Case Study Research Strategy

The general methodology employed in the present study falls within what Stake (1995) calls the case study research strategy. Implicit within the case study methodology is the desire to understand human behaviors, actions, relationships, and/or attitudes. Two specific groups of ESP stakeholders in Kuwait were therefore incorporated into the empirical portion of the present study. It is clear that both ESP teachers and ESP students at the target institution have a vested interest in achieving positive outcomes from an ESP program. Consequently, in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the ESP program now in use at the PAAET, a case study incorporating these two groups of key stakeholders was undertaken.

A combination of qualitative and quantitative research was facilitated in the present study. Kelliny (1994) differentiates between qualitative and quantitative research with respect to the inclusion in the latter of objective and scientific realities that can be studied using empirical research methodologies. Including more than one research approach within the general confines of a case study is seen by many as a vital strategy capable of enhancing the efficacy of a research study. The methods selected include the use of a convenience sample of PAAET ESP teachers and of students in ESP programs as well. In addition to the use of survey questionnaires to obtain data, selected interviews were conducted to

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both were more demanding in the ESP context. The majority (67 percent) believed that content knowledge was more demanding whereas 33 percent believed that both content and language knowledge together were demanding. Teachers were also queried as to their involvement in any kind of research program leading to the development of ESP in their colleges. Eighty-eight percent indicated that they had no such involvement. Areas of either frequent or consistent involvement in ESP activities include: choosing teaching materials (67 percent), evaluating teaching materials (42 percent), designing an ESP syllabus (33 percent), and needs analysis and choosing textbooks (25 percent each). Other key findings include the following: 75 percent of respondents indicated that EFL courses at PAAET colleges do not cater for different levels of proficiency 54 percent indicated that ESP courses were functionally and structurally balanced 50 percent favored an eclectic teaching approach whereas 42 percent favored the communicative approach and only 8 percent preferred the audio-lingual method A 75 percent portion of the sample characterized the textbooks used to teach ESP as inadequate whereas only 25 percent considered these textbooks to be eith

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