Letter from the Chair-Elect

Gerlinde Koppitsch, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Villach, Austria

Dear ESP-IS Community,

I hope you have all started well into the new year. TESOL convention 2025 is rapidly approaching, and I would like to share insights on the academic session with you. As already mentioned in the last ESP newsletter, the session that I have the honor to organize is entitled “Addressing the Demands of Industry 4.0 in ESP Practice” and revolves around the needs arising from this new era. Since ESP practitioners generally follow the needs-based approach when preparing for and teaching their students, the challenges and demands arising from the current industrial revolution include preparing our students for a future where AI is ubiquitous, the half-life of technical knowledge constantly decreases, and new jobs evolve.

Our speakers for the panel discussion in Long Beach are Mark Warschauer (UC Irvine), Kevin Knight (Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan), Karen Schwelle (Washington University in St. Louis), and Andy Mattingly (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University). Mark will talk about how generative AI is affecting workplace needs. Kevin will discuss the leadership role of ESP practitioners and how they use spaces and AI for shaping learning environments. Andy will share how custom GPT can be used to create lesson materials facilitating this time-consuming but crucial part of teaching ESP. Karen will present her insights on a recent Engineering undergraduate curriculum review which took into account stakeholders’ input from the industry.

Another ESP-relevant topic that has arisen in the Industry 4.0 era and is being widely discussed are 21st Century skills, also referred to as Future skills. It has been found that companies worldwide already have difficulties finding workforce with adequate key skills which include for instance (intercultural) communication, critical thinking, (digital) information literacy, and collaboration. Therefore, it is pivotal to equip them not only with content knowledge but also relevant skills to succeed in their future careers. In this context, I see a chance for ESP to gain in importance since many 21st Century skills are easy to integrate (and are often already being integrated) in our lessons. Education is currently facing an era of change, and I am excited to be part of it and to explore new ways and possibilities of teaching and learning!

Yours,

Gerlinde Koppitsch

English for Specific Purposes-Interest Section (ESP-IS) Chair-Elect

Gerlinde Koppitsch is a Lecturer in English for Engineering & IT and Senior Researcher at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Austria. Her areas of research include student engagement, virtual exchanges and the inverted classroom in ESP.