Challenges of Teaching English for Specific Purposes in Vietnam and Solutions: A Case Study of Legal English

In the last few years, English for specific purposes (ESP) has drawn attention from language educators in Vietnam due to its practical value in the workplace. Unlike general English, ESP is depicted to meet learners’ needs and focuses on the use of language skills in specific situations (Dudley-Evans, 1997). Unfortunately, many non-native English teachers are facing difficulties teaching ESP. The most common problem is “the new realms of knowledge the ESP teacher has to cope with” (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). Most ESP teachers do not have much-specialized knowledge due to their major in English linguistics, literature, or English language pedagogy. In addition, general English curricula can not be applied to ESP classes due to differences in learning outcomes, which confuse English teachers in selecting suitable teaching material, designing and adapting coursebooks, and learning activities. In legal English, teachers also share the same problems. Therefore, the presenter aims to explain these difficulties with a more in-depth view and emphasize the importance of needs analysis in ESP in supplying helpful information regarding learners’ needs for their learning courses. In addition, several typical teaching methods and techniques will be introduced to support ESP teachers in general and legal English teachers in particular, including “easification” (Bhatia, 1983) and examples of task-oriented activities. Key words: ESP, legal English, need analysis, easification, task-oriented activities.