Abstract
Historically, there has been a strong element of crossover between English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and academic literacies approaches, as originally conceptualised by Lea and Street (1998). However, a recurring cause of concern for the latter has been its perceived lack of focus on pedagogy, with greater emphasis on construction of text (Lea, 2004). Lillis (2003) highlights another concern being the lack of ‘a design frame’ (Kress, 2000) which can harness synergy between theory and practice. As such, the strength of academic literacy from a theoretical perspective can simultaneously be an Achilles heel in its practical pedagogic application. Consequently, examples of sustained academic literacies approaches in practice are rare. This paper thus argues for EAP acting as a fulcrum between theory and practice and provides one instance of enacting academic literacies approaches in the practical context of a Pre-sessional course in a post-92 university. Therein academic literacies approaches have shaped the design and delivery of an EAP curriculum. Through presenting a case study of this story, I hope to provide one ‘exemplar’ (Shulman, 1986) of integrating pedagogic practice and theory to serve as a model for the future. In doing so, academic literacies can better meet both the practical and theoretical demands of 21st century teaching, learning and educational development.
Highlights
Background relationship of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and academic literacyGimenez and Thomas (2015, p.30) draw on the work of Hyland and Hamp-Lyons (2002, p.4) to suggest that despite having developed in ‘quite different socio-political contexts’
As shown throughout this paper, the Pre-sessional course that I have described remains a work in progress
There have been elements of academic literacy introduced across a range of areas and teachers have a better, if not yet perfect, understanding of discipline-specificity
Summary
Gimenez and Thomas (2015, p.30) draw on the work of Hyland and Hamp-Lyons (2002, p.4) to suggest that despite having developed in ‘quite different socio-political contexts’. To satisfy university entrance requirements and visa regulations, students are tested in the four skills of reading, listening, writing and speaking This course had been delivered in a manner more typical of English for Generic Academic Purposes rather than Specific Purposes (Gilbert, 2013; Blue, 1988). Some lessons were ‘flipped’ in that students had to listen to a short lecture or read a short text prior to the lesson and come to class ready to discuss the material In this way, students were mirroring and adopting broader practices expected in specific disciplines within the UK higher educational environment
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