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Article published In: Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 37:1 (2024) ► pp.299–334

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Further step toward a definition of the core professional development needs of teachers of Languages for Specific Purposes in the European Higher Education Area

ORCiD logo with link | University of Ljubljana
 | University of Ljubljana
ORCiD logo with link | University of Ljubljana
Published online: 29 January 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.21039.jur
Abstract
In the attempt to make a further step toward a research-based definition of the core professional development needs of teachers of languages for specific purposes (LSP), this paper aims to upgrade the framework of professional development needs of LSP teachers developed by Bocanegra-Valle, A., & Basturkmen, H. (2019). Investigating the teacher education needs of experienced ESP teachers in Spanish universities. Iberica, 381, 127–150.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar. With this objective in mind, the paper will examine the differences in the professional development needs of LSP teachers in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) based on their experience with LSP teaching in higher education, qualification level, and LSP taught. The results suggest that the core LSP teacher professional development needs are distributed across the categories of course development, knowledge of the target discipline/profession/industry, knowledge of language use in the target discipline/profession/industry, peer collaboration, and professional development opportunities. Efficient LSP teacher professional development could be based on a three-stage model: a general LGP teaching methodology course, followed by a general LSP teaching methodology course, and finally discipline-specific acculturation.
Resumen
Un paso más hacia una definición de las necesidades básicas del desarrollo profesional de los profesores de Lengua para Fines Específicos en el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior
En un intento de dar un paso más hacia una definición basada en la investigación de las necesidades básicas del desarrollo profesional de los profesores de Lengua para Fines Específicos (LFE), este artículo tiene como finalidad actualizar el marco de necesidades del desarrollo profesional de los profesores de LFE diseñado por Bocanegra-Valle, A., & Basturkmen, H. (2019). Investigating the teacher education needs of experienced ESP teachers in Spanish universities. Iberica, 381, 127–150.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar. Con este objetivo, la presente investigación examina las diferencias en las necesidades del desarrollo profesional de los profesores de LFE en el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES) en función de su experiencia con la enseñanza de LFE en la educación superior, el nivel de cualificación y la LFE impartida. Los resultados sugieren que sus principales necesidades se distribuyen entre las siguientes categorías: desarrollo del curso, conocimiento de la disciplina/profesión/industria meta, conocimiento del uso de la lengua en la disciplina/profesión/industria meta, colaboración entre pares y oportunidades de desarrollo profesional. Por consiguiente, el desarrollo profesional de un profesor de LFE eficiente podría basarse en un modelo constituido por tres etapas: un curso general de metodología de la enseñanza de Lengua para Fines Generales (LFG), seguido de un curso general de metodología de la enseñanza de la LFE y, por último, la aculturación específica de la disciplina.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Instruments and data collection
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1What are the core professional development needs of LSP teachers in the EHEA?
      • 4.1.1Course development needs
      • 4.1.2Knowledge of the target discipline/profession/industry
      • 4.1.3Knowledge of language use in the target discipline/profession/industry
      • 4.1.4Peer collaboration
      • 4.1.5Professional development opportunities
    • 4.2How do the core professional development needs of LSP teachers in the EHEA differ depending on the LSP teacher’s experience, qualification level, and LSP taught?
      • 4.2.1LSP teacher’s experience
      • 4.2.2Qualification level
      • 4.2.3LSP taught
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
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