Materials development and English for specific purposes

In this chapter, I begin by defining materials , before discussing how materials can be more or less specialized and how English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials writers can liaise with disciplinary or workplace specialists in various ways to better ensure the suitability of their materials. I then differentiate between three approaches to researching materials. Studies of content investigate what materials include or exclude, such as in terms of topic, linguistic information, pedagogy, and culture. Studies of consumption examine how teachers and learners use materials. And studies of production focus on how materials are designed and the constraints placed upon materials writers, for example by textbook publishers or by ministries of education. I discuss studies of ESP materials from each of these perspectives. The final two sections of the chapter look at two areas of ESP which have attracted much interest: critical ESP and materials for English for research publication purposes (ERPP).