TEACHERS’ STRATEGIES IN TEACHING ESP FOR FASHION DESIGN STUDENTS AT SMKS IMELDA MEDAN

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the teaching strategies used by an English teacher in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for Fashion Design students at SMKS Imelda Medan. This study employed a descriptive qualitative research design. The participant of the study was one English teacher and a class consisting of 24 Fashion Design students. The data were collected through classroom observations. The recorded data and interview results were subsequently transcribed for analysis. The study was guided by the ESP framework proposed by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) and Dudley-Evans and St John (1998), which was used to identify the types of ESP teaching strategies. The findings revealed that four types of ESP teaching strategies were employed by the teacher, namely Needs-Based Strategies, Communicative Strategies, Task-Based Strategies, and Authentic Material Strategies. Among these strategies, Communicative Strategies were the most dominant, with a frequency of 18 occurrences (36%), while Authentic Material Strategies were the least frequently used, with 9 occurrences (18%). The findings indicate that the teacher emphasized communication to support students’ English learning while adapting instruction to the vocational needs of Fashion Design students.