Update
Show Summary Details

Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD REFERENCE (www.oxfordreference.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single entry from a reference work in OR for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 12 February 2025

ESP (English for Specific/Special Purposes). 

Source:
The Oxford Companion to the English Language
Author(s):
Tom McArthurTom McArthur, Jacqueline Lam-McArthurJacqueline Lam-McArthur, Lise FontaineLise Fontaine

The English language taught for professional, vocational, and other specified purposes. Originating in courses of business English for foreign learners, ESP developed in the 1960s in response to demands for courses geared to practical and functional rather than educational and cultural ends. The transfer of money to the Middle East resulting from the oil revolution of ... ...

Access to the complete content on Oxford Reference requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can''t find the answer there, please contact us.