ESP teaching challenges of novice English lecturers in Indonesia: A descriptive qualitative approach

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore novice English lecturers’ challenges in teaching ESP at non-English departments. The challenges are essential to be investigated as a basis for stakeholders of higher education to make policies related to ESP improvement. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed to gather the data from lecturers in three higher education institutions in Sumatra, Indonesia. The participants of this study were 5 novice English lecturers selected using a purposive sampling technique and the data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis was used to analyze the data by comparing each participant’s interview transcript. The findings provide evidence that participants encountered a lack of knowledge of students’ discipline, no proper analysis of students’ needs, and classroom conditions in terms of large classes and students’ heterogeneous English proficiency. This study recommended tertiary education stakeholders provide and prepare important factors which can support ESP teaching, and the lecturers need to be well-prepared before starting to teach the ESP class to achieve the learning goals.