specific English territories. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of

In designing an EAP (English for Academic Purposes) course it is necessary that we consider several factors: students ’ objectives, needs, levels and interests, course and institution’s goals, and availability of resources. In this paper it is strived to elucidate the differences between EGP (English for General purposes) and ESP (English for Specific purposes) courses. The experience of teaching in EFL situation indicates that our students largely need general English rather than specific English. Also, it is endeavored to discuss the role of EAP teachers and learners. Meanwhile, we will try to illustrate the crucial role that common core, content-based instruction, needs analysis, materials, and classroom activities serve in EAP syllabuses. It is discussed that before embarking on teaching, we need to take heed of students ’ levels, aims and needs. This paper can have significant implications for EAP teachers, graduate students, syllabus designers, material developers, and researchers in the field of EAP