The Feasibility of Testing Academic Literacy in EAP Reading Comprehension Tests (original) (raw)
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Designing EAP reading courses at the university level
English for Specific Purposes, 2001
In countries where university students must read course bibliographies in English but perform related tasks in L1, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course coordinators must often design their own courses and materials. In this paper, we present the Complementary Pyramid Syllabus Design (CPSD), developed at the Division of Foreign Languages, Tel Aviv University, Israel. The CPSD is a principled four-pronged approach to EAP reading course design employing elements of Type A syllabi (focusing on the discrete elements of language) and Type B syllabi (emphasizing the purposes for and process of acquiring a language). A CPSD syllabus for a particular course incorporates explicit instruction on discrete linguistic forms, reading comprehension strategies, academic genres, as well as criterion tasks which focus on meaning and which mirror real-life academic tasks. The weight of each of these elements varies in a systematic manner depending on the students' L2 pro®ciency. The CPSD approach is grounded in the literature on such topics as syllabus design, the nature of the reading process in L1 and L2, and genre. A¯owchart depicting the procedure for designing EAP course syllabi as well as a sample case of course design are presented. #
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2022
Teaching and learning to read domain specific texts and research articles within the course of academic English for specific/academic purposes (ESAP) is often underestimated and outsourced to students' independent study with minimal instructors' intervention. Student often demonstrate inability to gain knowl-AQ1 edge about basic conventions established in the international academic communities such as research article (RA) structure, style, rules of citation and referencing etc. while reading RAs. The study undertaken by researchers of Saint Petersburg State University (SPbSU) and Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) showed that a specially designed extensive academic reading module (EARM) can help solve this problem. In the first part, the paper describes the underlying rationale for the development of the EARM, its syllabus, and its experimental approbation in the spring term of 2021-22 academic year with two academic groups of postgraduate language pedagogy students taking their master program at SPbSU and SPbPU. The second part of the paper focuses on the analysis of the data collected, namely two questionnaires completed by the experiment participants, their reports about extensive reading of RAs selected, and analysis of some structural and linguistic features of 36 RAs selected by the students which was conducted by the researchers. The role of technology in teaching the EARM is AQ2 stressed. The positive attitude of students to the EARM and improvement of some their micro academic skills, e.g. pre-reading self-questioning, during the half-term experiment allow the authors to recommend including teaching academic reading module in ESAP course for postgraduate students on a regular basis. Further research steps are outlined.
Reading strategies based on the most recent and important models of reading comprehension are believed to play a key role in the reading process. Due to the great importance which is attached to the reading skill for all EFL learners especially for EAP students, an investigation of the strategies used by them will, therefore, be plausible. Reading is also believed to be componential. Different models of L2 reading have attempted to list major components of reading comprehension. Nobody has, however, attempted to see what reading components are based on EAP students' points of view. This study was, therefore, an attempt to explore the reading strategies used by Iranian EAP students and to see what they consider as major EAP reading components. To do so, a questionnaire was developed based on the recent definitions and classifications of reading strategies and was given to 170 EAP students at Isfahan University of Technology and ACECR. A survey question was also developed to elici...
Extensive and intensive reading in the EAP class
2019
Reading classes in EAP programs usually give more emphasis on intensive reading since teachers can give more explicit and guided instructions on reading skills and vocabulary. Extensive reading, on the other hand, often serves as additional activities. Some teachers may consider extensive reading impractical due to the limitation of time and curriculum in language learning at the university level (Macalister, 2007). With long hours of study time and other activities in the English for Academic Purpose (EAP) program, extensive reading assignments could be seen as a burden for the students. However, Wang & Wang (2013) point out that for the last three decades the role of extensive reading becomes more significant in language learning. This study aims to examine the students’ attitudes towards the implementation of extensive reading in comparison to the intensive reading in class and how the students benefit from each practice. This study will survey twenty international students by ...
Looking into EFL Reading Comprehension
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2010
The current article was an attempt to explore the degree of Iranian EFL learners' awareness of reading comprehension strategies and their potential comprehension failure. To this end, 12 EFL university-level students were interviewed, using a researcherdeveloped interview questionnaire. An analysis of student interview data revealed that there is an instructional void as regards to reading strategy training in the Iranian educational settings. According to the findings of the study, recommendations for future investigations are discussed.
Implementing Extensive Reading in University EAP Writing Classes
2015
for their thoughtful suggestions and constructive feedback on the details of my dissertation. Also, I am very grateful to Dr. Graham Crookes and Dr. Kamil Deen for their continuous support and encouragement. My special thanks also go to ELI director Kenton Harsch and associate director Priscilla Faucette for their tremendous support in the data collection. The help I received from the other teachers and the students in the ELI have been hugely important to the completion of this study as well. I am also pleased to extend my thanks to Eunseok Ro, Gordon West, and Wei-Li Hsu for their help in analyzing my data and to Laurie Durand for proofreading my dissertation. I would like to acknowledge the generous funding I received from a Language Learning Dissertation Grant from Language Learning and the 'Oihana Maikai'i Fund from the Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to my parents, the true mentors of my life, for standing by me with endless love and support and for teaching me to do my best throughout this long journey, and to my sister and best friend, for your love, laughter, and encouragement.
EFL Reading Comprehension Assessment: Some Grassroots’ Voices
International Journal of Language Teaching and Education, 2018
This small scale case study analyses one of the most debated parts in the field of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL); and that is, the teachers and students’ perceptions and beliefs of EFL reading comprehension assessment at a major university in Indonesia. The research study involved, randomly selected five EFL teachers and ninety-six EFL students between the period of January and May in Academic Year 2017/2018. Twenty-item Likert scale questionnaires were distributed to the students. Moreover, semi-structured interviewed was done to collect the data from the teachers. Data analysis using descriptive qualitative methods indicate that EFL students need detailed elaboration of their reading practices in answering comprehension questions. Informing their reading results or scores only does not help them very much to practice the reading comprehension skills needed to comprehend the texts. Furthermore, the data indicate that EFL teachers encounter obstacles when they monitor...
2011
El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo la implementación de estrategias de comprensión de lectura dentro de un curso corto de Inglés para propósitos académicos, además de considerar métodos de pensamiento en voz alta y aprendizaje colaborativo luego de la instrucción proporcionada a estudiantes universitarios en Pereira, Colombia. Igualmente, los instrumentos para recolección de datos como el cuestionario, las clases desarrolladas y observadas, y una entrevista semiestructurada, aportaron información para obtener los descubrimientos de éste estudio investigativo. Como resultado, éste estudio reveló la comprensión de los participantes al ser instruidos en dichas estrategias. Primeramente, el cuestionario diagnosticó la exposición previa de los participantes al Inglés como lengua extranjera, (EFL) a raíz de que ellos habían estado en contacto con dicha lengua durante su desarrollo académico. Además, la información de las estrategias de comprensión de lectura que los participantes usaban al leer en su lengua materna, Español y (L2) Inglés también se encuentra reportada dentro del cuestionario. En el siguiente lugar, la instrucción desarrollada dentro de este estudio ofreció evidencia sobre la comprensión de los participantes y las estrategias de comprensión de lectura que ellos usaron luego de haber sido instruidos, así como lo evidenciado en las transcripciones de las observaciones y datos videograbados. Asimismo, como último método de recolección de datos, la entrevista semiestructurada preguntó sobre la experiencia de los participantes a través del la implementación de estrategias de comprensión de lectura dentro de un curso corto de Inglés para propósitos académicos, al que asistieron. En conclusión, los resultados de este estudio investigativo ilustraron que durante la instrucción y uso de estrategias de comprensión de lectura, los participantes obtuvieron una comprensión más acertada al leer en lengua extranjera. Sin embargo, los participantes usaron su lengua materna y métodos de pensamiento en voz alta para incrementar su comprensión al leer colaborativamente.
Assessment of Reading Comprehension
2016
This study attempts to shed light on the concept of assessment as an essential pedagogical practice for the improvement of the teaching-learning process. Particularly, it stresses the strategies and the techniques that should be used in assessing reading comprehension with reference to EFL classrooms. It describes the kinds of tasks that actually reveal students' reading comprehension abilities and needs. Moreover, this paper aims to illustrate the types and the advantages of assessment for both teachers and learners. More importantly, this study tries to bring equitable evidence of how reading comprehension can be adequately assessed. The findings showed that assessment of reading comprehension is central to English language teaching as it provides teachers with essential information about students' weaknesses, needs, obstacles, and deficits. Thus, teachers can implement the appropriate techniques and use the assessment results to amend their classroom instruction and enhance the learning abilities.