Lithuanian undergraduate students’ approaches to learning English for Specific Purposes

Abstract

Aim. It has been established by research that learners’ approaches to learning and to the learning contexts in which it occurs play a pivotal role at all levels of education. Tertiary students’ approaches to learning have been widely investigated across different fields of study, however, little known research has focused on their approaches to learning foreign languages. Thus, to deepen our understanding in this field, the present research aims at establishing undergraduate students’ approaches to learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in an institution of higher education in Lithuania. Methods. The investigation was conducted with the participation of 111 undergraduate students, majors in 11 different study programmes, who took a mandatory course in ESP. The data were collected from the structured questionnaires; to carry out the research, quantitative research methods were used. Results. The research revealed that some students’ low engagement in the study process and their intention to learn as much as to get a passing grade showed that they used surface approach to learning ESP. The findings also disclosed a positive correlation between the students’ organised and systematic learning and planning their study time, which led to the assumption that these students were likely to use a deep approach to learning ESP. Finally, the statistical calculations proved that the students, whose approach to learning ESP was deep, were able to self-regulate their learning. Conclusion. The main conclusion of this research is that the participants’ approaches to learning ESP were both surface and deep. The results also suggested that some students could be directed towards deep learning by fostering their engagement in the study activities.