Glossary of TEFL Acronyms

ESP - English for Specific Purposes: This term refers to teaching a specific genre of English for students with specific goals. Examples include English for Academic Purposes (students will enter an English-speaking university), business English (for business people), medical English (for nurses, doctors, other health care professionals). ESP can be (as the name implies) very specific -- a growing market is English language computer support personnel. In sum, ESP is English for vocational purposes, where the word vocation is used loosely to include education and all kinds of employmemt.