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Article published In:
Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 37:1 (2024) ► pp.299–334

Further step toward a definition of the core professional development needs of teachers of Languages for Specific Purposes in the European Higher Education Area

ORCID logo | University of Ljubljana
| University of Ljubljana
ORCID logo | University of Ljubljana
In the attempt to make a further step toward a research-based definition of the core professional development needs of teachers of languages for specific purposes (LSP), this paper aims to upgrade the framework of professional development needs of LSP teachers developed by Bocanegra-Valle and Basturkmen (2019). With this objective in mind, the paper will examine the differences in the professional development needs of LSP teachers in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) based on their experience with LSP teaching in higher education, qualification level, and LSP taught. The results suggest that the core LSP teacher professional development needs are distributed across the categories of course development, knowledge of the target discipline/profession/industry, knowledge of language use in the target discipline/profession/industry, peer collaboration, and professional development opportunities. Efficient LSP teacher professional development could be based on a three-stage model: a general LGP teaching methodology course, followed by a general LSP teaching methodology course, and finally discipline-specific acculturation.
Keywords: LSP teachers, professional development needs, European Higher Education Area, curriculum design, mixed methodology study
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Instruments and data collection
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1What are the core professional development needs of LSP teachers in the EHEA?
      • 4.1.1Course development needs
      • 4.1.2Knowledge of the target discipline/profession/industry
      • 4.1.3Knowledge of language use in the target discipline/profession/industry
      • 4.1.4Peer collaboration
      • 4.1.5Professional development opportunities
    • 4.2How do the core professional development needs of LSP teachers in the EHEA differ depending on the LSP teacher’s experience, qualification level, and LSP taught?
      • 4.2.1LSP teacher’s experience
      • 4.2.2Qualification level
      • 4.2.3LSP taught
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 29 January 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.21039.jur
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