Teaching English for Academic Purposes: Delta M3 The Extended Assignment (original) (raw)
Related papers
2020
Learner autonomy is often many different things to many people but Holec’s early definition that it is “the ability to take charge of one’s learning... to have, and to hold, the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of this learning” (1981, p. 3) is still extremely influential today. “All aspects” include decisions about the objectives of a course, defining the course contents, and even evaluating what has been acquired. In the context of teaching English at Italian universities, however, this vision can be challenging or even impossible to implement, given the vast number of limitations imposed upon undergraduate programmes from all the different stakeholders involved. This chapter will present an action research project whose aim has been to actively include students in the decision-making processes of an advanced English for specific academic purposes (ESAP) syllabus for economics students at the Free University of BozenBolzano. Parts of the ESAP syllabus, i...
Cambridge Delta Module 3 Assignment: EAP: Teaching Academic Writing
This paper was written to fulfill the requirements of Module 3 for the Cambridge Delta. The topic of the paper is EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and involves teaching academic writing. This assignment touches on what academic writing involves, includes a brief needs analysis conducted on learners, and a suggested academic course of study for a group of students whose needs include learning to write academic papers for the undergraduate/postgraduate levels of study. This was especially important for me as it evidences my first attempt at creating a course for a group of learners. Please see the the other paper entitled "Appendices for Module 3 Assignment" for further details on the actual layout of the course, and the materials suggested for use.
A Study of an English for Academic Purposes Course
Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 2012
English for General Purposes (EGP) is a foundation course which should be taken by all the undergraduate students at the University of Tabriz, Iran. However, the EGP course cannot of the study indicate that it not only has lost its credibility but also has failed to achieve its goals.
English for Academic Purposes: A need for remodelling
Englishes in Practice, 2016
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is an established domain of research, teaching, and assessment within additional/second language education. In this article we examine the conceptualisation of English that underpins much of its current thinking and pedagogic practice, and raise questions of validity and claims of ‘fit-for-purpose’. In particular we explore issues underpinning EAP assessment and argue that there is a need to reconceptualise the basis of the language model. We propose that given the complex and changing practices in academic communication, there is a good case for broadening the established understanding of Academic English to better reflect target language use. The principles and arguments underlying this discussion are relevant to assessment as well as to EAP more broadly.
English for Academic Purposes: Theory, Trends and Practices
English for academic purpose (EAP) emerged as a branch of English for specific purposes in the early 1980s. EAP grounds English language teaching in the linguistic demands of academic context, tailoring instruction to specific rather than general purposes. There is a growth of interest in EAP in the recent years. The interest in EAP developed in response to the growing need for intercultural awareness and of English as a lingua franca (ELF). EAP has become a major area of research in applied linguistics and focus of the courses studied worldwide by a large number of students preparing for study in colleges and universities. The increase in students' undertaking tertiary studies in English-speaking countries has led to a steady demand for the courses tailored to meet the immediate, specific vocational and professional needs. Thus, most universities in the present day world prioritize the role of academic skills. The aim of the paper is to examine the key approaches to the teaching of English for academic purposes, current trends in teaching EAP, and to argue the centrality and significance of EAP in the academia. The paper concludes by arguing that a greater emphasis needs to be placed on methodology in EAP.
English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) Writing: Making the case
Writing & Pedagogy, 2016
This introductory review article for this special issue sets out a range of issues in play as far as English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing is concerned, but with a special emphasis on English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) (as opposed to English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP)). Following the introduction, the article begins by outlining the different types of EAP and presenting the pros and cons of ESAP and EGAP for writing. It then goes on to review work in a range of areas of relevance to ESAP writing. These areas are register and discourse analysis; genre analysis; corpus analysis; ethnography; contrastive rhetoric; classroom methodology; critical approaches; and assessment. The article concludes by arguing that whichever model of writing is chosen (EGAP or ESAP), or if a hybrid model is the choice, if at all possible, students need to be exposed to the understandings, language and communicative activities of their target disciplines, with students themselves also contributing to this enterprise.
The impact of an EAP course on postgraduate writing
Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2009
This study assessed the impact of completing an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course on the writing of postgraduate 1 learners. We begin this paper by describing a course offered for credit to postgraduate international students at a university in Australia, and then report on a large-scale study (n ¼ 69) which investigated the improvement (if any) in the writing of students enrolled in this course. The students undertook the course at the beginning of their postgraduate studies at the university and concurrently with their degree programs. Two cohorts were identified: students with an IELTS score on entry to the University of 6.0 (or equivalent) and those with a score of 6.5. Data for the study were the in-class writing produced by the students at the beginning and at the end of semester, and a short questionnaire. The students' texts were analysed using a range of measures for fluency, linguistic accuracy and use of academic vocabulary. Texts were also analysed for overall structure, cohesion and coherence. The study found improvements for the entire group and for the two cohorts mainly in terms of accuracy, use of academic vocabulary, and structure. We discuss these findings in relation to key pedagogical features of the course.
Integrating english for specific academic purposes (ESAP) skills into mainstream english courses
Revista alicantina de …, 2002
This paper examines the design and implementation stages of a course of English given at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Murcia, Spain. The course was programmed regardless of the particular individuáis and no previous requirements were needed. Two initial tests were passed to the students at the beginning of the semester: the first one to evalúate their needs and motivation and the second one to measure their general communicative competence. The results were heterogeneous. The students were informed of their results and also of the level they should reach to pass the course, especially those with low marks. With respect to their motivation they manifested two orientations: Labour and integrative reasons. Taking into accounttheir 'labour reasons' some units closely related to their speciality were included and the final evaluation was modified giving some weight also to the specific English component (75 % GE, 25 % ESAP). The analysis reveáis that, according to our initial assumption, those students with a better communicative competence at the beginning of the course obtained the best results in the final exam. A correlation between those students with intrinsic motivation and communicative competence and the best final marks has also been found.