Intercultural learners, intercultural brokers and ESP classrooms: The case of a shipping business course

Abstract

This paper explores the ways in which “interculturality” can be embedded in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classroom and presents a project developed within a “Shipping Business English” course whose ultimate aim is to provide students with opportunities for gaining awareness across cultures at the same time English is used as the means of communication and language is integrated with content. Conclusions point at the new role of ESP teachers as “intercultural brokers” and prove that ESP classrooms provide a suitable context to explore foreign cultures by bringing them in line with each student’s home culture and the specific contents of the ESP course.