English For Academic Purposes Research Articles

“The results might not fully represent…”: Negation in the limitations sections of doctoral theses by Chinese and American students

Abstract The ability to achieve social interaction is both a key feature of research writing and an important aspect of advanced academic literacy. It can be seen in how doctoral students employ rhetorical resources to acknowledge limitations in thesis writing while securing a positive view of the research. Negation is one of the crucial interactional options, but less explored in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) literature. In this study, we drew on the appraisal theory to see negation as a disclaim marker that engaged with alternative positions and employed corpus analysis to examine the forms and functions of negation in the ‘limitations’ section of doctoral theses. To better understand how student writers exploit negation to achieve the rhetorical end, we further explored co-articulations of negation with other appraisal resources. A corpus-based analysis of 100 doctoral theses by Chinese and American doctoral students in applied linguistics showed that American students made significantly more use of negation, especially pairing negation with engagement and graduation resources. We attribute the difference to genre and culture norms and also raise pedagogical implications on the cultivation of students’ rhetorical awareness and the classroom teaching of research writing.

Exploring the professional role identities of English for academic purposes practitioners: a qualitative study

Abstract While English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has developed theoretically and empirically over the past decades, there are few documented studies on EAP practitioners’ identities. Our study examined 12 Iranian EAP practitioners’ role identities (as one type of identity) in light of the conceptualization of English for specific purposes (ESP) practitioner roles. Adopting a qualitative approach, the study revealed the role of various contextual factors shaping the practitioners’ role identities as being EAP practitioner agents of transformative education, being a course designer and the quest for needs analysis, being a materials provider and managing the oscillations, being a collaborator and the lack of collegiate connection, being a researcher and dispositional variations, and finally being an evaluator and dynamic assessors. The study provides implications regarding how policy and planning shape practitioners’ role identities and suggests future lines of inquiry to build the associated scholarship.

Long-term effects of exploratory practice on language learners

Practitioner research plays a crucial role in education because of its applied nature and its ability to address pertinent issues within learning and teaching contexts. Exploratory practice (EP) is a form of practitioner research that emphasizes puzzles while striving to understand and improve students’ and teachers’ quality of life in the language classroom. Our puzzlement as EP practitioners began to take shape as we received a variety of feedback – both positive and negative – on our EP-infused lessons from our past students. Therefore, we started to ponder the enduring repercussions of an EP experience on participants’ subsequent learning and quality of life, extending beyond the immediate effects observed during EP. In the spring semester of 2022, 43 students enrolled in two courses on English for academic purposes (EAP) at two different Japanese universities participated in a 15-week EP endeavor. Six months after the course finished, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 students in order to systematically explore and discover how the EP endeavor affected them in the long-term. Findings revealed that the EP experience had lasting effects on the students’ affordance in three areas: linguistically, intrapersonally, and interpersonally. The article concludes by addressing the practical implications for EP practitioners, specifically focusing on inclusivity and sustainability.

University students’ academic vocabulary development through mobile-assisted learning: Exploring the impacts on receptive and productive knowledge

This study explored the effectiveness of mobile-assisted vocabulary learning through digital flashcards on receptive and productive aspects of academic vocabulary knowledge among Iranian EFL university students. In a quasi-experimental design, 86 participants were divided into three groups: a digital flashcard group (DFs), a traditional paper flashcard (PFs) group, and a control group using word lists, to assess the impact of these methods on vocabulary acquisition over five weeks. The findings revealed that students utilizing DFs exhibited significant improvements in both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge compared to those using PFs and the control method. Notably, the increase in receptive vocabulary was more substantial than in productive vocabulary, highlighting the differential effects of DFs on various aspects of vocabulary learning. This finding underscores the need for targeted strategies to enhance productive aspects of academic vocabulary specifically. The study supports the integration of DFs into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs to leverage their potential in boosting vocabulary acquisition effectively. However, the lesser gains in productive vocabulary suggest the necessity for complementary instructional methods, which focus on more active vocabulary learning tasks. Based on these findings, the study argues that mobile-assisted vocabulary learning should be considered a practical strategy for supporting academic vocabulary development among university students.

From EAP to ESP

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) are language training pathways for students to meet target language proficiency requirements towards further tertiary studies (Keefe & Shi, 2017; Walková & Bradford, 2022). Yet, these can be highly debatable terms, controversial over their appropriate usage (Flowerdew, 2016; Li, 2020; Maleki, 2008; Mpofu & Maphalala, 2021; Wette, 2018). A main reason for this discord is a lack of firm definitions between these two constructs, which leads to vague and blurred boundaries. This article will describe the process where a small western Canadian university modified an existing EAP course consisting of broad reading and writing topics into an ESP one with a narrow culturally and medically themed focus towards internationally educated nurses (IENs). These modifications assisted in the identification of the similarities and differences of both EAP and ESP for the institution. The new ESP course, piloted over two terms was found to have strengthened student outcomes in their non-native target language, commonly known as L2 (Saville-Toike, 2012) while their disciplinary knowledge contributions also enriched the curriculum. Rooted within the debate between determining appropriate language pathways, recommendations to determine the suitability of an EAP versus an ESP course within a “negotiated syllabus” utilizing learner input are offered (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000; Prior, 2020).
  

Fluency issues in L2 academy presentations: Linguistic, cognitive and psychological influences on pausing behaviour

Fluency is usually defined in relation to temporal features such as speed of delivery and pauses, and such features are generally the focus of research on fluency. The reasons why pauses occur, however, have received much less attention. This study first explores the distribution and location of pauses in short academic presentations given by students as part of an English for academic purposes (EAP) course at an Australian university. This data is then used to investigate the reasons for a sample of those pauses, using the researchers’ interpretations, followed by student explanations in stimulated recall interviews (SRIs). The main findings provide confirmation that the location and the reasons for those pauses which are likely to affect the fluency of the presentations are a result not only of linguistic and cognitive issues, but also of psychological factors. The results underline the importance of taking all of these factors into account in EAP programmes by encouraging student awareness of their pausing behaviour, its causes, the effect on their audience, and of strategies for dealing with psycholinguistic, as well as linguistic and cognitive issues. The results confirm the value of SRI as a technique in exploring assumptions about the reasons for pauses, and the limitation of focusing solely on statistical analyses of pausing phenomena.

Language Ideologies and English for Academic Purposes Writing: A Case in Ontario

The field of language instruction is crucial in Canada, given the number of newcomers seeking to improve their English (or French) language skills after arrival. For those who plan to enter post-secondary education but do not meet required language proficiency scores, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs provide opportunities to strengthen linguistic and academic skills. These inarguably pragmatic goals are often unquestioned, yet EAP instruction is an ideological undertaking with social, economic, and political consequences. This qualitative study investigates language ideologies – rationalizations and justifications for language use and form – through interviews with EAP writing instructors. As participants discussed the material they taught, the language skills students developed, and the consequences of studying EAP writing, ideologies regarding what forms of language should be taught, the purposes of academic writing (instruction), and the social and political dimensions of language were (re)produced and resisted. Formative influences on these ideologies included education, upbringing, and personal language learning experiences. Developing a critical awareness of the understandings of language that inform teaching and learning can make more transparent the linguistic and social discourses that circulate within and beyond EAP writing classrooms and help instructors, students, and other EAP community members (re)produce or resist them strategically.

Student reflections as a catalyst for teacher reflective practice in teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

ABSTRACT This paper examines a new first-year EAP course in a Hong Kong university. It utilizes teacher and student reflections to understand the course’s strengths and weaknesses, aiming to enhance its design and delivery. The study employed a qualitative approach whereby textual analysis was used to interpret the data collected in the form of written teacher reflections, written student reflections, and notes of teacher reflective dialogue. The thematic categories for coding the data were established based on the course’s main learning outcomes: Effective Learning, Spoken Language, and Written Language. Findings reveal that teachers were more critical of the course compared to learners. Teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the pedagogical approach to Effective Learning unit, insufficient time provided in the course to teach solo speaking, and the inability to cover too many organizational and linguistic features in the writing unit. Students, however, did not have much to reflect on about Effective Learning, had mixed views about Spoken Language with some worried about reading from notes, and wrote extremely positively about their learning of Written Language. Nonetheless, their views provide valuable insights for course improvement. Consequently, the paper advocates for a reflective pedagogy approach to EAP that considers both teacher and student reflections to enhance teaching and learning outcomes.

Validation of a Screening Tool for Dyslexia in English among Arabic-Speaking University Students in the Gulf Area

When teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, at times, dyslexic students may confound instructors at the lack of improvement in their English language ability. Such students may not have the specialist diagnostic assessment to access support services. A simple but inexpensive measure to screen for dyslexia would facilitate a more inclusive and equitable educational environment. This study examined whether an Arabic-translated version of a widely-used English L1 (first language) dyslexia checklist could identify Arabic L1 students who exhibited difficulties in English. Participants were 734 female EFL undergraduates studying EAP in one gulf university. The participants completed Arabic versions of the checklist. Using prescribed cut off scores, participants were divided into three groups: non-dyslexic, mildly dyslexic, and dyslexic. To validate the checklist, a subsample of 110 students were randomly selected for further assessment of dyslexia using the following indicators: word reading, pseudoword reading, spelling ability, phonological awareness, and rapid automatized naming skills. Results showed significant differences among the three groups for nearly all measures, suggesting that the Arabic translated checklist can be an easily administered, useful screening tool to identify Arabic L1 students who are at-risk of dyslexia in EFL.

The struggle for pedagogical recognition in higher education: short stories of tension and triumph in the professional identity construction of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) practitioner in Hong Kong

AbstractA considerable body of work now exists on the role that identity plays in understanding teachers and teaching. Developing and sustaining teacher identities in higher education can, however, be challenging given the subordinate positioning of teaching in some educational contexts. Despite the growth of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes in many parts of the world, recent research suggests that EAP practitioners are especially vulnerable to being assigned marginalized identities within the academy. Therefore, this paper reports the results of a study which used a short story approach to investigate the tensions and triumphs one EAP practitioner in Hong Kong experienced in constructing her language teacher identities (LTIs). Findings suggest that her identity tensions and struggles take place across space and time and play out at different scales, including classrooms, educational institutions, and within broader societal discourses. However, the short stories presented in this paper speak not only of tension and struggle, but also of determination and resilience to construct LTIs in the academy. Consequently, the results of this study can help to raise awareness amongst stakeholders, including policy makers, leaders of higher education institutions, and language teaching practitioners, of how they can support and sustain the construction of LTIs within the academy. Implications for professional learning for language teaching practitioners and suggestions for future research are considered.

The dynamics and mediating factors of students’ emotional and social engagement in a project-based writing course

Studies of student engagement in language learning have burgeoned in the last three decades. However, its dynamic trajectory and the attendant mediating factors leading to various outcomes in project-based language learning (PBLL) have been underexplored. PBLL emphasizes social communication and engagement as students complete complex tasks over an extended period of time, making it distinct from traditional teacher-centered instruction. With this focus in mind, our study draws on Complexity of Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) to examine the longitudinal development of emotional and social engagement among Chinese EFL students in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing course, and to explore factors accounting for possible changes in those two types of engagement. Using three sets of questionnaires to track student engagement over the course of a learning project, we found an overall increase of emotional and social engagement during students’ learning process, despite a slight dip at the midway point. A follow-up interview showed that engagement changes were mainly driven by peer influence, task completion in PBLL, leadership, and preference for PBLL. These findings provide insight into the dynamics of student engagement in PBLL settings in China and have implications for EAP writing pedagogy.

Beyond the Theory: Symbolic Interactionism and EAP Practitioners' Professional Identity Construction

This article examined the construction of professional identity among TESOL graduate students who are preparing to teach English. The study investigated the meanings that these students associate with professionalism and the challenges they encounter in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) profession. Even though the EAP field has received significant research attention, few studies have focused on the construction of professional identity among practitioners themselves. This research employs in-depth interviews with 7 alumni of the English Education Department at IAIN Langsa, Kota Langsa to comprehend how EAP practitioners develop their professional identity. The study utilizes key theories from Symbolic Interactionism to create a theoretical framework on EAP identity. The study's results demonstrate that EAP practitioners perceive themselves as effective teachers, but they encounter tensions around positioning, marginalization, and recognition. These tensions often create fragmented identities that may correspond to academic or support service roles. The study emphasizes the need for a shared understanding of EAP practitioner identity to decrease professional disarticulation

TEACHERS’ PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT AT AN ENGLISH-MEDIUM UNIVERSITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR ELT TRAINING IN PAKISTAN

English is used as an official language in Pakistan and is considered to be a key to success and there is a clear gap in understanding the assessment knowledge and training requirements of Pakistani English teachers. This study's primary focus is on language assessment literacy (LAL) of English language instructors working in a multi-campus university where English is primary language of instruction. This study had 3 objectives: (1) to assess if English for Academic Purpose (EAP) teachers have required academic, professional credentials to develop and execute language assessments; (2) to identify obstacles as teachers faced in conducting language assessments within their institutional contexts; (3) gathering opinions of teachers about requirements for training connected to assessments. The research employed a combination of data collection methods includes the questionaries, semi-structured interviews & examination of curriculum documents of English language teaching (ELT). Findings revealed widespread deficiency in the language assessment literacy (LAL) training, issues arising due to oversized classes, and range of student skill levels, that affect language assessment strategies. Study concludes importance of necessary training to enhance the teachers' assessment capabilities that are vital for students' success in English medium instruction programs.

Implementing CLIL in a Japanese prefectural university: Reflecting on research-based pedagogy

This study investigated the beliefs and practices of two English language teachers - an English as an Additional Language (EAL) speaker and an Anglophone speaker - towards Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at a regional Japanese university offering English medium instruction (EMI). Established in 2009, the university offers students EMI in the fields of international studies and regional development and international economy and prepares 1st grade students in a compulsory English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme adopting a CLIL approach. This study examined how the two teachers conceptualized and implemented their CLIL syllabi and what limitations and opportunities CLIL offered. Qualitative data elicited from a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) revealed CLIL as both a bridge into EMI and post-university life. For this purpose, both teachers scaffolded language and content materials, especially with general cultural and social science themes. Translanguaging was important in developing pragmatic integration of students' Japanese in classes. Difficulties were noted in teaching higher cognitive skills due to the test focus of secondary education. Pedagogically, both shifted along a CLIL continuum between language and content foci according to student needs. The perceived limitations stressed the problematic balance between content and language and a lack of a language threshold before embarking on CLIL. Further issues raised were the paucity of teacher development in CLIL and tension between content and language teachers in syllabus design. Finally, opportunities were mentioned in the knowledge transfer between content and language classes and the development of autonomous collaboration. Of final note, the teachers' linguistic backgrounds were seen as important for students. Overall, implications for this study suggested that teaching practitioners can reinforce their classroom instructions with research knowledge.

Exploring Chinese college students’ engagement in an online EAP course

This study examined the dynamic and complex development of college students' engagement in an online English for academic purposes (EAP) course. The study adopted a case study design, collecting data from multiple sources such as class observations and student interviews. Data analysis revealed the learners' engagement profiles and patterns throughout the duration of the course, highlighting the interactions and transactions between learners and the learning environment. In this online learning environment, the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions of learner engagement underwent dynamic development through interactions between learners and contextual complexity. The features and developmental trajectories of learner engagement were influenced by a series of language, cultural, course, technical, and individual factors, such as full English instruction, cultural differences in educational philosophy, course mode, technical support, learners’ language proficiency, and motivation. These findings shed light on learner engagement in an online EAP learning context and have the potential to enrich our understanding of the multifaceted, situated, and dynamic nature of engagement. The study has implications for language pedagogy, curriculum design, and program innovation in a globalized world.

Enhancing student writing with do-it-yourself corpora on a PhD pre-sessional programme

As an effective writing course should focus on disciplines and their unique characteristics, practitioners of English for academic purposes (EAP) are often faced with the challenge of addressing the different needs of learners from various fields of study. This article reports on how a data-driven learning (DDL) approach can be applied to enhance student written production in a multidisciplinary classroom in a 10-week PhD pre-sessional programme at a British University. The participants were six international students who used a do-it-yourself (DIY) corpus in weekly DDL sessions to familiarize themselves with discipline-specific academic writing conventions and applying them in their writing. The effectiveness of this approach was investigated through a ‘talk around texts’ technique employed in semi-structured interviews with individual students and their supervisors on programme completion. The findings show that a DDL approach utilizing a DIY corpus has the potential of enhancing PhD student writing in a multidisciplinary classroom on a pre-sessional programme. This article suggests that DDL could be successfully implemented not only in PhD pre-sessional programmes, but also in wider EAP contexts.

Learners’ Perceptions of Writing Difficulties on a Pre-sessional EAP Programme in a British University

This study examines how learners’ perceptions of their academic writing difficulties changed over the course of a four-week intensive English for Academic purposes (EAP) programme at a British university. The participants of this qualitative study were 14 Chinese undergraduate students who engaged in interviews and completed learning journal entries. The results of the thematic analyses indicate that vocabulary which constituted the biggest perceived challenge in Week 1 was no longer mentioned in Week 4 as a source of writing difficulty. Another finding is that after four weeks, students felt they had a better understanding of argumentation in a UK academic context and were not facing major difficulties with using sources and the understanding of argumentation in a UK academic context; they also reported that they were not facing major difficulties with using sources and understanding plagiarism in written assignments. Upon completion of the EAP course, students also reported that they tended to experience noticeably fewer challenges with academic reading. This qualitative study provides insights into the contribution of pre-sessional programmes in the development of learners’ writing as they transition into the academic community.

EALP textbooks and the challenges of legal English education

Over the last thirty years English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has expanded, cutting across the domains of specialised discourse, and has shifted its focus to meet the needs of large numbers of non-native speaking students at the university level. In this regard, English for Academic Legal Purposes (EALP) can be defined as the teaching and learning of legal English as an ESP subject that includes the academic dimensions of EAP. This paper investigates how EALP textbooks has responded to the challenges of law school education. Reflecting on the pedagogic contributions of Carrick and Dunn (1985), Candlin, Bhatia, and Jensen (2002), and Prinsloo (2015), this paper begins diachronically with a sample of EALP-type textbooks from the point where Prinsloo completed his analysis. Drawing on these reviews, this paper attempts to provide some insights into the development of EALP-type textbooks and their response to the challenges of legal English education.

Writing with “Academic Style”: Theoretical considerations and preliminary findings on the new frontiers of EAP

Research in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has increased in terms of teaching and learning forms, methods and materials over the past decades. The globalisation of knowledge sharing and communication within the academic community, and the inclusion of marginalised higher education and research institutions have resulted in an ongoing evolution of many EAP-related terms. Nevertheless, underexplored areas of EAP research and practice remain, including that of “academic style”, a necessary integration of EAP and academic writing teaching and practice. The study presents a pilot study consisting in the detailed qualitative analysis of a collection of abstracts from a PhD seminar on academic style (self)proofreading. By employing a methodological framework combining stylistics, error analysis, and the categorisation of specific “areas of interest”, the pilot study highlights relevant stylistic errors in academic writing and draws conclusions on the requirements and implications of introducing academic style to EAP.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP): New frontiers in learning to write in English

English for Academic Purposes (EAP): New frontiers in learning to write in English