ESP : HOW IMPORTANT GRAMMAR IN ESP, ESPECIALLY REFERS TO BUSINESS ENGLISH

HOW IMPORTANT GRAMMAR IN ESP, ESPECIALLY REFERS TO BUSINESS ENGLISH

There are many misconceptions about the role of grammar in ESP teaching and, indeed,

It is often said that ESP teaching is not concerned with grammar.

(Dudley Evans and Maggie Jo, page 74)

                                                                                                                                                                                      

INTRODUCTION                                                                                                                           

I like to choose this topic is because to strengthen my assignment in this time (I am doing need analysis), then it is interesting to me why to learn any other language via tenses-grammar. All of us know that without any grammar we can do nothing in our communication. It happened in any language. Why? It is because “how to say something” is learnt by grammatical function. Refers to Business English (BE), the study of grammatical is more very important. Because in business people will make transaction, negotiation, using telephone, running meetings, giving presentations, and so on.(Wello. Muh.Basri: 1999)

CONTENT

The general objectives of learning business English is to perform various many language functions and     tasks in the world of business in listening-speaking-reading and writing. In this situation, people will need the ability of language use and function well. Talking about language, there are two type of competences, grammatical competence and communicative competence. Both are used in communication orally and written. Thus, having grammatical competence is very important. Why grammatical function is very important? In doing business, people have to use complete sentences to give clear information to other people (colleague). These are the reasons:

                -A series of sentences can’t be uttered automatically when people don’t know the pattern of sentence.

                -A complete information can’t be given without understanding how to say something.               

                -People can’t express their ideas if they have no knowledge of how to say something.

                -Gambit-gambit of conversations can’t be gained without learning grammatical function.

                -To make sure that our process in business is run well, it  is needed complete information by our utterances in writing or speaking.

 Is it possible for people learnt language without any grammar? The answer must be “no way”. Real language can’t be automatically produced in just simple way grammar, thus the learner needs to be aware of this             

This is my experience: this academic year, I have 9 (nine) classes. Each class has about 40 or 42 students. I am in a very difficult situation in communication because I don’t want to translate what I have said. Then, almost in every class I asked “do you know what I said?”, all the answer is “no”. In that situation there is much time happened “how to say this/that” and why we study English must be in positive, negative and interrogative, sentence what the function of it and so on. Totally I’m being surprise. Why?  Because they don’t be aware that it is the way how to learn any other language in how to say something. By using the pattern how to arrange sentences is a way how we tell our ideas. The interesting one is it is talked that they know their bible, alquran, they can read it well, they can write in Arabic well, even they learnt by heart very well. “But they can’t speak Arabic at all, even just: I am Ahmad; I go to campus on foot”. To my opinion it is one of proving that without any grammar we can’t communicate formally and informally.

Refers to Business English that it must be seen in the overall context of English for Specific Purposes, studying  grammar is the excellent  way  in expressing communication in  transaction, a negotiating process, commercial correspondence,  participating in meeting,  presenting information, and social interaction. Still relates to grammar, the learners need to build their selves to search an excellent way of expanding vocabulary, learning new phrases and consolidating grammar.

CONCLUSION

It is often said that ESP teaching is not concerned with grammar (Dudley Evans, page 74). No way, studying grammar is a must, then the grammar is applied in the real world based on specific need and specific target of the learner.

I can say then, that there is no people learnt any language without its grammar. And nobody can express any idea without uttering a sentence. Thus, studying grammar is very important, moreover in Business English.

REFERENCES

 DUDLEY- EVANS & ST JOHN, DEVELOPMENT IN ESP. Cambridge University Press

Wello.sMuh. Basri .An Introduction to ESP, Makassar State University Press