From knowledge to empowerment: The epistemologies of ESP

So much has already been written about English for Specific Purposes since it made its first appearance more than fifty years ago that even writing a short introduction to a collection of essays on the new perspectives arising may feel like an arduous task and perhaps, and more worryingly, a futile endeavour. For this reason, rather than offering an overview of the state of the art in ESP studies (which would be doomed to be either incomplete or duplicate or both), I have decided to focus on just one of the issues that I consider particularly relevant in the current educational landscape characterized by increasing specialization as well as greater attention to employment opportunities (Biggs & Tang, 2007): epistemology, bridging the gap between the academy and the workplace.