Abstract:

The present research is an attempt to consider criteria for selecting material for teaching English to advanced students of environmental studies faculties.

In the context of study hour reduction and the steady increase in requirements for language competence of ESP students, the basic criteria appear to be the following. First of all, teaching material should introduce students to the latest developments in a given subject area, be focused on the students’ future specialty. In other words, it must be useful, informative, and interesting from the professional point of view. Moreover, it is essential for teaching material to have a polemical focus (which implies discussing controversial issues, giving different points of view, criticism, comparison, clear author’s position) that provokes debate and discussion. To develop skills in oral and written communication we need to encourage students to speak out, express their points of view, make their comments and arguments on the issue under study. The last but not least, in terms of the language texts for study should be unadapted, authentic, rich in scientific terminology, with complicated grammatical constructions, coherent, logically arranged, and clear-cut.

A case study of introducing Mark Lynas’s book “The God Species” into ESP curriculum is considered here. It is proved that this book can be used as teaching material since it meets all the criteria mentioned above. It is important because the number of specialized textbooks for students of this discipline is rather small.

We believe that this study contributes to the area of didactics and might be interesting for teachers of foreign languages.

Keywords:

Teaching and studying foreign languages, English for specific purposes (ESP), teaching material, subject-specific material, selection criteria, case study.