Knowledge transfer between researchers and practitioners is particularly important in ESP, which has often been characterised as a field where the interface between research and practice remains relatively weak (Nickerson & Chan, 2024). Strengthening this interface has therefore been a recurring concern in my work.
With this aim, Catherine Nickerson and I co-edited a Special Issue of English for Specific Purposes that explicitly foregrounded research-informed practice by bringing researchers and practitioners into dialogue.
Key publication
In this Special Issue, we identified 10 influential studies on business English published since 2005. We then invited ten contributors (mostly the original researchers themselves) to review one of these studies and provide a researcher commentary on its key insights, contributions, and limitations. In parallel, we invited a further ten contributors (predominantly practitioners teaching business English) to comment on one of the same studies from a practitioner perspective and give examples of ways that they would use the research findings. You may find their ideas inspiring.
This dual-commentary design made visible how research can be interpreted, adapted and extended in pedagogical contexts. It was particularly encouraging to see how practitioner contributors proposed innovative and context-sensitive ways of using research findings in teaching, as well as identifying directions for further research that would meaningfully support business English practice.
Reflection
One key insight emerging from this work is captured in the Editorial to the Special Issue:
“It is in the belief that researchers and practitioners have an equally important role to play in creating a stronger interface between research and pedagogy that this Special Issue was conceived. Not only do we believe that both researchers and practitioners can be producers of knowledge, but we also believe that they can both be consumers of the knowledge that each produces and learn from and be inspired by each other” (Nickerson & Chan, 2024, p. 136).
This project reinforced my view that knowledge transfer in ESP should be understood as a two-way process. Creating structured spaces where researchers and practitioners can engage with each other’s work, whether through publications, events or professional communities, is therefore essential. It is in this spirit that this webpage has been developed, and I hope it contributes in a small way to supporting such exchanges.
