What is the focus of role-plays in ESP training?

The focus of role-plays in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) training is best captured by the idea of practicing language in colleague-like scenarios. Role-plays are designed to simulate real-life professional situations that learners may encounter in their specific fields. This immersive approach allows participants to engage in dialogues and interactions that are relevant to their future workplace environments.

Through role-plays, learners can practice using specialized vocabulary, improve their communication skills, and develop a better understanding of context and cultural nuances within their professional settings. This experiential learning technique encourages not only language proficiency but also practical application, making it highly effective for ESP contexts.

In contrast, encouraging competition between learners, developing abstract thinking skills, and memorizing specific vocabulary lists do not align with the primary goal of role-plays. These activities may enhance different learning aspects but do not capture the essence of applying language in context, which is central to the function of role-plays in ESP training.