ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSE

Abstract

English for academic purposes (EAP) has emerged out of the broader field of English for specific purposes (ESP), defined by its focus on teaching English specifically to facilitate learners’ study or research through the medium of English. English for academic purposes is differentiated from English for specific purposes by this focus on academic contexts, but among the applied linguistics and English language teaching fields more widely the view of English for academic purposes as a sub-discipline within English for specific purposes still holds. Both these views are valid, as the histories of English for specific purposes and English for academic purposes do not distinguish between a view of them as parent to child, or as sister fields. It is not unusual to find articles with English for academic purposes focus in the pages of the English for Specific Purposes Journal, but English for academic purposes work also appears in all the applied linguistics and English language teaching (ELT) journals from time to time. English for academic purposes entails training students, usually in a higher education setting, to use language appropriately for study. It is one of the most common forms of English for specific purposes. English for academic purposes is an eclectic and pragmatic discipline: a wide range of linguistic, applied linguistic and educational topics can be considered from the perspective of English for academic purposes, or drawn in methodologically to inform English for academic purposes.