Interdisciplinary Aspects of Teaching English for Specific Purposes via Bilingual Projects

Abstract

The present paper deals with innovative approaches to teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in the field of interdisciplinarity. The paper starts with the novelty and topicality of the issue in question. It makes an attempt to eliminate a contradiction now apparent in Ukrainian education regarding the theoretical foundations and practical application of the basic ESP principles in vocational schools and universities. The authors explore the concept of interdisciplinarity and its didactic potential when applied to the ESP teaching process. It is stated that the interdisciplinary approach is able to provide new and exciting possibilities when it stimulates the learners’ interest in foreign languages both in and outside of an educational environment. The paper introduces a new methodological option in the ESP educational process – an interdisciplinary bilingual project. As it dares to be an innovative type of group project, some theoretical considerations are necessarily discussed. Its basic categories, implementation objectives, interdisciplinary characteristics are identified. The paper justifies the didactic appropriateness of the project in question and its interdisciplinary practicality.

Keywords

• interdisciplinarity
• bilingual project
• group project
• English for Specific Purposes
• professional/ vocational training
• educational environment