Quotations from articles can also be integrated directly into their word-processed project reports with reference details automatically cited. If short intensive courses for Iranian naval engineers, Italian ski- instructors, French waiters, or Thai systems analysts need to be provided, then obtaining suitable materials at short notice can be difficult. Published ESP textbooks tend to cover general areas rather than specialised sub-areas due to the limited size of specialist markets. In rapidly-changing technical areas, textbooks can be out of date on publication. Newspapers on CD-ROM can provide some solutions for ESP materials production in many areas.
Newspaper articles cover a surprisingly wide range of specialist, technical, and professional areas.
To illustrate this, I conducted a number of searches of both general and specialised areas typically covered in ESP courses. All of the articles can be sorted and accessed in a matter of seconds. Having located texts in the learners specific area, the ESP teacher can then utilise the texts as a basis for materials design. Alternatively, the texts can be used as a basis for language learning exercises, project work, CALL and conversation classes as detailed above. Most suppliers give educational discounts, and the prices of the papers seem to vary considerably.