Karl Drobnic

Who is Karl Drobnic?

Karl Drobnic is an American educator and publisher, He pioneered work in English for Specific Purposes during the era of large scale technology transfer programs between developed and underdeveloped nations in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Drobnic co-edited English for Specific Purposes: Science and Technology in 1978 with Louis and Mary Trimble and co-wrote Sci Tech. He published the English for Specific Purposes newsletter from 1978 to 1980, an internationally acclaimed monthly newsletter that advanced the turn of English as a Second Language teaching methodology from prescriptive to descriptive. His work in the area was cited by the Carter Commission on Foreign Languages and read into the Congressional Record in 1979. Drobnic has published dozens of related articles in journals and professional publications around the world.

Drobnic worked as a consultant to the governments and university systems of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, North Yemen, Nicaragua, Peru, Indonesia, Mexico, and Costa Rica.