A Comprehensive Survey on Computer Engineering ESP Course in Current Situation of Iranian Universities

Abstract

A successful educational system evaluates existing programs with regard to objectives, instructional procedures, achievements and tries to revise them and develop innovative ones. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been planned as a compulsory course for students of all fields of study (except English) in Iranian universities. This survey was conducted to investigate an ESP course in the field of computer engineering in the current situation of Iranian universities by examining instructors’ attitudes. The participants were 30 university instructors from thirteen universities of Iran. To collect the data, a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of both quantitative and qualitative items was used as well as one-sample t-test was employed to analyze the data. The results indicated that ESP instructors’ attitudes toward their ESP course were below the expected value. The findings revealed that the current situation of ESP courses in Iran was actually problematic and needed to be rectified. The findings of this study were supported by the research conducted by Mirza Suzani, Yarmohammadi and Yamini, (2011). Different groups could use the findings of this study including course developers, program organizers, policymakers, students and instructors.