





































Education, Language and Sociology Research 

ISSN 2690-3644 (Print) ISSN 2690-3652 (Online) 

Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr 

88 
 

Original Paper 

Bring the Dual Focus on both Language and Content into ESP 

Courses through Teacher Collaboration 

Renda Li1* 

1 School of Jewelry, West Yunnan University of Applied Science, Tengchong, China 

* Corresponding author: Renda Li, renda@wyuas.edu.cn 

 

Received: January 7, 2024    Accepted: January 28, 2024    Online Published: February 20, 2024 

doi:10.22158/elsr.v5n1p88     URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/elsr.v5n1p88 

 

Abstract 

In China, the evolution from traditional “College English” courses to English for Specific Purpose (ESP) 

reflects the changing demands for foreign language skills in specialized industries. This transition poses 

challenges for teachers due to limited specialized knowledge. This study explores the integration of 

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) into ESP courses through collaboration between 

language and content-area teachers. Drawing on a literature review and qualitative research at West 

Yunnan University of Applied Science, the study examines the challenges traditional English General 

Purpose (EGP) teachers face in ESP classrooms and their willingness to collaborate with content-area 

teachers. Results reveal teachers’ struggles with specialized knowledge and materials selection, 

alongside their openness to collaboration. The discussion emphasizes the importance of fostering 

cooperation, establishing teaching communities, and utilizing online platforms for enhanced student 

learning outcomes. This research contributes to the advancement of ESP teaching methodologies by 

advocating for collaborative approaches that integrate language and content effectively. 

Keywords 

EGP, ESP, CLIL, Teacher Collaboration 

 

1. Introduction 

In China, the traditional “College English” course typically refers to English for General Purpose (EGP), 

which aims to improve students’ English listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation skills by 

imparting fundamental English knowledge. Recently, the demand for foreign language skills in various 

industries has become more diverse and specialized, posing a challenge for traditional EGP courses to 

meet learners’ needs. Consequently, higher education institutions have initiated extensive educational 

reforms, including the transformation of EGP into ESP (English for Specific Purpose). The ESP course 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr              Education, Language and Sociology Research              Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

89 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

is designed to address specific goals and learner needs, emphasizing the cultivation of communication 

skills in using English for work in particular environments. However, traditional EGP teachers often face 

challenges due to limited specialized knowledge and related experiences during this educational reform 

(Liu & Chen, 2019). In such circumstances, a potential solution to this problem could be the collaboration 

between language teachers, specialized in language education, and content-area teachers, possessing 

professional knowledge. 

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), frequently praised for its ability to boost language 

proficiency, is considered effective because of its emphasis on content rather than form and its 

requirement for higher cognitive engagement among learners (Vega, M. & Moscoso, M. L, 2019). 

Therefore, The study tries to investigate the possibility of the application of the CLIL model (bringing 

the dual-focus on both language and content) in ESP courses through collaboration between language 

teachers and content-area teachers. This is not a completely new teaching concept; rather, it represents a 

new stage of development in ESP teaching.  

 

2. Literature Review 

2.1 EGP, ESP and CLIL in the Chinese Educational Landscape 

Over the past decades, EGP courses have been put foreground of English language education in China. 

These courses are designed to provide language learners with a broad and comprehensive understanding 

of the English language, and with a well-rounded approach that prepares students for effective 

communication in various contexts. In order to cater to the specific linguistic demands of different 

professions or academic disciplines, ESP courses, which address the needs of students pursuing careers 

in specific areas, have gradually gained prominence. Evolving from the traditional “language-based” 

approach in foreign language teaching, it seamlessly integrates language skills with specific professional 

knowledge, makes full use of the utility and practicality of foreign languages, and emphasizes the 

acquisition of subject knowledge and improvement of language abilities. 

CLIL (content and language integrated learning) is a dual-focused educational approach in which an 

additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language. That is, in the 

teaching and learning process, there is a focus not only on content and not only on language (Coyle et 

al., 2010). The 4Cs framework of CLIL is based on the principle that strengthening and deepening a 

learner’s conceptual understanding requires social, cultural, linguistic, and academic dialogic processes. 

The components of the framework are content, cognition, communication, and culture (Coyle et al., 

2010). Content means progression in new knowledge, skills and understanding; communication refers to 

interaction, and progression in language use and learning; cognition is engagement in higher-order 

thinking and understanding, problem-solving, and accepting challenges and reflecting on them. Culture 

means “self” and “other” awareness, identity, citizenship, and progression towards pluricultural 

understanding. The interrelation among these four elements fully reflects that CLIL teaching is content- 

and culture-oriented, using language as the medium. It emphasizes communication between teachers and 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr              Education, Language and Sociology Research              Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

90 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

students, aiming to enhance students’ cognitive ability in professional content or culture (Gao, 2018). In 

China, though theories on ESP teaching and research are gradually enriching, there are still some 

shortcomings in the ESP course, including unclear curriculum characteristics, teaching tasks divorced 

from real situations, and learning materials that are neither suitable nor targeted. The mode of language 

and content integration advocated by the CLIL teaching concept aligns with the teaching objectives of 

ESP courses and holds significant reference value for the design and practice of ESP teaching. 

Acquiring a second or foreign language is thought to be most successful when emphasis is placed on 

meaning rather than accuracy (Vega, M. & Moscoso, M. L, 2019). Though this strategy poses difficulties 

in achieving the desired language proficiency, it can be realized by fostering situations that promote 

meaningful language practice and usage (Burger et al., 2013). ESP is often discussed in language teaching 

research, emphasizing the use of meaningful and practical content. It functions to assist students in 

reaching specific communication objectives essential to various professions like nursing, engineering, 

and medicine, as highlighted by Gonzalez in 2015. Therefore, the dual focus both on language and 

content is not a completely new teaching concept; rather, it may represent a new stage of development in 

ESP teaching (Jiang, 2010).  

2.2 Bring the Dual Focus on both Language and Content in ESP Courses through Teacher Collaboration 

To enhance foreign language proficiency and integrate professional skills, many colleges and universities 

nationwide are implementing ESP courses. However, this initiative reveals challenges such as limited 

expertise among ESP teachers, scarce resources, and a lack of practical post-training evaluation. 

Improving ESP teaching quality and establishing a new model requires schools to bolster cooperation 

among teachers, foster partnerships with enterprises, integrate online and offline resources, and clearly 

define teaching objectives. Effective ESP teachers must possess expertise in English, proficiency in their 

field, and knowledge of ESP theories and teaching methods. Typically led by English or professional 

teachers, ESP teaching suitability hinges on these three aspects: English subject knowledge, professional 

expertise, and familiarity with ESP-related theories and methods. Based on this criterion, professional 

teachers can offer students specialized guidance; however, they exhibit deficiencies in English language 

skills during listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including inaccurate pronunciation, grammar 

errors, and other classroom challenges. Conversely, English teachers possess a strong language 

foundation but lack interdisciplinary professional knowledge, remaining limited to language learning and 

unable to fulfil students’ needs for professional skills. As a result, ESP teaching encounters significant 

challenges, necessitating further improvement in teaching effectiveness. Addressing this, the 

collaboration between teachers in the “language” and “content” domains under the CLIL model emerges 

as a potential solution. Through collaborative ESP tasks involving professional teachers and college 

English teachers, this approach supports the content, cognition, culture, and communication aspects of 

professional English (4C framework). This not only enhances students’ professional knowledge but also 

boosts their proficiency in professional English listening, speaking, reading, and writing. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr              Education, Language and Sociology Research              Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

91 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Team teaching involves planning and putting together two kinds of teaching, while “co-teaching” means 

shared instructions in the same classroom (Cook & Friend, 1995). There are three teaching modalities 

demonstrated by Perez-Vidal and Campanale (2005): language teachers can teach parts or all of the 

content subject; native teachers can work as content teachers or as language assistants; or language and 

content teachers can teach together in the same classroom. There are several ways of implementing the 

concurrency of content and language in the same classroom: first, one teacher teaches while the other 

plays the role of an unobtrusive assistant; second, teachers divide the class into two groups and teach 

simultaneously; third, both teachers deliver the same information at the same time (Cook & Friend, 1995). 

However, teacher collaboration is just about doubling the number of teachers. Other elements should be 

taken into consideration, such as “the adoption of common curriculum planning proformas and process”, 

and “the establishment of systematic mechanisms for monitoring, evaluation, and feedback” etc. 

(Davison, 2006, p. 456). Furthermore, the most fundamental element of effective collaboration between 

language teachers and content-area teachers is the clear conceptualization of the task which “needs to be 

concerned with the broader notion of curriculum” (Davison, 2006, p. 456). Content-area teachers and 

language teachers can learn, communicate, share and cooperate with each other to ensure the success of 

an ESP course by integrating profound language skills, cross-cultural heritage, and professional content. 

In order to explore the feasibility of bringing the dual focus on both language and content into ESP 

courses through teacher collaboration within the context of West Yunnan University of Applied Science, 

this study employed qualitative research to answer the following two research questions: What are 

problems traditional EGP teachers encounter in ESP classroom? To what extent, are they willing to 

cooperate with content-area teachers?  

 

3. Method 

This research was conducted in the School of Jewelry, one of the largest faculties of the West Yunnan 

University of Applied Science. This university is one of the first batch of applied-oriented public 

undergraduate universities in China jointly built by the Ministry of Education and Yunnan Province. 

School of Jewelry offers 8 undergraduate majors, including gem and material technology, Product design, 

Arts and Crafts, leisure sports, preschool education, and automobile service engineering, Tourism 

geoscience and planning engineering and sports rehabilitation. By leveraging its developmental 

characteristics and practical experiences, the School of Jewelry has initiated reflections on teaching and 

classroom reform, aligning them with the ongoing teaching reforms both domestically and internationally. 

Considering that ESP courses are compulsory courses for most majors at this institution, this study 

employed semi-structured interviews as research instruments to examine the feasibility of introducing 

the CLIL model into ESP courses through collaboration between language teachers and content-area 

teachers can solve problems teachers encounter in ESP classrooms.  

The participants’ names were pseudonyms and identifying details, such as the courses they deliver have 

been purposely made vague to protect privacy. They were made aware of their rights involved in this 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr              Education, Language and Sociology Research              Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

92 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

study and gave their informed consent. Simon and Emma both obtained language-related bachelor’s and 

master’s degrees. Furthermore, they are mainly responsible for the EGP course at the School of Jewelry. 

We had face-to-face interviews to obtain vivid and in-depth qualitative data. My analysis of the data 

draws upon CLIL and teacher collaboration to examine their perspective and practice of teacher 

collaboration in ESP courses. 

 

4. Results 

Traditional EGP teachers may suffer from insufficient specialized knowledge, unqualified textbooks, and 

unskilled pedagogical principles when teaching EGP courses. Additionally, they actually tried to 

cooperate with content-area teachers in private and they value the possibility of cooperating with them. 

Deep inside, traditional EGP teachers may be unwilling to teach ESP courses because of a deficiency of 

related knowledge. They may find it easier to teach ESP courses which are related to social science, while 

struggling with those they are unfamiliar with. They explained this further: 

I don’t feel I am qualified to teach [Course Name], and I knew it at the very beginning. During 

the summer vacation, my director asked me if any teacher was capable of teaching this course. 

This task is a hot potato, you know, so nobody was willing to take it. Given I was the director of 

the teaching research office (jiaoyanshi) at that time, I would be the one. When I got the textbook, 

I felt more frustrated since I could barely understand the text. I have studied and worked in the 

field of social science for like 13 years, and I felt illiterate when reading words like “Departure 

angle” and “Toe-in”. 

-Simon 

Since I began to work at this University three years ago, I have taught three different ESP 

courses, including [Course Name], [Course Name], [Course Name], etc. [Course Name] and 

[Course Name] were okay because they are related to social science. In contrast, [Course Name] 

was a nightmare as it is all about engineering. I really need someone who can help me with it.  

-Emma 

In addition, teachers are encouraged to select appropriate audio and video materials for ESP course 

teaching according to the college situation, students’ needs and unit learning topics. ESP teaching 

materials design and ESP teacher training play a mutually promoting role. Strive to realize the virtuous 

circle of “promoting teaching by compiling” and “promoting evaluation by teaching”, as for as shown in 

the comments below. 

Even though the lecturer should be responsible for selecting a textbook, the textbook was 

actually recommended by the chair of [name of major]. He told me this book is comprehensive 

and professional, and I adopted this one about which I felt disjointed afterwards because this 

book failed to meet my students’ needs. My students mostly come from underdeveloped areas 

and their English proficiency wasn’t good enough for them to acquire knowledge from this book. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr              Education, Language and Sociology Research              Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

93 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Therefore, when teaching this ESP course, I myself had to find appropriate audio or video 

materials and even design tasks. 

-Simon 

It is necessary for ESP teachers to develop relevant materials suitable for ESP instruction. The demand 

for appropriate teaching materials in ESP, requiring both subject expertise and English language 

proficiency, makes it challenging for teachers to find truly fitting resources despite the abundance in the 

market. In addition, ESP courses should employ a thematic teaching method, allowing the flexible 

creation and selection of materials to help students master professional knowledge and enhance their 

English proficiency. Comments below illustrate this point: 

Unconsciously, I sometimes turn the ESP course into a traditional EGP course. I may attach 

too much importance to structure instead of meaning. When chatting with my colleagues, I 

realized that they had little knowledge of teaching ESP courses.  

- Emma 

Well, I did learn some theoretical stuff about ESP. However, learning is far different from 

teaching. It seemed that I could not control the ESP classroom in a good way. 

- Simon 

Traditional teachers are willing to establish a network cooperation platform leveraging the Internet to 

overcome constraints of time and space. This platform may facilitate collaboration between content-area 

teachers and language teachers in designing teaching courseware, syllabi, resource banks, and test 

questions. This collaborative approach is more likely to enhance work efficiency and improve ESP 

teaching outcomes. Lastly, teachers should also implement diverse evaluation methods. In ESP 

cooperative teaching, employing multiple assessment approaches, including evaluations by both English 

teachers and professional teachers, can encourage students to engage actively in their studies and provide 

a comprehensive understanding of their learning levels. One teacher stated: 

You know, recently, teaching and learning in the School of Jewelry have gradually shifted from 

a teacher-centred approach to a student-centred one. This transition entails moving from “what 

instructional design teaches, how teaching processes are executed, and how teaching 

evaluations are conducted” to “what instructional design entails, how teaching processes are 

facilitated, and how teaching evaluations are learned”. Team-teaching between traditional 

language teachers and content-area teachers may be one of the most effective ways for us to 

achieve this goal. 

-Emma 

We do advocate for a transformation in teaching methodologies—from knowledge-centric to 

skill-centric classrooms, from didactic to dialogic classrooms, from closed to open classrooms, 

from prioritizing rote learning to integrating learning and critical thinking, from emphasizing 

knowledge acquisition to integrating knowledge with practical application, and from valuing 

teaching above learning to valuing educators alongside learners. ESP courses pose a challenge 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr              Education, Language and Sociology Research              Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

94 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

for all of us, so we really need to find a good way to resolve those changelings in ESP courses. 

I tried to communicate how to teach those courses with content-area teachers in private. They 

gave me some suggestive advice. 

-Simon 

 

5. Conclusion 

Language teachers and content-area teachers should foster a sense of cooperation and establish a learning 

community. To address the isolated nature of ESP teaching, several ESP teaching pilot majors should be 

established within the College English Teaching and Research Office based on teachers’ interests, guiding 

others in the field. Enhanced communication and collaboration within the teaching team can break down 

isolation barriers. Furthermore, even though coursebooks can scaffold by providing teachers with 

relatively professional materials and fostering students’ learning strategies, coursebooks can be a 

debilitating crutch because they cannot meet the diverse needs of learners and teachers are less likely to 

be creative when they use coursebooks (Crawford, 2002). In terms of those irrelevant contents or tasks 

in the ESP learning environment, the ESP teachers should either change materials (adaptation) or add 

something new (supplementation). 

Content-area teachers and language teachers can jointly use online interactive platforms to keep track of 

students’ learning trends, share teaching resources, timely understand students’ difficulties in learning 

and help them solve them. In addition to daily teaching work, teachers can cooperate to set up after-class 

discussions and Q&A groups. Content-area teachers can be responsible for solving students’ questions 

about professional knowledge, sharing videos and articles of expert lectures in the group, and 

recommending useful books and periodicals for students. Language teachers can be dedicated to 

answering students’ English language questions and cross-cultural communication questions and sharing 

listening, speaking, reading and writing skills with students. The two teachers complement each other 

and are indispensable. The two sides jointly build a network cooperation platform, the teaching form is 

no longer confined to the traditional classroom, and students can not only receive professional guidance 

from professional teachers but also be influenced by English teachers at any time, so as to better achieve 

the teaching goal. 

Language teachers can mainly evaluate students’ English language ability and encourage students to lay 

solid basic English skills by holding various activities such as English writing contests, scene English 

dialogue, spelling contests and listening tests on the subject. Content-area teachers can pay more attention 

to the examination of students’ professional knowledge, specifically, they can hold professional 

knowledge competitions, professional practice and so on to evaluate, in order to encourage students to 

learn professional knowledge. Teachers from both sides can also jointly evaluate students’ learning 

methods, learning attitudes and learning effects to form an objective and comprehensive evaluation. The 

comprehensive evaluation of students by professional teachers and English teachers can make students’ 

professional ability and English language abilities develop comprehensively in ESP courses. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/elsr              Education, Language and Sociology Research              Vol. 5, No. 1, 2024 

95 
Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Acknowledgements 

This paper is funded by the teaching reform project of the School of Jewelry, West Yunnan University of 

Applied Science, “Teaching ESP courses in Applied-oriented Colleges under CLIL Model - Teaching 

Reform from the Perspective of Teacher Cooperation” (Project Number: 2022JZBXY13) 

 

References 

Bruton, A. (2013). CLIL: some of the reasons why …. and why not. System, 41(3), 587-597. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.07.001 

Cook, L. H., & Friend, M. (1995). Co-teaching guidelines for creating effective practices. Focus on 

Exceptional Children, 28(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.17161/fec.v28i3.6852 

Coyle, D., Hood, P., & Marsh, D. (2010). CLIL. Cambridge University. 

https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024549 

Crawford, J. (2002). The role of materials in the language classroom: Finding a balance. In J. C. Richards, 

& W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University 

Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667190.013 

Davison, C. (2006). Collaboration Between ESL and Content Teachers: How Do We Know When We 

Are Doing It Right? International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(4), 454-475. 

https://doi.org/10.2167/beb339.0 

Gao, H. (2018). Cooperative Teaching of College Teachers from the Perspective of ESP. Journal of 

Jiamusi Education Institute, 4, 461. 

Jiang, L. (2010). Content and Language Integrated Learning & Practice Teaching English for Special 

Purposes. Journal of HuBei TV University, 30(10), 38-39. 

Liu, J., & Chen J. (2019). EAP teacher’s identity construction in the context of curriculum reform. 

Education Research Monthly, 4, 81-87. 

Pe ŕez-Vidal, C., & Campanale, N. (2005). Planning for CLIL lessons. In C. Pe ŕez Vidal (Ed.), Content 

and language integrated learning (CLIL) in Europe (pp. 39-53). Barcelona: Printulibro. 

Vega, M., & Moscoso, M. L. (2019). Challenges in the Implementation of CLIL in Higher Education: 

From ESP to CLIL in the Tourism Classroom. Latin American Journal Of Content & Language 

Integrated Learning, 12(1), 144-176. https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2019.12.1.7 

 

 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.07.001
https://doi.org/10.17161/fec.v28i3.6852
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024549
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667190.013
https://doi.org/10.2167/beb339.0
https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2019.12.1.7

