Lifelong Learning and ESP Vocabulary: Reflections in Telecommunications and ICT

Abstract

This paper examines the building of a glossary of technical terms by a sample of master’s degree students in the professional field of Telecommunications Engineering. To achieve this aim, linguistic data was extracted from the European MACbioIDi INTERREG Project with the aim of creating a collaborative bilingual, English- Spanish glossary. The glossary is used to foster vocabulary learning strategies for ELF/ESP learners and teachers of English. The study, designed for lifelong learning education and set in an ESP context of ICT and Telecommunications, shows (i) how a glossary building task can take the form of collaborative and reflective vocabulary learning projects in ESP, (ii) the learners’ identification of anglicisms in their professional domains, and (iii) samples of writing products stemming from building the glossary.

Keywords

• ELF
• ESP
• vocabulary
• lifelong learning
• professional English