled “English for Specific Purposes: An Overview for Practitioners and Clients (Academic & Corporate).” This PowerPoint can be accessed in the TESOL Resource Center.

The third challenge was the need to provide professional development for ESPers year-round. The solution was the TESOL Community Discussions (2011–2012), which were five 1-month long discussions conducted on the TESOL Community. One was a collaborative discussion between the ESP-IS and the Intercultural Communication Interest Section. Another was a collaborative discussion between the ESP groups of TESOL and IATEFL. These can both be accessed in the TESOL Community.

The fourth challenge was the need to share information about ESP resources with ESPers worldwide. This need emerged in the aforementioned online discussion between TESOL and IATEFL. The solution was the launching of TESOL Blog posts under the title of “Global Resources and Leadership Development in ESP.” The collection of posts can be accessed in the TESOL Community as well on the TESOL Blog.

The fifth challenge was the need to explain “Principled ESP.” The first attempt to do so was the aforementioned ESP PowerPoint. Principled ESP was also discussed in the online discussion between TESOL and IATEFL. The solution in this case was a TESOL virtual seminar titled “Doing ‘Principled ESP’ – Best Practices and Case Studies.”  If you want to know more about Principled ESP, please check out these resources.

After these five examples were shared, I was approached by two teachers working in a country in the Middle East, and they requested a copy of my presentation. So, I guess my presentation was a success! I hope that you will also find some of these resources to be useful. Please feel free to forward them to others who may benefit.

Resources

English for specific purposes (ESP) around the world in academic and occupational contexts [TESOL Community discussion]. Retrieved from http://community.tesol.org/vb/showthread.php?t=177

Kertzner, D., Knight, K., & Swartley, E. (2012). Doing “principled ESP”: Best practices and case studies [TESOL virtual seminar]. Retrieved from http://eventcenter.commpartners.com/se/Meetings/Playback.aspx?meeting.id=381680

Knight, K. (2013). From T-mail to TESOL community discussions [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://community.tesol.org/library.htm?mode=view&did=162662&lid=58644&wf=58645

Knight, K. Global resources and leadership development in ESP [Blog posts]. In TESOL Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.tesol.org/author/kknight/

Knight, K., Lomperis, A., van Naerssen, M. & Westerfield, K. (2010). English for specific purposes: An overview for practitioners and clients (academic & corporate) [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://community.tesol.org/library/105081/1/1564_Knight_ESPPPTforTRC.pdf

The impact of culture on effective communication in ESP contexts [TESOL Community discussion]. Retrieved from http://community.tesol.org/vb/showthread.php?t=169

Kevin Knight (doctoral candidate in Linguistics, MBA, MPIA) is a past chair of the ESP-IS, and he is currently a member of the TESOL Board of Directors’ Mid-level Governance Review Task Force. He teaches English for Specific Purposes (ESP), business, and organizational leadership in the Department of International Communication (International Business Career Program) and the Career Education Center of Kanda University of International Studies in Japan. He has over 25 years of experience during which he has worked for private, public, and academic sector institutions including Sony and the Japan Patent Office. His doctoral research is on leadership communication and development.