bridging the esp gap: assessing workplace english communication challenges in a south african municipal internship

This expanded article critically assesses the design, implementation, and potential evolution of an internship program between an eastern cape university and a district municipality (dm), examined rigorously through the frameworks of english for specific purposes (esp) and genre pedagogy. existing research on work-integrated learning (wil) predominantly emphasizes macro-level policy and overall graduate employment outcomes. this study contends that the program's ongoing failures are fundamentally attributable to a significant pedagogical and linguistic misalignment between graduates' english for academic purposes (eap) competencies and the intricate, high-stakes, genre-specific workplace english communication (esp) requirements within public administration. this study provides a significant contribution by conducting an in-depth analysis of the relationship between a university and a municipality in a resource-limited, multilingual african context, emphasizing the distinct challenges posed by english as a medium of governance. the study employs a mixed methods design, incorporating structured questionnaires, key informant interviews, and policy document analysis, to examine the systemic and linguistic dissonance within the university-municipality-graduate triad. even though there was a formal memorandum of understanding (mou) in 2016, the findings show that systemic barriers, which we define here as a serious lack of structured linguistic mentorship, a curriculum that doesn't cover enough genres, and a failure to do a basic esp needs analysis, are the main things that are keeping the program from being effective. the article concludes by advocating for a policy-aligned, resource-supported, and strategically coordinated esp-integrated curriculum model, outlining the necessary steps for institutionalizing effective professional communication training and providing essential, transferable insights for african tesol policy and practice within public sector domains.