Potential for using a systemic structural activity theory in teaching English for specific purposes (ESP)

Abstract

This article looks into the potential for increasing students’ motivation to learn English for specific purposes by increasing their engagement. The authors suggest using well-established marketing tools to manage consumer involvement in the purchasing process and adapt them to teaching English for specific purposes (ESP). This can be achieved by using the systemic structural activity theory. Learning objectives should be formulated and implemented in accordance with the requirements of the theory. Under these conditions, a growing interest in the learning process leads to increased learning motivation and improved results. The use of marketing methods in the process of learning a foreign language can lead to even more curiosity and, consequently, to better academic performance during training. Student engagement is considered to be similar to consumer involvement. Thus, if we increase engagement, the teacher will be able to work with more motivated students and achieve better results through a more effective course. This is in accordance with the generally accepted aims of teaching English for special purposes (ESP). When developing approaches to increase involvement in the educational process, it is important to take the student’s position in the learning environment and their interaction with it into account. This problem is solved using the systemic structural activity theory (SSAT). An analysis of the theory leads to three main propositions. The first will be to introduce more interactive tasks based on the use of social networks and virtual communications, combined with greater independence in the choice of databases and information processing methods. The second proposal relates to project activities. The third proposal includes visits to business organizations by students. All three proposals involve the active use of business English. The proposed multidisciplinary approach can not only increase the effectiveness of specialized English courses, but also other disciplines and, therefore, improve the quality of education in general.