THE APPLICATION OF ESP PRINCIPLES ON COURSE DESIGN: THE CASE OF ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS OF MANAGEMENT AND FISHERIES

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has become one of the predominant approaches to language teaching in tertiary education, as it is directed towards the specific needs of the particular specialty students. The study concerns about the role of needs analysis and materials evaluation in designing ESP courses meeting the needs of students in tertiary education. The purpose of this study was to find out whether ESP courses in Iran had been developed according to the principles of ESP course design.Participants of the study were selected from Chabahar Maritime University in Iran, consisting of two groups of senior students majoring at management and fisheries as well as a group of lectures teaching ESP courses. In this study three instruments were used. First, a needs analysis questionnaire administered to students to find out their needs, lack and wants. The second tool to get data was a curriculum design analysis questionnaire, administered to lecturers to find out the elements of ESP courses. The third toolwas ESP textbooks used for the aforementioned students, evaluated for their appropriateness to the specific needs of students. The results were analyzed and the findings showed that the ESP textbooks used at faculties of management and fisheries at Chabahar Maritime University were not complied in accordance with the specific needs of students and they did not have the power to motivate and in turn facilitate studentsʹ language learning.