The main difference between ESP and GE (General English) is that it focuses exclusively on the special needs of students. At GE the design of specific learning materials is not always necessary as it is mostly predetermined by the school, government or other institutions. In ESP it happens that teachers themselves have to develop the entire course or, at most, the materials (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). However, "what distinguishes ESP from GE is not the existence of a need as such, but rather the awareness of the need" (ibid.: 53). Being aware of students' needs can have a great and positive influence on both the development of materials and the teaching process itself. Hutchinson and Waters argue that not the content of the specific domain is the most relevant aspect in an ESP course, but the English language itself and the reasons and situations in which students are forced to use it. However, interviews with the professor who teaches English to students of glass and metal, textile and ceramic design at the Art Academy of Latvia showed that in this institution both aspects are almost equally important. Different scholars have had different divisions on what is meant by needs and how they can be defined. Dudley-Evans and St John (1998: 123) offer a summary of various authors on the topic who distinguish needs as follows: • "objective and subjective" (Brindley, 1989: 65); • perceived and felt (Berwick, 1989: 55); • Situation/goal and learning oriented, process and product oriented (Brindley, 1989: 63); • Needs, wants and deficiencies (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987: 54)'. Each distinction represents a distinct Needs Philosophical Analysis and it would be too voluminous to provide an analysis of their personal and professional needs and their grammatical, lexical, speaking and writing needs. The detailed discussion of the results of the needs analysis questionnaire is discussed in subchapter 4.1. To conclude, starting the development of ESP materials is a very detailed and time-consuming process. Several aspects of the needs analysis must be considered before starting the materials design process. First, the objective and subjective needs of students must be examined. Secondly, former teachers, alumni and stakeholders need to be interviewed to gain a broader view of the required course content and the results need to be cross-examined with those of student responses. Finally, it is necessary to investigate different theories regarding the target language itself, students' perception of it and the language teaching methodology.