CONCEPT MAPS IN THE ESP CLASSROOM Šulovská, Denisa SK Key words: ESP, concept maps, student involvement, efficient learning. Abstract: ESP classes at the University level increasingly exploit modern innovative methods which give students a much more active role in the classroom. Among such methods are knowledge visualisation techniques. This paper briefly describes the use of concept maps in ESP classes for political sciences as well as includes some examples of concept maps used in the course. In recent years educators have stressed the need to involve students more in the teaching process. Traditionally, students were assigned a passive role, being the recipients of “teaching“. These days many modern methods have been introduced into the classrooms to facilitate efficient learning. Some of them include knowledge visualisation techniques which are generally used as a method of transfering knowledge. They exploit a number of visual formats – sketches, diagrams, images, objects, computer based interactive visualisations etc. This article briefly describes the use of concept maps in ESP classes at the university level and includes examples of some concept maps used. Many methods and techniques have been used in foreign language teaching – for example the Grammar-Translation Method, Natural Approach, Direct Methods, the Communicative Approach, etc. Regardless of the method selected, the aim of language teaching should be to enable students to actually use the target language in their lives – in our case, to use it successfully in their academic and professional environment. Here the mastery of specific vocabulary is certainly important. One method of learning and retaining subject specific vocabulary that has proven effective in our classes is the use of concept maps, which in turn have successfully been used also in speaking (presentations) and writing activities (writing summaries). What is a concept map? Basically, it is ”a way of representing relations between ideas, images or words.“ The concept map - first developed by J.D. Novak in the 1970s - is used as an instructional tool by means of which concepts are arranged in a hierarchical arrangement of circles or boxes. Although it was originally developed to enhance learning in the exact sciences, it has also successfully been used in social sciences, including foreign language teaching (see Tumen, 2007, for information on teaching grammar with the use of concept maps). Concept mapping is sometimes confused with mind mapping, although they differ in several respects. Generally speaking, the concept map can be taken as a map of a real, existing system in science or as a linked set of concepts from a particulat field of science. It can be expressed in a free form, using divergent patterns, and is based on connections between concepts. Concept maps are widely used in education for many purposes, for example note-taking and knowledge creation. There are many varieties of concept maps which are divided into several categories depending on the author (see for example Tumen, 2007). Some of the more frequent types include chain of events, continuum, clustering, compare/contrast, cycle, family