AWL and ESP in the 21st Century: Crucial Ingredients in Non-English Speaking Scientific Communities

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of empirical data on the current scenario displayed by "writing literacy" in non-English-speaking scientific communities, particularly those in Latin America, taking into account the contributions of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in relation to "writing literacy" in Europe, North America and Australia, in order to open an international debate on the need for writing/literacy teaching across ESP in Latin American universities and research centers. The issues emerging from this debate and those from local language audits will hopefully greatly contribute to: i) mapping ESP writing needs within the non-English-speaking academic and scientific community, and ii) redefining the scope of ESP should this be necessary. Reasons why focus is centered on this opportunity on "writing literacy" are given and indicators for measuring the identified needs are suggested.