• Teaching Skills
• Teaching EFL Business English
• Teaching EFL Grammar
• Teaching EFL Listening
• Teaching EFL Pronunciation
• Teaching EFL Reading
• Teaching EFL with Gestures
• Teaching EFL Writing
• Teaching English for Special Purposes
• Teaching Methods for TEFL
Teaching English for Special Purposes
Teaching English for Special Purposes in the EFL Classroom
Basic Concepts:
Many people, when transitioning to a career in TEFL, forget that they have lots of experience, and sometimes education, in a specialized area. Rather than starting at the bottom rung in TEFL consider finding your own special niche where you can probably make more money, do a better job and enjoy yourself more.
Many people from Information Technology (IT) careers come to TEFL, for example. Their best job strategy would be to seek an English teaching position at a college or university that has an IT specialty. Most occupational specialties in foreign countries need English training. They need it either for university study and papers, research (most international research is published in English), or to run a business.
If you have a background in a special area, it is in your best interest to use it. You will know the specialized vocabulary of the business, will know how the business works and you will even have a curiosity about the business that other teachers won’t have. This makes you ideal to teach in that special niche.
Consider nursing, aviation training, business and marketing, chemicals, general medicine, engineering, hospitality (restaurant, hotel, and tourism industry), IT, law, construction technology, and every other possible major at a university or college. If you have such a skill/knowledge it would be well worth your time to seek employment in that area. DON’T go to the English department of a college or university, go to the department of your specialty and have them recommend you to the English department. You WILL be in demand.
If you have not already read the page on Teaching Business English, read it now.
Download and read the needs analysis worksheet on that page. You can use and adapt those pages to any form of ESP. A thorough needs analysis is the key to your success.
Expanded Concepts:
A couple examples of niche employment that the some people look for are Hospitality English and Business English. Lots of people have previous work experience either in a business or in a hotel or restaurant or tourism setting.
Here’s the difference:
Teach a few reception desk staff in an air conditioned classroom at a 5-star resort on a tropical island or 50 screaming kids in a hot classroom? Teach a small class of businesspeople at corporate headquarters or back to the screaming kindergarteners . . . Up to you . . . ESP has its advantages!
Nothing wrong with kindie kids – they are wonderful to teach, but often
more mature (read older . . .) teachers prefer a more sedate setting.
TEFL Lesson Planning
Lesson Planning for the EFL and ESL Classroom
We have created a podcast to complement this page. You can download it from our podcast page.
Basic Concepts:
A Lesson Plan is simply a step-by-step guide to what an EFL teacher plans to do in the classroom on a given day. The more detailed the step-by-step, the better. Ideally, you could not go to work on a given day and another teacher could read your lesson plan and know exactly how to teach your class on that day. A good lesson plan might even include specific gestures and cues used for various parts of the lesson. That’s how detailed your plan should be.
There are literally hundreds of types of lesson plans, but there is not one format accepted by all schools. Many schools have their own set format, others will let you use whatever format you like. There is; however, some general agreement about what should be included in a good lesson plan.
Generally agreed components of a lesson plan include:
Day/Date:
Lesson Name: What will you call the lesson?
Class/Level: Age, topic, skill level, class name
Materials: List everything you need to teach this lesson. List every possible thing you will need to take to the classroom, and/or obtain from the school to complete the lesson. This list can help you make sure you don’t forget any handouts or special materials that you need to take to the class.
Textbook/Course book name: From what book are you working – or drawing the lesson from?
Unit—title—page number: Specifically where in that book?
Goal/Aim: What are we working towards today. Describe the final result of the lesson in this format -
The students will be able to ___(do what?)________.
Example: The students will be able to ask and answer questions about their hobbies and interests
Grammar Structures Employed: (How are they formed?): Show the structures. Use a structure chart if needed.
Questions and Answers Relevant to your lesson: to be asked during the warm-up to elicit from students what they may or may not know about the topic to be covered.
NOTE: Lesson Begins Here
Warm-up: This includes a review (revision) of the previous lesson linked to this new lesson; questions and answers you have written above, used to elicit conversation using the new structures and function; to show examples of what your students will learn in this lesson. In some countries and with some age groups this may come in the form of a specifically designed game.
Presentation (or ESA format): Note the target language to be taught – and how you will teach it. Include how you will stimulate the student’s interest in the language and how you might elicit from the students the language you are planning to teach. Include details as specific as when you might model structures and dialog – and when you will require a repeated response (choral response) from the students. Include a structure chart for the grammar – or the dialog you intend to teach.
Practice: Include the specific activities and attach any handouts to the lesson plan. Include up to three practice activities – sequencing them from most to least structured – slowly giving the students more freedom.
Production: This is where students really learn and generalize a new language skill. Allow/encourage the students to talk about themselves, their lives, or specific situations using their own information – but focusing on the target language that was taught in the presentation – and practiced in the previous activities. Include exactly what you will ask the students to do – and that you (as throughout the lesson) intend to monitor students and encourage and correct them as needed in their use of the target language.
Conclusion: Discuss/recap what you have studied and learned during the lesson. In some countries and for some ages – this will be followed by a game that uses the target language.
Notes:
Many experienced teachers, once they have methodology set in their mind, write only minimally structured lesson plans as they will have developed a set routine for how they approach each lesson. New teachers should develop the habit though of rigidly following a detailed lesson plan they have written for at least the first six months to a year. This will require some real discipline, but it will pay off in terms of skill development over time.
Sit down after each class and take a few notes about what went great, what went wrong and how you might have done a better job. This will help you a lot in refining your skills. Even very experienced teachers put some serious thought into problems that occurred during class and how they might best be corrected.
Save every lesson plan you write. If you teach a certain book or certain topics repeatedly to students of similar levels (and you will), you’ll find you need only a little polish on the lesson drawing from your notes that you wrote from the previous paragraph.
Expanded Concepts:
You can find literally thousands of EFL/ESL lesson plans on the Internet. Take a look at few and you will rarely see the same format used. But – they will generally have, in one form or another, most of the information indicated above.
Try the website below and see what they have and note the similarities and differences between the lesson formats. Don’t get stuck in a rigid idea of what a lesson plan should look like. You’ll notice many that are called “lesson plans” really aren’t!
The Intenet TESL Journal: EFL and ESL Lessons and Lesson Plans
Here is a “Lesson Plan Format” based on the lesson plan in the Basic Concepts section above.
It will open in a new window – in Word.
Lesson Plan Format
One of the best pages for on the web for understanding what is behind lesson plans is here:
Lesson Planning
and that page includes two very useful (PDF) downloads:
Guide to Lesson Planning and Reflective Teaching Notes
Lesson Planning Sheets and Reflective Teaching Notes
Note: If you are taking any of our certification courses, please review this Ten Point Lesson Plan Checklist to make sure you have covered everything that is important BEFORE you submit your lesson plan project(s).
Now you are ready for the section on Boardwork.
Attention i-to-i
Students!
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Business English
Resort and Hotel English
Teaching TOEFL, IELTS and More
All three for only US$124!
Click here to find out more!
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Kamis, 30 Desember 2010
ESP 1
English for Specific Purposes: What does it mean? Why is it different?
Laurence Anthony
Dept. of Information and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Okayama University of Science, 1-1 Ridai-cho, Okayama 700, Japan
anthony 'at' ice.ous.ac.jp
1. Growth of ESP
From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to become one of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching today. Its development is reflected in the increasing number of universities offering an MA in ESP (e.g. The University of Birmingham, and Aston University in the UK) and in the number of ESP courses offered to overseas students in English speaking countries. There is now a well-established international journal dedicated to ESP discussion, "English for Specific Purposes: An international journal", and the ESP SIG groups of the IATEFL and TESOL are always active at their national conferences.
In Japan too, the ESP movement has shown a slow but definite growth over the past few years. In particular, increased interest has been spurred as a result of the Mombusho's decision in 1994 to largely hand over control of university curriculums to the universities themselves. This has led to a rapid growth in English courses aimed at specific disciplines, e.g. English for Chemists, in place of the more traditional 'General English' courses. The ESP community in Japan has also become more defined, with the JACET ESP SIG set up in 1996 (currently with 28 members) and the JALT N-SIG to be formed shortly. Finally, on November 8th this year the ESP community came together as a whole at the first Japan Conference on English for Specific Purposes, held on the campus of Aizu University, Fukushima Prefecture.
2. What is ESP?
As described above, ESP has had a relatively long time to mature and so we would expect the ESP community to have a clear idea about what ESP means. Strangely, however, this does not seem to be the case. In October this year, for example, a very heated debate took place on the TESP-L e-mail discussion list about whether or not English for Academic Purposes (EAP) could be considered part of ESP in general. At the Japan Conference on ESP also, clear differences in how people interpreted the meaning of ESP could be seen. Some people described ESP as simply being the teaching of English for any purpose that could be specified. Others, however, were more precise, describing it as the teaching of English used in academic studies or the teaching of English for vocational or professional purposes.
At the conference, guests were honored to have as the main speaker, Tony Dudley-Evans, co-editor of the ESP Journal mentioned above. Very aware of the current confusion amongst the ESP community in Japan, Dudley-Evans set out in his one hour speech to clarify the meaning of ESP, giving an extended definition of ESP in terms of 'absolute' and 'variable' characteristics (see below).
Definition of ESP (Dudley-Evans, 1997)
Absolute Characteristics
1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners
2. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves
3. ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.
Variable Characteristics
1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines
2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of General English
3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary school level
4. ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students.
5. Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems
The definition Dudley-Evans offers is clearly influenced by that of Strevens (1988), although he has improved it substantially by removing the absolute characteristic that ESP is "in contrast with 'General English'" (Johns et al., 1991: 298), and has included more variable characteristics. The division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics, in particular, is very helpful in resolving arguments about what is and is not ESP. From the definition, we can see that ESP can but is not necessarily concerned with a specific discipline, nor does it have to be aimed at a certain age group or ability range. ESP should be seen simple as an 'approach' to teaching, or what Dudley-Evans describes as an 'attitude of mind'. This is a similar conclusion to that made by Hutchinson et al. (1987:19) who state, "ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning".
3. Is ESP different to General English?
If we agree with this definition,, we begin to see how broad ESP really is. In fact, one may ask 'What is the difference between the ESP and General English approach?' Hutchinson et al. (1987:53) answer this quite simply, "in theory nothing, in practice a great deal". When their book was written, of course, the last statement was quite true. At the time, teachers of General English courses, while acknowledging that students had a specific purpose for studying English, would rarely conduct a needs analysis to find out what was necessary to actually achieve it. Teachers nowadays, however, are much more aware of the importance of needs analysis, and certainly materials writers think very carefully about the goals of learners at all stages of materials production. Perhaps this demonstrates the influence that the ESP approach has had on English teaching in general. Clearly the line between where General English courses stop and ESP courses start has become very vague indeed.
Rather ironically, while many General English teachers can be described as using an ESP approach, basing their syllabi on a learner needs analysis and their own specialist knowledge of using English for real communication, it is the majority of so-called ESP teachers that are using an approach furthest from that described above. Instead of conducting interviews with specialists in the field, analyzing the language that is required in the profession, or even conducting students' needs analysis, many ESP teachers have become slaves of the published textbooks available, unable to evaluate their suitability based on personal experience, and unwilling to do the necessary analysis of difficult specialist texts to verify their contents.
4. The Future of ESP
If the ESP community hopes to grow and flourish in the future, it is vital that the community as a whole understands what ESP actually represents. Only then, can new members join with confidence, and existing members carry on the practices which have brought ESP to the position it has in EFL teaching today. In Japan in particular, ESP is still in its infancy and so now is the ideal time to form such a consensus. Perhaps this can stem from the Dudley-Evans' definition given in this article but I suspect a more rigorous version will be coming soon, in his book on ESP to be published in 1998. Of course, interested parties are also strongly urged to attend the next Japan Conference on ESP, which is certain to focus again on this topic.
5. References
Dudley-Evans, Tony (1998). Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge University Press. (Forthcoming)
Hutchinson, Tom & Waters, Alan (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learner-centered approach. Cambridge University Press.
Johns, Ann M. & Dudley-Evans, Tony (1991). English for Specific Purposes: International in Scope, Specific in Purpose. TESOL Quarterly 25:2, 297-314.
Strevens, P. (1988). ESP after twenty years: A re-appraisal. In M. Tickoo (Ed.), ESP: State of the art (1-13). SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
English for Specific Purposes - Introduction
ESP (English for Specific Purposes) has been referred to as "applied ELT" as the content and aims of any course are determined by the needs of a specific group of learners. ESP is often divided into EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and EOP (English for Occupational Purposes). Further sub-divisions of EOP are sometimes made into business English, professional English (e.g. English for doctors, lawyers) and vocational English (e.g. English for tourism, nursing, aviation, bricklaying). You will find special sections for Business English and English for Academic Purposes elsewhere on this website.
According to Dudley-Evans (2001) the absolute characteristics of ESP are:
• ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners.
• ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the specialism it serves.
• It is centred not only on the language (grammar, lexis, register), but also the skills, discourses and genres appropriate to those activities.
ESP practitioners are also becoming increasingly involved in intercultural communication and the development of intercultural competence.
For Dudley-Evans (2001) the defining characteristic of ESP is that teaching and materials are based on the results of a needs analysis. The key questions are:
• What do students need to do with English?
• Which of the skills do they need to master and how well?
• Which genres do they need to master either for comprehension or production purposes?
Traditionally ESP courses were typically designed for intermediate or advanced adult learners. Nowadays many students can start to learn academic or vocational English at an earlier age and at a lower level of proficiency.
ESP has become increasingly important as:
• There has been an increase in vocational training and learning throughout the world.
• With the spread of globalisation has come the increasing use of English as the language of international communication. More and more people are using English in a growing number of occupational contexts.
• Students are starting to learn and therefore master general English at a younger age, and so move on to ESP at an earlier age.
An increasing number of learners are taught in English medium schools using approaches such as CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning).
In some English speaking countries governments are launching initiatives to help economic migrants obtain the practical English skills necessary to function in the workplace. For example, the new ESOL for Work Qualifications in the UK are designed to help employers and employees access courses which offer them the functional language skills demanded across a variety of employment sectors. Content includes topics such as customer care and health and safety.
Some teachers are afraid of making the transition from teaching general English to teaching ESP. There is also the danger that the novice ESP teacher will only use materials that they feel comfortable with and will not stretch their learners.
Bell (2002) argues that the depth of knowledge of a subject matter that a teacher requires depends on a number of variables which include:
• How much do the learners know about their specialism?
• Are the students pre-experience or post-experience learners?
• How specific and detailed are the language, skills and genres that the learners need to learn?
Although you perhaps don't need to be an expert in a specialist area, you do need to have some awareness and feel for a particular vocational area. Bell (2002) advocates the three Cs for helping teachers to improve their knowledge and skills in a particular area of ESP.
• Curiosity
The teacher should be interested in the subject area and want to learn more.
• Collaboration
Teachers should seek out subject specialists, show them their work and ask for their feedback.
• Confidence
Confidence will grow as teachers explore the new subject matter, engage with subject specialists and learn from their learners.
Harding (2007) stresses that the general skills that a general English teacher uses e.g. being communicative, using authentic materials and analysing English in a practical way are also applicable to ESP. He also suggests that teachers should:
• Think about what is needed and don't just follow an off-the-shelf course or course book.
• Understand the nature of their students' subject area.
• Work out their language needs in relation to their specialism.
• Use contexts, texts, situations from their subject area.
• Use authentic materials.
• Make the tasks as authentic as possible.
• Motivate the students with variety, relevance and fun.
• Take the classroom into the real world and bring the real world into the classroom.
Like it or not, the days of the EFL generalist teacher may be numbered, so it might just be time to explore the possibility of working in ESP!
Acronyms in ESP
CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)
EAP (English for Academic Purposes)
EBP (English for Business Purposes)
ESAP (English for Specific Academic Purposes)
EGAP (English for General Academic Purposes)
EMP (English for Medical Purposes)
EOP (English for Occupational Purposes)
EPP (English for Professional Purposes)
EST (English for Science and Technology)
EVP (English for Vocational Purposes)
EWP (English for/in the Workplace)
References
Bell, D (2002) ‘Help! I've been asked to teach a class on ESP!' in IATEFL Voices, Issue 169, Oct/Nov
Dudley-Evans, T (2001) ‘English for Specific Purposes' in The Cambridge Guide to TESOL, Cambridge University Press
Harding, K (2007) English for Specific Purposes, Oxford University Press
English for specific purposes teacher: Job description and activities
English for specific purposes (ESP) teaching involves teaching English with particular attention to a certain area, for example, business, tourism, medicine, the law or engineering. ESP teachers tend to have had some general English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching experience first.
The demand for ESP has grown considerably in recent years, particularly in the area of in-company language training. Much ESP work is done under contract to companies and organisations abroad and those who freelance often find themselves working on short-term assignments in several countries. Specialist courses are available, for instance, in teaching English for business; most require experience and a TEFL qualification.
You will need to have or be prepared to acquire some knowledge of the subject matter and a familiarity with correct terminology. This can be from previous work experience or a related qualification. However, there is still a lot of general language work in ESP although there may be more emphasis on:
• letter writing;
• report-writing;
• using the telephone.
Teaching is often on a one-to one basis, or in small classes. Lessons tend to be very practical and functional rather than concentrating on theory and complex grammar.
For more information see English as a foreign language teacher.
English as a foreign language teacher: Job description and activities
On this page…
1. Job description
2. Typical work activities
Job description
Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) involves teaching English, either in the UK or overseas, to students whose first or main language is not English. The term TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) is also used, but only when the students are in the UK.
TEFL teachers work in commercial language schools, schools and institutions of further and higher education throughout the UK and overseas. Some may also teach in industry, whilst others are self-employed. Students may be of all ages and levels and in various class sizes, depending on where you teach. Classes are usually taught in English, even with beginners.
Typical work activities
Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), like any other teaching job, is about conveying information to students in an interesting way and communicating a love and passion for the English language. Teachers use a wide range of course books, other materials and a variety of audio-visual aids. There is a strong emphasis on dialogue and role-playing, but more formal exercises, language games and literature are also used.
Students learn English for a variety of reasons: to improve their conversational English; to prepare for examinations; to gain entry to an English-speaking college or university; or to use English in their work, so the content of lessons varies. The level of the students' ability may also vary, depending on the setting where the classes take place. The aim of each lesson is to encourage the students to communicate with each other using the structures and vocabulary they have learnt, and to improve the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Typical work activities include:
• teaching English;
• classroom management;
• planning, preparing and delivering lessons to a range of classes and age groups;
• preparing and setting tests, examination papers, and exercises;
• marking and providing appropriate feedback on oral and written work;
• devising, writing and producing new materials, including audio and visual resources;
• organising and getting involved in social and cultural activities such as sports competitions, schools parties, dinners, excursions and pricing events appropriately;
• booking coaches and travel for excursions;
• participating in marketing events for the school;
• freelance teaching on a one-to-one basis;
• running specialist courses for adults or business people, which may require knowledge of scientific, technical or commercial terms;
• basic administration such as keeping student registers and attendance records for starters and leavers.
Laurence Anthony
Dept. of Information and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Okayama University of Science, 1-1 Ridai-cho, Okayama 700, Japan
anthony 'at' ice.ous.ac.jp
1. Growth of ESP
From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to become one of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching today. Its development is reflected in the increasing number of universities offering an MA in ESP (e.g. The University of Birmingham, and Aston University in the UK) and in the number of ESP courses offered to overseas students in English speaking countries. There is now a well-established international journal dedicated to ESP discussion, "English for Specific Purposes: An international journal", and the ESP SIG groups of the IATEFL and TESOL are always active at their national conferences.
In Japan too, the ESP movement has shown a slow but definite growth over the past few years. In particular, increased interest has been spurred as a result of the Mombusho's decision in 1994 to largely hand over control of university curriculums to the universities themselves. This has led to a rapid growth in English courses aimed at specific disciplines, e.g. English for Chemists, in place of the more traditional 'General English' courses. The ESP community in Japan has also become more defined, with the JACET ESP SIG set up in 1996 (currently with 28 members) and the JALT N-SIG to be formed shortly. Finally, on November 8th this year the ESP community came together as a whole at the first Japan Conference on English for Specific Purposes, held on the campus of Aizu University, Fukushima Prefecture.
2. What is ESP?
As described above, ESP has had a relatively long time to mature and so we would expect the ESP community to have a clear idea about what ESP means. Strangely, however, this does not seem to be the case. In October this year, for example, a very heated debate took place on the TESP-L e-mail discussion list about whether or not English for Academic Purposes (EAP) could be considered part of ESP in general. At the Japan Conference on ESP also, clear differences in how people interpreted the meaning of ESP could be seen. Some people described ESP as simply being the teaching of English for any purpose that could be specified. Others, however, were more precise, describing it as the teaching of English used in academic studies or the teaching of English for vocational or professional purposes.
At the conference, guests were honored to have as the main speaker, Tony Dudley-Evans, co-editor of the ESP Journal mentioned above. Very aware of the current confusion amongst the ESP community in Japan, Dudley-Evans set out in his one hour speech to clarify the meaning of ESP, giving an extended definition of ESP in terms of 'absolute' and 'variable' characteristics (see below).
Definition of ESP (Dudley-Evans, 1997)
Absolute Characteristics
1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners
2. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves
3. ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.
Variable Characteristics
1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines
2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of General English
3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary school level
4. ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students.
5. Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems
The definition Dudley-Evans offers is clearly influenced by that of Strevens (1988), although he has improved it substantially by removing the absolute characteristic that ESP is "in contrast with 'General English'" (Johns et al., 1991: 298), and has included more variable characteristics. The division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics, in particular, is very helpful in resolving arguments about what is and is not ESP. From the definition, we can see that ESP can but is not necessarily concerned with a specific discipline, nor does it have to be aimed at a certain age group or ability range. ESP should be seen simple as an 'approach' to teaching, or what Dudley-Evans describes as an 'attitude of mind'. This is a similar conclusion to that made by Hutchinson et al. (1987:19) who state, "ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning".
3. Is ESP different to General English?
If we agree with this definition,, we begin to see how broad ESP really is. In fact, one may ask 'What is the difference between the ESP and General English approach?' Hutchinson et al. (1987:53) answer this quite simply, "in theory nothing, in practice a great deal". When their book was written, of course, the last statement was quite true. At the time, teachers of General English courses, while acknowledging that students had a specific purpose for studying English, would rarely conduct a needs analysis to find out what was necessary to actually achieve it. Teachers nowadays, however, are much more aware of the importance of needs analysis, and certainly materials writers think very carefully about the goals of learners at all stages of materials production. Perhaps this demonstrates the influence that the ESP approach has had on English teaching in general. Clearly the line between where General English courses stop and ESP courses start has become very vague indeed.
Rather ironically, while many General English teachers can be described as using an ESP approach, basing their syllabi on a learner needs analysis and their own specialist knowledge of using English for real communication, it is the majority of so-called ESP teachers that are using an approach furthest from that described above. Instead of conducting interviews with specialists in the field, analyzing the language that is required in the profession, or even conducting students' needs analysis, many ESP teachers have become slaves of the published textbooks available, unable to evaluate their suitability based on personal experience, and unwilling to do the necessary analysis of difficult specialist texts to verify their contents.
4. The Future of ESP
If the ESP community hopes to grow and flourish in the future, it is vital that the community as a whole understands what ESP actually represents. Only then, can new members join with confidence, and existing members carry on the practices which have brought ESP to the position it has in EFL teaching today. In Japan in particular, ESP is still in its infancy and so now is the ideal time to form such a consensus. Perhaps this can stem from the Dudley-Evans' definition given in this article but I suspect a more rigorous version will be coming soon, in his book on ESP to be published in 1998. Of course, interested parties are also strongly urged to attend the next Japan Conference on ESP, which is certain to focus again on this topic.
5. References
Dudley-Evans, Tony (1998). Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge University Press. (Forthcoming)
Hutchinson, Tom & Waters, Alan (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learner-centered approach. Cambridge University Press.
Johns, Ann M. & Dudley-Evans, Tony (1991). English for Specific Purposes: International in Scope, Specific in Purpose. TESOL Quarterly 25:2, 297-314.
Strevens, P. (1988). ESP after twenty years: A re-appraisal. In M. Tickoo (Ed.), ESP: State of the art (1-13). SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.
English for Specific Purposes - Introduction
ESP (English for Specific Purposes) has been referred to as "applied ELT" as the content and aims of any course are determined by the needs of a specific group of learners. ESP is often divided into EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and EOP (English for Occupational Purposes). Further sub-divisions of EOP are sometimes made into business English, professional English (e.g. English for doctors, lawyers) and vocational English (e.g. English for tourism, nursing, aviation, bricklaying). You will find special sections for Business English and English for Academic Purposes elsewhere on this website.
According to Dudley-Evans (2001) the absolute characteristics of ESP are:
• ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners.
• ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the specialism it serves.
• It is centred not only on the language (grammar, lexis, register), but also the skills, discourses and genres appropriate to those activities.
ESP practitioners are also becoming increasingly involved in intercultural communication and the development of intercultural competence.
For Dudley-Evans (2001) the defining characteristic of ESP is that teaching and materials are based on the results of a needs analysis. The key questions are:
• What do students need to do with English?
• Which of the skills do they need to master and how well?
• Which genres do they need to master either for comprehension or production purposes?
Traditionally ESP courses were typically designed for intermediate or advanced adult learners. Nowadays many students can start to learn academic or vocational English at an earlier age and at a lower level of proficiency.
ESP has become increasingly important as:
• There has been an increase in vocational training and learning throughout the world.
• With the spread of globalisation has come the increasing use of English as the language of international communication. More and more people are using English in a growing number of occupational contexts.
• Students are starting to learn and therefore master general English at a younger age, and so move on to ESP at an earlier age.
An increasing number of learners are taught in English medium schools using approaches such as CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning).
In some English speaking countries governments are launching initiatives to help economic migrants obtain the practical English skills necessary to function in the workplace. For example, the new ESOL for Work Qualifications in the UK are designed to help employers and employees access courses which offer them the functional language skills demanded across a variety of employment sectors. Content includes topics such as customer care and health and safety.
Some teachers are afraid of making the transition from teaching general English to teaching ESP. There is also the danger that the novice ESP teacher will only use materials that they feel comfortable with and will not stretch their learners.
Bell (2002) argues that the depth of knowledge of a subject matter that a teacher requires depends on a number of variables which include:
• How much do the learners know about their specialism?
• Are the students pre-experience or post-experience learners?
• How specific and detailed are the language, skills and genres that the learners need to learn?
Although you perhaps don't need to be an expert in a specialist area, you do need to have some awareness and feel for a particular vocational area. Bell (2002) advocates the three Cs for helping teachers to improve their knowledge and skills in a particular area of ESP.
• Curiosity
The teacher should be interested in the subject area and want to learn more.
• Collaboration
Teachers should seek out subject specialists, show them their work and ask for their feedback.
• Confidence
Confidence will grow as teachers explore the new subject matter, engage with subject specialists and learn from their learners.
Harding (2007) stresses that the general skills that a general English teacher uses e.g. being communicative, using authentic materials and analysing English in a practical way are also applicable to ESP. He also suggests that teachers should:
• Think about what is needed and don't just follow an off-the-shelf course or course book.
• Understand the nature of their students' subject area.
• Work out their language needs in relation to their specialism.
• Use contexts, texts, situations from their subject area.
• Use authentic materials.
• Make the tasks as authentic as possible.
• Motivate the students with variety, relevance and fun.
• Take the classroom into the real world and bring the real world into the classroom.
Like it or not, the days of the EFL generalist teacher may be numbered, so it might just be time to explore the possibility of working in ESP!
Acronyms in ESP
CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)
EAP (English for Academic Purposes)
EBP (English for Business Purposes)
ESAP (English for Specific Academic Purposes)
EGAP (English for General Academic Purposes)
EMP (English for Medical Purposes)
EOP (English for Occupational Purposes)
EPP (English for Professional Purposes)
EST (English for Science and Technology)
EVP (English for Vocational Purposes)
EWP (English for/in the Workplace)
References
Bell, D (2002) ‘Help! I've been asked to teach a class on ESP!' in IATEFL Voices, Issue 169, Oct/Nov
Dudley-Evans, T (2001) ‘English for Specific Purposes' in The Cambridge Guide to TESOL, Cambridge University Press
Harding, K (2007) English for Specific Purposes, Oxford University Press
English for specific purposes teacher: Job description and activities
English for specific purposes (ESP) teaching involves teaching English with particular attention to a certain area, for example, business, tourism, medicine, the law or engineering. ESP teachers tend to have had some general English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching experience first.
The demand for ESP has grown considerably in recent years, particularly in the area of in-company language training. Much ESP work is done under contract to companies and organisations abroad and those who freelance often find themselves working on short-term assignments in several countries. Specialist courses are available, for instance, in teaching English for business; most require experience and a TEFL qualification.
You will need to have or be prepared to acquire some knowledge of the subject matter and a familiarity with correct terminology. This can be from previous work experience or a related qualification. However, there is still a lot of general language work in ESP although there may be more emphasis on:
• letter writing;
• report-writing;
• using the telephone.
Teaching is often on a one-to one basis, or in small classes. Lessons tend to be very practical and functional rather than concentrating on theory and complex grammar.
For more information see English as a foreign language teacher.
English as a foreign language teacher: Job description and activities
On this page…
1. Job description
2. Typical work activities
Job description
Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) involves teaching English, either in the UK or overseas, to students whose first or main language is not English. The term TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) is also used, but only when the students are in the UK.
TEFL teachers work in commercial language schools, schools and institutions of further and higher education throughout the UK and overseas. Some may also teach in industry, whilst others are self-employed. Students may be of all ages and levels and in various class sizes, depending on where you teach. Classes are usually taught in English, even with beginners.
Typical work activities
Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), like any other teaching job, is about conveying information to students in an interesting way and communicating a love and passion for the English language. Teachers use a wide range of course books, other materials and a variety of audio-visual aids. There is a strong emphasis on dialogue and role-playing, but more formal exercises, language games and literature are also used.
Students learn English for a variety of reasons: to improve their conversational English; to prepare for examinations; to gain entry to an English-speaking college or university; or to use English in their work, so the content of lessons varies. The level of the students' ability may also vary, depending on the setting where the classes take place. The aim of each lesson is to encourage the students to communicate with each other using the structures and vocabulary they have learnt, and to improve the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Typical work activities include:
• teaching English;
• classroom management;
• planning, preparing and delivering lessons to a range of classes and age groups;
• preparing and setting tests, examination papers, and exercises;
• marking and providing appropriate feedback on oral and written work;
• devising, writing and producing new materials, including audio and visual resources;
• organising and getting involved in social and cultural activities such as sports competitions, schools parties, dinners, excursions and pricing events appropriately;
• booking coaches and travel for excursions;
• participating in marketing events for the school;
• freelance teaching on a one-to-one basis;
• running specialist courses for adults or business people, which may require knowledge of scientific, technical or commercial terms;
• basic administration such as keeping student registers and attendance records for starters and leavers.
Minggu, 19 Desember 2010
Friend
"Aku mengenalmu lewat jiwa,
Bukan lewat mata..
Aku menjadikan mu saudara lewat hati,
Ku tak tahu,
Seperti apa aku dalam pandangan mu..
...Se-layak apa aku dalam ukhuwah mu..
Tapi yang aku tahu..
Meski dengan keterbatasanku,
Berbalut kekuranganku..
Aku menulis nama mu dihatiku,
Sejak awal,
Dan..
Takkan pernah terganti,
Apalagi terhapus..
Sebagai,
'SAUDARA' dihatiku..
Kemarin, hari ini ataupun nanti..
Bukan lewat mata..
Aku menjadikan mu saudara lewat hati,
Ku tak tahu,
Seperti apa aku dalam pandangan mu..
...Se-layak apa aku dalam ukhuwah mu..
Tapi yang aku tahu..
Meski dengan keterbatasanku,
Berbalut kekuranganku..
Aku menulis nama mu dihatiku,
Sejak awal,
Dan..
Takkan pernah terganti,
Apalagi terhapus..
Sebagai,
'SAUDARA' dihatiku..
Kemarin, hari ini ataupun nanti..
How to Handle Being Lied To
The purpose of this article isn't to deal with the sudden mistrust and suspicion that a lie will bring. I wrote other articles dealing with that. This article is on how to deal with the lie itself.
NEVER REACT EMOTIONALLY TO A LIE
Every lie will hurt. In some cases, they will hurt deeply. And you will have strong emotional reactions to a lie. But there needs to be a point where you step outside the pain and look at it objectively. Anger, rage, or any sort of emotional reaction will only verify to the other person the need to lie in the first place.
If a wife knew of her husband's jealousy issue and lied about a brief conversation she had with another man, even an innocent one, and her husband caught her at the lie and became furious, it will only verify to her that she just needs to be more careful about her future lies.
Take time to settle down before addressing the lie. You may need to pretend that the lie was told to someone else, not you. You need to be somewhat objective before you can do anything about it.
YOU MUST CONFRONT THE LIE IN A CALM RATIONAL MANNER
A lie cannot go unaddressed. With that in mind, you need to know that the end result will never be satisfying to you. You won't leave a conversation about a lie feeling good or at ease. It's just the nature of the beast.
Your goal is to demonstrate maturity and rationalization in front of the person that lied to you. You want to get them to realize that lying to you was not only unnecessary, but a complete waste of time.
It may be that you need to get some counseling, but the person who lied to you won't even consider it if you aren't calm and rational. You need to talk. You need to describe your fears about potential problems that the lie produces. There is no need to say things like:
Again, all this needs to be done calmly and rationally.
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WERE LIED TO
The basic reasons why people lie are these:
The reason for the lie will give you insight into their character and thinking. If someone was just trying to get me to think more highly of him or her, I'd be much more inclined to dismiss the lie. But if they were trying to hurt me with the lie, it would be much tougher to trust and dismiss it.
So try and figure out why you were lied to. You aren't necessarily even looking for specifics of a particular lie. Rather you just want to know the purpose of the lie, what they were trying to accomplish.
A fear can be easily dealt with by a loving friend, parent, or spouse. But anger and selfishness are two more complicated problems. Knowing why will help you in what you can do.
FIND A WAY TO FORGIVE THE LIE
I didn't say that you had to find a way to trust again. Forgiveness will release you from the pain and burden of the lie. If you can't forgive, you'll carry a burden much too heavy to carry. It will cripple you emotionally and prevent you from having any strength to actually fix the relationship.
Forgiveness is for you, not the person that lied to you. You forgive them so that you can deal with the situation and hopefully grow beyond it.
NEVER REACT EMOTIONALLY TO A LIE
Every lie will hurt. In some cases, they will hurt deeply. And you will have strong emotional reactions to a lie. But there needs to be a point where you step outside the pain and look at it objectively. Anger, rage, or any sort of emotional reaction will only verify to the other person the need to lie in the first place.
If a wife knew of her husband's jealousy issue and lied about a brief conversation she had with another man, even an innocent one, and her husband caught her at the lie and became furious, it will only verify to her that she just needs to be more careful about her future lies.
Take time to settle down before addressing the lie. You may need to pretend that the lie was told to someone else, not you. You need to be somewhat objective before you can do anything about it.
YOU MUST CONFRONT THE LIE IN A CALM RATIONAL MANNER
A lie cannot go unaddressed. With that in mind, you need to know that the end result will never be satisfying to you. You won't leave a conversation about a lie feeling good or at ease. It's just the nature of the beast.
Your goal is to demonstrate maturity and rationalization in front of the person that lied to you. You want to get them to realize that lying to you was not only unnecessary, but a complete waste of time.
It may be that you need to get some counseling, but the person who lied to you won't even consider it if you aren't calm and rational. You need to talk. You need to describe your fears about potential problems that the lie produces. There is no need to say things like:
- How could you lie to me!
- How dare you!
- You lying pig (or other worthless expletive)!
- I hate you!
Again, all this needs to be done calmly and rationally.
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WERE LIED TO
The basic reasons why people lie are these:
- To get out of trouble.
- To gain something.
- Because they fear something.
- To be thought of better.
- To hurt someone.
The reason for the lie will give you insight into their character and thinking. If someone was just trying to get me to think more highly of him or her, I'd be much more inclined to dismiss the lie. But if they were trying to hurt me with the lie, it would be much tougher to trust and dismiss it.
So try and figure out why you were lied to. You aren't necessarily even looking for specifics of a particular lie. Rather you just want to know the purpose of the lie, what they were trying to accomplish.
A fear can be easily dealt with by a loving friend, parent, or spouse. But anger and selfishness are two more complicated problems. Knowing why will help you in what you can do.
FIND A WAY TO FORGIVE THE LIE
I didn't say that you had to find a way to trust again. Forgiveness will release you from the pain and burden of the lie. If you can't forgive, you'll carry a burden much too heavy to carry. It will cripple you emotionally and prevent you from having any strength to actually fix the relationship.
Forgiveness is for you, not the person that lied to you. You forgive them so that you can deal with the situation and hopefully grow beyond it.
How to Deal With Selfish People?
All selfish people are self-centered and don't care about anyone else but themselves which can mean it is difficult to know how to deal with selfish people. Everything has revolved around them for so long that they don't even realize they are destroying their relationships with their friends or loved ones.
But if we want to keep them around, especially the ones close to us, we have to learn how to deal with them. Their never ending story about themselves can be very annoying to some people, and the best thing to do is change the subject and move on.
However, there are some more ways to help us deal with selfish people. Here are some of the best ways to deal with selfish people.
1) Have patience
If this person is troubled the best way to deal with their selfishness is to try to bring them out of their negative frame of mind. For example, you can probably ask them why they have been rude and critical of others.
You can mention that noone is perfect and that they might be able to open up to you and explain what is causing them to behave this way so you can understand them better. The best way is to be patient with them.
You may be able to help them feel better about themselves and about others.
2) Be sensitive
You also have to consider that someone who is rude and selfish may actually have some personal problems and feel that they just can't share what is going on in their lives. They are rude because they do not want to get close to people and do not want to feel hurt by others.
Try to be sensitive and be understanding about their past and perhaps they will see their own self-interest and become less critical of others. In other words, show that you are trying to help them.
3) Limit Your Interaction
If nothing else works you may have to limit your interactions with the selfish person as much as possible while still keeping them in your life. There are a few strategies that have been successful dealing with selfish people.
For example, be kind, and stay cool. They know that they're difficult and won't respect you if you pretend they aren't. If you have a sense of humor, use it. Everyone loves to laugh. But keep the interaction short and sweet until you see some change.
4) Set boundaries
It would be easier to give some guidance than it is to set boundaries, but you may have to draw the line if the relationship is damaging to you. It may be your only choice if you must stay involved with this person.
Remind them of the situations that were painful for you and ask why they act the way they do. And don't accept excuses for their behavior because excuses are a way to avoid responsibility. You either build relationships through talking it out or you have to set boundaries if talking doesn't solve the problem.
Above all, don't judge them.
5) Distance Yourself
Don't let selfish people mistreat you. The best way is to simply stop cooperating with their mistreatment. Also, you don't want to repeat this kind of behavior. That is why distancing yourself may be wise.
The reason they are mistreating people is because it is rewarding for them in some way. So the answer is to stop cooperating and separate yourself from them.
Selfish people choose to be negative and pursue behavior that hurts others so they can feel better about themselves. Ultimately, surrounding yourselves with negative people can arouse negativity in you. It's important to make good decisions about who you associate with.
And that's how to deal with selfish people!
But if we want to keep them around, especially the ones close to us, we have to learn how to deal with them. Their never ending story about themselves can be very annoying to some people, and the best thing to do is change the subject and move on.
However, there are some more ways to help us deal with selfish people. Here are some of the best ways to deal with selfish people.
1) Have patience
If this person is troubled the best way to deal with their selfishness is to try to bring them out of their negative frame of mind. For example, you can probably ask them why they have been rude and critical of others.
You can mention that noone is perfect and that they might be able to open up to you and explain what is causing them to behave this way so you can understand them better. The best way is to be patient with them.
You may be able to help them feel better about themselves and about others.
2) Be sensitive
You also have to consider that someone who is rude and selfish may actually have some personal problems and feel that they just can't share what is going on in their lives. They are rude because they do not want to get close to people and do not want to feel hurt by others.
Try to be sensitive and be understanding about their past and perhaps they will see their own self-interest and become less critical of others. In other words, show that you are trying to help them.
3) Limit Your Interaction
If nothing else works you may have to limit your interactions with the selfish person as much as possible while still keeping them in your life. There are a few strategies that have been successful dealing with selfish people.
For example, be kind, and stay cool. They know that they're difficult and won't respect you if you pretend they aren't. If you have a sense of humor, use it. Everyone loves to laugh. But keep the interaction short and sweet until you see some change.
4) Set boundaries
It would be easier to give some guidance than it is to set boundaries, but you may have to draw the line if the relationship is damaging to you. It may be your only choice if you must stay involved with this person.
Remind them of the situations that were painful for you and ask why they act the way they do. And don't accept excuses for their behavior because excuses are a way to avoid responsibility. You either build relationships through talking it out or you have to set boundaries if talking doesn't solve the problem.
Above all, don't judge them.
5) Distance Yourself
Don't let selfish people mistreat you. The best way is to simply stop cooperating with their mistreatment. Also, you don't want to repeat this kind of behavior. That is why distancing yourself may be wise.
The reason they are mistreating people is because it is rewarding for them in some way. So the answer is to stop cooperating and separate yourself from them.
Selfish people choose to be negative and pursue behavior that hurts others so they can feel better about themselves. Ultimately, surrounding yourselves with negative people can arouse negativity in you. It's important to make good decisions about who you associate with.
And that's how to deal with selfish people!
A True Friend Does Not Break Her Promise
This is an article that many of my followers have been after me to write. This may be one of those things that you may find unforgivable and basically you may decide to end you friendship. But before you go that far consider if it is something that you can forgive, if that is how you decide to forgive, be sure to keep your promise and forgive your friend.
Now remember a person that keeps her word or promise is a reliable person and someone you can trust. This type of friend is one you can feel confident about, when she makes a promise, she keeps it. That is a true friend, true friends do not make promises that they can not keep. A true friend should make sure she is capable of keeping the promise before she delivers you that promise. I suggest that if your friend tells you that she may not be able to keep her promise but will do her best to keep it, you should tell her thank you and that you understand. You see we all make mistakes but your friend should not ever set you up to a false expectation as that is no way to treat a friend.
I suggest that you do not make a promise to anyone or yourself that you know you can not fulfill. Once you make such a promise you should do everything in your power to keep it, a broken promise is bad for friendship and shows a lack of your own self respect. At least make a good attempt at completing it and ask for forgiveness from your friend and your God. At least you will have done the best that you could.
It is an important trait to know that your friend has faith in your word. The best suggestion for you here is to get control over yourself and your promises. The words that you speak to make a promise to your friend need to command respect. Every promise that you make should receive a commitment from you to fill it. If you make a promise half heartedly then you really do not show respect to your friend and certainly have little respect for yourself. Your promise or a promise from your friend is essentially your word or your friend's word, and if that word is no good, what do you have? A true friend should care enough about you and herself to not break her promise. This lack of character may be a deal breaker.
Just remember that your friends will judge your credibility on how well you keep your word. A broken promise will surely hurt anyone's image and keeping your promise will make you feel good about yourself. For sure it is your choice. And as always you must live well to be well.
Think and act this as follows:
I think. I read. I care. I inform. I coach.Now remember a person that keeps her word or promise is a reliable person and someone you can trust. This type of friend is one you can feel confident about, when she makes a promise, she keeps it. That is a true friend, true friends do not make promises that they can not keep. A true friend should make sure she is capable of keeping the promise before she delivers you that promise. I suggest that if your friend tells you that she may not be able to keep her promise but will do her best to keep it, you should tell her thank you and that you understand. You see we all make mistakes but your friend should not ever set you up to a false expectation as that is no way to treat a friend.
I suggest that you do not make a promise to anyone or yourself that you know you can not fulfill. Once you make such a promise you should do everything in your power to keep it, a broken promise is bad for friendship and shows a lack of your own self respect. At least make a good attempt at completing it and ask for forgiveness from your friend and your God. At least you will have done the best that you could.
It is an important trait to know that your friend has faith in your word. The best suggestion for you here is to get control over yourself and your promises. The words that you speak to make a promise to your friend need to command respect. Every promise that you make should receive a commitment from you to fill it. If you make a promise half heartedly then you really do not show respect to your friend and certainly have little respect for yourself. Your promise or a promise from your friend is essentially your word or your friend's word, and if that word is no good, what do you have? A true friend should care enough about you and herself to not break her promise. This lack of character may be a deal breaker.
Just remember that your friends will judge your credibility on how well you keep your word. A broken promise will surely hurt anyone's image and keeping your promise will make you feel good about yourself. For sure it is your choice. And as always you must live well to be well.
Think and act this as follows:
The Beauty of Friendship
Friends are people who will be there for us when we really need someone the most, but then there are a few who are to enjoy with us and run away when you need someone the most. There are the some that let us be ourselves but there is always that one person who is so close to you and you know that this person will understand even your silence. This person is more as a family to you and you know even at 3:00 AM you can make this one phone call and this person will still be there for you.
Friendship is one of the most beautiful relations you can have. And it is even better with that special friend who you love the My best friend and I fight like crazy, at times I even pull her leg saying that I am going to get married to her. We both share one main thing in common, we both love dogs and the best part is she has one of the pups that my lab had given birth to.
We both keep on talking about the pups and telling each other how naughty they are. Sometimes she even asks me what to do if a dog is not well since she feels that I know a lot about dogs since I have had them for the past 11 years.
Apart from our dogs, we talk about our problems, about things that bother us. We make it a point to talk on a regular base. No doubt, there are days where she gets upset with me or vice versa, but then in the next second, the anger is gone and we are happy again. Between the both of us, I am short tempered but with her around, I cannot be angry for too long, she will always find a way to make me laugh.
Life has not been fair to both of us, but we still are able to trust each other and know that no matter what happens there is this one person on this earth to whom we do not need to prove ourselves. There is one person you do not need to explain what and why you did it. Who does not care if you are right or wrong but still stands by you in front of everyone and shouts at you if you are wrong when no one is around.
This person just loves you for whom you are. This one person can see things, which you also may not be able to see. This one person knows you so well that even if someone comes and tries to tell them something bad about you, it still does not change a thing since they know who you really are and is confident about whatever you do and will always stand by you. This person is always there for you no matter what the situation is and advises you or goes out of their way to help you. This person is your guide, your friend. To this special person I must say a big thank you who thought me the BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP. So in short of you had to say what a friend is then:-
F-forgiveness
R-respect
I-Impartial
E-Emotional
N-Nurture
D-Dependable
And Friendship would be
F-Fun
R-Rational
I-Intuition
E- Endurance
N-Never Ending
D-Devotion
S-support
H-honesty
I-inspiration
P-Perfect
Friendship is one of the most beautiful relations you can have. And it is even better with that special friend who you love the My best friend and I fight like crazy, at times I even pull her leg saying that I am going to get married to her. We both share one main thing in common, we both love dogs and the best part is she has one of the pups that my lab had given birth to.
We both keep on talking about the pups and telling each other how naughty they are. Sometimes she even asks me what to do if a dog is not well since she feels that I know a lot about dogs since I have had them for the past 11 years.
Apart from our dogs, we talk about our problems, about things that bother us. We make it a point to talk on a regular base. No doubt, there are days where she gets upset with me or vice versa, but then in the next second, the anger is gone and we are happy again. Between the both of us, I am short tempered but with her around, I cannot be angry for too long, she will always find a way to make me laugh.
Life has not been fair to both of us, but we still are able to trust each other and know that no matter what happens there is this one person on this earth to whom we do not need to prove ourselves. There is one person you do not need to explain what and why you did it. Who does not care if you are right or wrong but still stands by you in front of everyone and shouts at you if you are wrong when no one is around.
This person just loves you for whom you are. This one person can see things, which you also may not be able to see. This one person knows you so well that even if someone comes and tries to tell them something bad about you, it still does not change a thing since they know who you really are and is confident about whatever you do and will always stand by you. This person is always there for you no matter what the situation is and advises you or goes out of their way to help you. This person is your guide, your friend. To this special person I must say a big thank you who thought me the BEAUTY OF FRIENDSHIP. So in short of you had to say what a friend is then:-
F-forgiveness
R-respect
I-Impartial
E-Emotional
N-Nurture
D-Dependable
And Friendship would be
F-Fun
R-Rational
I-Intuition
E- Endurance
N-Never Ending
D-Devotion
S-support
H-honesty
I-inspiration
P-Perfect
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