Local Content, Universal Applicability: Domesticating the Pedagogy of English for Global Relevance

Abstract

In recent times, English, as a second language as well as official language in developing multilingual and multicultural nations of the world, has suffered a setback in its teaching/learning process. Given the research findings so far, the traditional General Purpose (GP) approach to its teaching and learning no longer appears to yield the needed result as competence is on a continuous decline. A new global approach to the teaching of the language to adult learners is English for Specific Purposes (ESP), which is more learner-centered and takes into consideration the specific needs of learners rather than teachers’ perceived needs of their learners in the GP approach. This is expected to redress the dwindling performance in a language that is used in almost all domains. In this state-of-the-art paper, in the light of the extant literature, the author argues that if the ESP approach is adopted in the teaching of English as a second language, there will be improved performance in an environment where English is competing with various indigenous languages, as is the case in many colonized African nations of the world, such as Nigeria. Also, where English is used as a Foreign Language (EFL) in non-English speaking countries that desire its use for international cooperation, in the areas of commerce, access to scientific information as well as diplomacy, improved performance is expected. In the light of extant literature, ESP is an alternative approach, which is considered a form of domestication, based on the principle of selection, exclusion and inclusion. This is a principle that makes the language more learner-friendly, more effective and more relevant in a world that is fast becoming a global village with a meeting point in English used in interactions among multinational corporations.