LSP theory and second language acquisition

Since the early 1960s LSP research has been dominated by English forSpecial Purposes, as the increasing importance of English as an internationallanguage led to rapid growth in the demand for higher education throughEngl ish, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. This in turn createda huge international market for English language courses designed to preparestudents to follow degree programmes, mostly in science and technology.The research produced in language teaching and learning for special purposeswhich resulted from this activity is in many ways ahead of research relatingto the teaching of other languages to students or specialists in areas such asbusiness, science and technology. In these circumstances it is natural thatteachers and researchers in other languages should consult published ESPresearch with a view to applying it to their own activity. It is the aim of thisstudy to investigate to what extent the research which has been carried outin ESP can be applied to the teaching of other languages for special purposes.