Bridging the ESP Gap: Assessing Workplace English Communication Challenges in a South African Municipal Internship

Ntshebe, Sipumelele

doi:10.22034/ijpie.2023.233190

Bridging the ESP Gap: Assessing Workplace English Communication Challenges in a South African Municipal Internship

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Sipumelele Ntshebe

PhD Candidate in Education, Walter Sisulu University, South Africa

10.22034/ijpie.2023.233190

Abstract

This expanded article critically assesses the design, implementation, and potential evolution of an
Internship Program between an Eastern Cape University and a District Municipality (DM),
examined rigorously through the frameworks of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Genre
Pedagogy. Existing research on Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) predominantly emphasizes
macro-level policy and overall graduate employment outcomes. This study contends that the
program's ongoing failures are fundamentally attributable to a significant pedagogical and
linguistic misalignment between graduates' English for Academic Purposes (EAP) competencies
and the intricate, high-stakes, genre-specific Workplace English Communication (ESP)
requirements within public administration. This study provides a significant contribution by
conducting an in-depth analysis of the relationship between a university and a municipality in a
resource-limited, multilingual African context, emphasizing the distinct challenges posed by
English as a medium of governance. The study employs a mixed methods design, incorporating
structured questionnaires, key informant interviews, and policy document analysis, to examine the
systemic and linguistic dissonance within the university-municipality-graduate triad. Even though
there was a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016, the findings show that
systemic barriers, which we define here as a serious lack of structured linguistic mentorship, a
curriculum that doesn't cover enough genres, and a failure to do a basic ESP needs analysis, are
the main things that are keeping the program from being effective. The article concludes by
advocating for a policy-aligned, resource-supported, and strategically coordinated ESP-integrated
curriculum model, outlining the necessary steps for institutionalizing effective professional
communication training and providing essential, transferable insights for African TESOL policy
and practice within public sector domains.

Keywords

English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

Curriculum Alignment

Genre Pedagogy

African TESOL Context

Work Integrated Learning (WIL)

Multilingualism

Discursive Competence

Subjects

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