ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that the process of learning to manipulate specialized genres and conventions, balancing the generic requirements of the disciplinary community with one's own private intentions, is a fundamentally creative process. Language teaching in the disciplines, or language for specific purposes (LSP), is an approach to language teaching which recognizes that the kinds of language tasks and activities that learners encounter in specialized disciplinary domains varies greatly from one discipline to the next. Thus, in the academic context, a second-/foreign-language learner studying law is frequently required to produce a genre like the legal problem question answer, while science students are routinely expected to produce a genre like the lab report. As a result, needs analysis, the identification of the language needs of students in particular disciplines, is a key feature of the LSP approach. A common practice in such needs analysis is the identification and analysis of key genres in the discipline, which plays role in particular disciplinary practices.