Thailand’s Higher Education English for Specific Purposes Practitioners: Problems, Solutions and a Potential Practices Model

This sequential and concurrent mixed-method study aimed to identify the problems that higher education English for Specific Purposes (ESP) practitioners in Thailand encountered and the solutions they employed to overcome these problems. Also, the study aimed to develop a potential practices model for ESP practitioners. Semi-structured interviews and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) pairwise comparisons were employed to reveal that ten practitioners encountered 54 problems in six categories: needs analysis, course design, teaching-learning, assessment, evaluation, and others. Three highest-ranked problems were 1) the ESP practitioners’ lack of specialization in relevant fields (34.62%), 2) unsuitable classrooms and facilities (29.15%), and 3) the lack of specific course objective-oriented and cost-effective commercial textbooks (19.09%). The average consistency ratio (C.R.) was 0.32. The study suggested the need for training provisions and inclusion of ESP courses in the curriculum. The model suggested various practices for institutions, such as conducting comprehensive needs analysis, recruiting new ESP practitioners, and providing suitable facilities and budgets. ESP practitioners were advised to utilize needs analysis for course design, employ experiential and collaborative learning approaches, and use diverse assessment methods. These recommendations aimed to enhance ESP education and improve an English curriculum, teaching practices, and evaluation processes.