Integrating EAP with EOP: An Eclectic Approach toward the Instruction of Iranian Engineering Undergraduates

Somayeh Biparva Haghighi

doi:10.5539/ies.v5n4p257

Abstract

It is commonly observed that training in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) cannot successfully guarantee skills in English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). This study proposes an EOP-oriented course in an academic setting. It is designed to equip undergraduate students of engineering with general skills for EOP practices to meet students’ future needs after graduation. EOP skills mainly include report reading/writing and development of technical vocabulary knowledge. A main feature of this EOP-oriented course is that it does not rely on any one single approach to syllabus design, but takes an eclectic approach by drawing on elements from a task- based syllabus, a text-based syllabus, and a content-based syllabus for the design of the program.

Highlights

Until fairly recently, most syllabus designers started their programs by drawing up lists of grammatical, phonological, and vocabulary items which were graded according to difficulty and usefulness
It is commonly observed that training in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) cannot successfully guarantee skills in English for Occupational Purposes (EOP)
A main feature of this EOP-oriented course is that it does not rely on any one single approach to syllabus design, but takes an eclectic approach by drawing on elements from a task- based syllabus, a text-based syllabus, and a content-based syllabus for the design of the program

Summary

Introduction

Most syllabus designers started their programs by drawing up lists of grammatical, phonological, and vocabulary items which were graded according to difficulty and usefulness. Syllabuses began to appear in which content was specified, in terms of the grammatical elements and the functional skills that the students would need to communicate successfully with In reality, many syllabuses constructed by course instructors may not neatly fall into one specific category, but to address students' needs they should draw on aspects of two or three different syllabus types. Introspections across the students' need analyses and learning preferences in this study resulted in two key research questions for the succeeding directions of the course: 1) What are ESP students' language needs?

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion