Differentiated Learning in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Class: A Students’ Perception Study

Abstract

The increasing adoption of the Merdeka Curriculum in Indonesian higher education shows the importance of implementing differentiated learning to meet the different needs of students in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classrooms. This study aimed to examine Mechanical Engineering students’ perceptions of differentiated learning as an instructional approach in an ESP context. The research involved 68 first-year students who had completed one semester of ESP. Data were collected through a researcher-developed a questionnaire with 30 positive statements about themselves on a five-point Likert scale. The analysis revealed that the majority of responses fell in the “Strongly Agree” category with 1,259 answers (61.2%), whereas only 68 responses (3.3%) indicated “Strongly Disagree.” These findings demonstrate that students perceive differentiated learning very positively, showing that it can help students with different learning styles and improve language learning. The novelty of this study lies in integrating differentiated learning within tertiary-level ESP instruction, an area with limited empirical evidence. Practically, the results provide insights for ESP lecturers and curriculum developers to incorporate differentiated strategies in higher education, helping students be stronger engagement, improved outcomes, and better professional readiness. Keywords: Differentiated instruction, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Students’ perceptions, Engineering students.