| Summary: | It is well known that, first and foremost, ESP teaching requires determining
learners’ needs and, thereby, engaging in the development of materials and in the adoption of
methods that favour needs-driven response on the learners’ part. Following this practice, the present
paper discusses how a course of English for Pharmaceutical Purposes (EPP) was designed for its
implementation at the University of Calabria, Italy. The five stages of the design, namely, analysis of
learning needs, syllabus design, materials design, implementation of appropriate pedagogy and
learners’ perception of catered needs are described in detail. In the first stage, a survey was
conducted with the tertiary students enrolled in the course. Results on learners’ needs were applied
consistently to the following stages of the design, as shown in the sample EPP activities presented.
Overall, findings on learners’ perception of catered needs shed light on the importance of enacting
the role of needs analysts as ESP practitioners.
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