Abstract
ABSTRACT Issues surrounding English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and its use by English as an additional language (EAL) students in higher education have become increasingly significant in recent years, fueled both by increased international student mobility and increased linguistic and cultural diversity within and outside of the student body. As well as posing language-related challenges, the transfer of EAL students to an English-speaking foreign university also demands the negotiation of new university expectations, channeled through a new cultural environment. While Academic Literacies research has identified that concepts such as power, identity, and culture play a role in academic writing, students’ own perceptions remain relatively unexplored. Consequently, this study analyzes the ways in which EAL students articulate their relationship with academic writing at a tertiary institution in Ireland. Data for this study were gathered through questionnaires and interviews and analyzed through discourse analysis through a critical lens. The findings suggest that while participants generally positively reflect on their ability to negotiate academic writing through the English language, there is nonetheless a high level of conflict between dominant linguistic norms and the students’ expression of their identity and culture.
Highlights
International student mobility has increased the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic heterogeneity of the student population, exposing foreign students to new expectations and presenting specific challenges to international students especially in academic writing
The researchers do acknowledge that this study focuses on international students, they feel that there is a risk of institutions confining English for Academic Purposes (EAP) support to international students based on research advocating only L2 writing support
The issue of struggle and resistance highlighted in Academic Literacies (LILLIS, 2001), and translanguaging research where identities and languages are fluid (CANAGARAJAH 2015A, B; LEE AND CANAGARAJAH, 2018), became apparent during the analysis
Summary
International student mobility has increased the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic heterogeneity of the student population, exposing foreign students to new expectations and presenting specific challenges to international students especially in academic writing Support classes such as EAP have developed in response to this increasingly diverse student population in tertiary education (FLOWERDEW AND PEACOCK, 2001) serving as “specialized English-language teaching grounded in social, cognitive and linguistic demands of academic target situations” (HYLAND, 2006, p.2). The study skills model takes a deficit linguistic perspective by focusing on surface features - such as notetaking, skimming and scanning, time management, grammar, and spelling - which are taught as practical, transferable and functional features of succeeding in academia (LILLIS AND SCOTT, 2007) This approach is criticized for its mechanical, superficial surface level focus and for shifting away from a language focus (LILLIS AND SCOTT, 2007). Neither a skills model approach, nor the academic socialization approach, sufficiently recognize institutional – specific practices, changing disciplinary differences, and power within the heterogeneous academy, which prompted the development of Academic Literacies (LILLIS AND TUCK, 2016)
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