Oral Proficiency in 'English for Scientific and Professional Purposes' (ESPP): new paradigms in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to Italian Professionals

The teaching and learning of oral English to adults who require excellent fluency for professional or study purposes deserve special, ever-increasing attention in consideration of the use of this language on a global scale within the domains of work and research, as well as in everyday practice. The contribution endeavours to provide a concise yet sufficiently comprehensive and exhaustive synopsis of some of the most scientifically established theories and practices on the subject of teaching oral English to non-native adults. The study of the segmental and suprasegmental features of the language, presented in an English-Italian contrastive perspective, as well as the practice of public speaking, aims to outline the distinctive characteristics of a “grammar of oral” that is founded on an in-depth analysis of the soundscape of the language investigated.