Students’ perceptions of the impact of EGP and ESP courses on their English language development: Voices from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Abstract This study examines how Saudi undergraduate students perceive the impact of their courses in English for General Purposes (EGP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) on their academic language improvement and usage in degree courses in which English is the medium of instruction. Students were surveyed to collect their views regarding their struggles with academic speaking, writing, reading and listening. The questionnaire, adopted from Evans and Green (2007), was supplemented with interviews and focus group discussions. The results indicate that recognising the meanings of unfamiliar terms was the students’ greatest difficulty that resulted in poor performance in all four English skills. The students had considerable appreciation for the ESP course, particularly in enhancing their knowledge of technical terms, while they complained that EGP and ESP courses failed to enhance their overall English ability. They pointed out inadequacies linked to the way the courses were implemented and offered suggestions that should be considered when planning future courses. This article concludes by discussing the implications of the study in the Saudi context.