A Comprehensive Review of Trending English for Specific Purposes Research Directions in the MENA Region

Abstract

As English is today’s lingua franca, ESP is a flourishing domain of English language teaching and learning for learners seeking to enhance their professional or academic performance in a specific target situation. This review aims to identify research trends in the MENA region through topical themes explored in two major journals of the domain, English for Specific Purposes and Journal of English for Academic Purposes. To reach this objective, 26 papers published between 2019 and 2024 were selected based on the authors’ institutional affiliation. The set of selected papers consists of studies from Algeria, Iran, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. The results of this review revealed a major interest in researching target-situation linguistic analysis and pedagogical implications.

Keywords: ESP, Research Trend, MENA, EAP, Research Article, Review