English for Specific Purposes
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ESP Teaching in the Light of globalization:

A Cross-Cultural Proposal

Awicha BENABDALLAH

Abstract:

Taking into account that learning any language -be it in the inner or outer centers- is closely bound to learn about its social, political and cultural contexts, the intercultural awareness to language teaching/ learning is, consequently, believed to be one among the other paradigms required to display a kind of intercultural communication among members of the same discourse community. It becomes necessary, thus, if not compulsory, for the EFL as well as ESP teachers to adopt or adapt a range of intercultural activities so that to promote the learners’ cross-cultural understanding enabling them at the same time to have a global access to knowledge.

This paper is in fact an attempt at shedding some fresh lights on the underlying assumption of incorporating the intercultural aspect in EFL teaching in general and ESP in particular. This latter, however,  requires a basic understanding of the role of the ESP teacher in designing an innovative framework based fundamentally on the new perspective and strategies for teaching the intercultural sensitivity and consequently training their Intercultural Communicative Competence. In this vein, the main problematic would be as follows how one -as an ESP teacher- may manage an intercultural approach with our ESP learners’ requirements?

Key-words:

ESP Teaching;  Intercultural Communication; Intercultural Competence;  Strategies.

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