EXPLORING PHYSICS EDUCATION STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARD ESP INSTRUCTION: EVIDENCE FROM A SURVEY STUDY

Abstract

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is essential for the academic achievement of physics education students, especially for understanding scientific content and communicating research findings. This study seeks to look at the viewpoints of students in the physics department on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and to discern the elements influencing their attitudes, motivation, and involvement in ESP instruction. A questionnaire with 50 items was given to 80 physics students as part of a descriptive qualitative approach. The finding indicates that the students demonstrated a general positive perception with an overall mean score of 3.84. A total of 56.87% of respondents had favourable opinions, mostly because of ESP's value in enhancing academic reading and writing as well as understanding scientific vocabulary. Motivation was seen as the most important contributing factor (M = 4.12), followed by prior experience with English and instructional methodologies. Students said that contextual and interactive ESP exercises improved their engagement and confidence in employing academic English. According to the study's findings, physics education students believe that ESP is pertinent and helpful for their academic and professional growth. Strong motivation, encouraging learning environments, and context-based teaching strategies all contribute to the development of positive attitudes. These results highlight the need for ESP course designs that closely integrate physics-related materials to strengthen students’ readiness for scientific communication.