ESSE conference - atelier "The Cultural Dimension in ESP: Time - and Locus - Related Determinants in Specialised Varieties of English"  

14th ESSE Conference, 29 August - 2 September 2018
Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

"The Cultural Dimension in ESP: Time - and Locus - Related Determinants in Specialised Varieties of English"

Convenors: Miguel Campos Pardillos, Shaeda Isani, Marcin ??czek, Michel Van der Yeught

As early as 1996, American anthropologist Michael Agar coined the term "languaculture" to define the intrinsic bond between a language and the culture in which it is used. In sharp contrast to earlier English for Specific Purposes (ESP) precepts based on a ?culture-free? approach, ESP scholars today highlight the importance of the socio-cultural dimension of ESP studies (Petit 2002, Belcher 2004, Parkinson 2013). Based on a triangulated perspective, this approach may be defined in terms of a language-locutor-environment triptych in which specialised language is produced by members of a discourse community interacting within the context of a specialised culture and environment and the dynamics of group identity. Given the coming of age of ESP studies as a research domain and its unique position as a truly worldwide discipline, this panel invites reflection on the cultural dimension of ESP with a particular focus on the determining role played by factors related to time (diachronic and/or synchronic) and locus. Within the general framework of the evolution of ESP studies, contributions may address the specificity of subject-domains and their evolution, national and historical characteristics of source and target cultures, technological advances, socio-economic phenomena such as globalisation, and the resulting impact on ESP teaching and learning practices. Other relevant problematisations will also be taken into consideration.

Please send your proposal (300 words + bibliography of no more than five titles, specify institution and laboratory) to the workshop?s co-chairs before 31st January 2018.

Miguel Campos Pardillos <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Shaeda Isani <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Marcin Laczek  <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Michel Van der Yeught <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>