A Critical Analysis of the ESP Textbooks for Japanese University Students of Science and Engineering

The appropriateness of teaching materials for ESP (English for Specific Purposes) courses is one of the most crucial aspects of ESP courses. However, ESP courses range from general ESP courses to highly technical ones depending on the needs of students as well as institutions. Some courses are heterogeneous classes with students of different disciplines whereas others are more homogeneous with students of same or similar majors or research areas. Choices of textbooks for the former type of classes could be of more general and diverse but not for the latter type that requires specific teaching materials for the specific majors of study. The development of specific teaching materials for both types of classes is equally challenging in varied aspects. The ESP practitioners without the specific technical knowledge of the disciplines and fields of research of the students naturally resort to using ready-made textbooks in the market, which could satisfy the needs of the mixed classes. Hence, it is of crucial importance that appropriate textbooks are selected. This study reports the results of a systematic overview and evaluation of the bestselling textbooks for EST (English for Science and Technology) courses at tertiary level in Japan. The methods of the overview are based on the following categories: types of syllabuses, pedagogy (exercises, activities, projects, etc.), content areas, medium of instruction, level of proficiency and technicality, supplementary documents such as index, appendices and glossary, and target students.