DEVELOPING AN ESP SYLLABUS AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR AGRIBUSINESS STUDENTS: AN R&D STUDY
Abstract
English instruction in many agricultural higher education programs continues to rely on general English courses that focus primarily on grammar and everyday communication. Such approaches often fail to address the discipline-specific communication needs required in agribusiness education. Although needs analysis has long been recognized as a fundamental component of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), relatively few studies have translated identified needs into systematically designed instructional materials tailored to agricultural contexts. This study aims to develop ESP instructional materials for agribusiness students based on a comprehensive needs analysis. The research employed a Research and Development (R&D) approach guided by the ADDIE model, focusing on the stages of analysis, design, and development. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to 31 seventh-semester agribusiness students and interviews with an English lecturer. The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale and the data were analyzed using mean scores and percentages. The findings indicate that agribusiness students require English primarily for discipline-specific communication tasks, particularly presenting agricultural topics (M = 4.30), participating in discussions (M = 4.25), and reporting fieldwork activities (M = 4.05). Students also reported difficulties related to limited agricultural vocabulary and low confidence in speaking English. Based on these findings, an ESP syllabus, course plan, and instructional module consisting of fourteen units were developed, integrating agricultural content with communicative learning activities. The study contributes to ESP pedagogy by demonstrating how needs analysis can inform the systematic development of discipline-specific instructional materials in agricultural higher education.
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