1 Paper presented in ESTCON-ICMeSH2012, June 12-14, 2012, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur Developing an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Module for Oil Palm Supervisors in Sarawak, Malaysia Roselind Wan Lecturer Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Dr. Bromeley Philip Associate Professor Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) ABSTRACT English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is very much driven by the specific learning needs of the target group and if learners‟ needs are not taken into account, the course will be based on unsuitable or irrelevant materials. It is therefore imperative to understand the students and their reasons for learning the language and seek answers to: Why are students learning the language? Who are the students and what are the reasons for them to learn the language? Learners‟ motivation to learn will be affected when there is a clear disconnect between the language needs and the course materials. This paper reports on a preliminary study carried out among students at a State Skills Training Center and proposes a theoretical framework for developing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for Oil Palm Supervisors. The paper suggests that when the ESP module is specific, tailor-made according to the specific needs of learners, the learners‟ capacity for greater understanding and learning is enhanced. Keywords: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), ESP module, English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP), Needs Analysis 1. INTRODUCTION Students in most skills centers in Sarawak are required to take English courses to help them in their study. The students are usually those who have opted for vocational or skills-based training in areas such as automotive repairs, air-condition maintenance, graphic design and supervisory skills training for oil palm management. The English curriculum however is largely confined to the general English categorizes under the English for general academic purposes (EGAP). There is an obvious neglect by some teachers to look into the actual needs of their students; undoubtedly ignoring the glaring disparity between materials and specific needs of students who are not only diverse in terms of their language needs but also in terms of their specific needs of the language. The requirement for a specific module to address specific needs is therefore imminent in view of the growing interest for vocational and skills-based education among young Malaysians. In fact, vocational and skills- based education is increasingly seen as an attractive option for lifelong education. The emphasis on vocational training intensified under the Ninth Malaysia Plan where 20 skills training institutions in Malaysia were established to address the needs for skill- based (vocational) training. Intakes for pre- employment courses into State Skills Development Centers increased to 11,060 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan with an