1. Rationale
The National Teachers’ Training College (NTTC) used to be the National College for Early Childhood Teachers No1. Thus, library study is a new field of study at the college. There have been students of library study since 2004. Although English has been taught at NTTC since 1990 and English is a compulsory subject, ESP is only taught for students of library study and computer science students. At the NTTC students take the General English (GE) course with 150 periods. After finishing their GE course students of library will take the ESP course of 60 periods.
According to the training curriculum, the ESP is to be delivered in the third semester of the second year after two semesters of GE. The reading texts used for the ESP course are selected by the teachers of the English section from different sources and they use them as syllabus to plan the lessons. Since ESP has been a part of English teaching at the NTTC, there has never been an official guidance or any suggestions for the ESP teachers. Those who are responsible for teaching ESP for students of library study often choose the parts from their own sources, which they personally think, are important and appropriate for their learners without any investigation into the factors concerning ESP theories as well as the learners’ need or target situation. As a result, consideration for students’ need, the aim and objectives of the ESP course is nowhere to stay but is subjected to teachers’ subjective options.
It is clear that a syllabus contributes to the success and fulfills the objectives of an English course. A syllabus is an integral component in the process of the course design. Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.83-84) explain why we should have a syllabus by identifying the roles of a syllabus. The syllabus, defining the constituent parts of language knowledge is a practical basis for the division of assessment, textbooks and learning time. Apart from its practical benefits, a syllabus gives more support to the teachers and learners in that it makes the language-learning tasks appear manageable. A syllabus is an implicit statement of view on the nature of what is taken to be the most important aspect of language learning. A syllabus then tells the teacher and the student not only what to be learned but also why it is to be learned.
The shortage of an appropriate syllabus for the second year students of library study at the NTTC is a big and urgent question, waiting to be answered. And it is of great necessity and significance to both teachers who are teaching ESP and students of library study. This is the reason why the topic “Designing an ESP syllabus for the second year students of library study at the NTTC” is the subject matter chosen for my thesis.
2. Aims and Objectives
The study aims at designing an appropriate ESP syllabus for the second year students of library study at the NTTC. To achieve this aim, three objectives are set to be obtained.
 To develop a theoretical framework related to an ESP syllabus design.
 To conduct a Needs Analysis to identify the students’ learning situation, the learning needs perceived by the teachers who are responsible for the ESP course, subject teachers, and the second year students of library study.
 To propose an appropriate ESP syllabus for the target students based on the relevant theories and the Needs Analysis.
3. Research questions
To attain these above aims and objectives the following research questions are raised:
 What are the students’ learning needs and target needs?
 What should be included in the syllabus?
The answer to these question help to develop an appropriate ESP syllabus for the second year students of library study at NTTC.
4. Scope of the Study
The study limits itself to design an ESP reading syllabus for the second year students of library study at the NTTC. The author of the study is concerned with the second year students of library study, subject teachers and English teachers at the NTTC. Other approaches to syllabus designs intended for students and other subjects at any other levels of English language proficiency would be beyond the scope.