EXPLORING THE ROLE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN ESP TEXTBOOKS FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION
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This study investigates the role and impact of authentic materials in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) textbooks, with a focus on students and teachers from the fields of natural sciences (NS) and technical sciences (TS). Although there are previous studies related to this topic, few of them focus on these specific scientific fields. By using qualitative feedback from semi-structured interviews and quantitative data from evaluation scales, the study explores perceptions of textbook authenticity and its alignment with real-world tasks by students and teachers. Findings indicate that while textbooks provide essential domain-specific vocabulary, they lack sufficient integration of authentic materials, such as technical manuals, scientific articles, and real-world case studies. The study highlights the need for textbook developers to include contextually relevant materials and proposes practical recommendations for enhancing authenticity in ESP textbooks to better meet the needs of NS and TS students.
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