teaching english for academic purposes (eap): making the
TRANSCRIPT
Meredith MacAulay
21 June 2017
Teaching English for Academic
Purposes (EAP):
Making the transition
EAP Teachers Required
Structure of webinar
1. What is EAP?
2. What characterises EAP
courses?
3. Tips
4. Professional Development
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GE vs. EAP - Methodology, Skills and Content
GE EAP
English FOR Academic Purposes
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What is EAP?
English for Academic Purposes
“the teaching of English with the specific aim of helping
learners to study, conduct research or teach in that
language” (Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001, p. 8)
E.g. written assignments, research, participation in
tutorials, collaborative projects, etc…
Transfer is an underlying goal of EAP. (James, 2014)
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Types of EAP Courses
Direct Entry Program (DEP)
or
Pathway Program Eg. EAP1 EAP2 EAP3 = university entry
*Students enter at different levels depending on English proficiency
General English for Academic
Purposes (GEAP)
Discipline-Specific EAP
E.g. EAP for Business, Nursing,
Human Sciences, Arts and
Science (HAS)
Assessments
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The students: GE vs. EAP
GE (English for general purposes)
general aim-spoken and written communication for social
purposes, travel, work
Varied length of time, changing students
motivation
EAP (English for Academic Purposes)
Needs and aims of students=tertiary study
academic literacy + English competence (conditional offers)
Time for study- fixed, high stakes! $$$
motivation
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Content and approach
GE
Four skills + grammar/vocabulary
Often language driven and level driven
Topics and texts
EAP
Four skills (emphasis on reading, writing, research)
simulation of learning and teaching at uni- culture of
learning in Australia/a specific university
field-specific topics, authentic academic texts and tasks,
emphasis on critical thinking
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EAP mindset
What tasks will students
need to do at
university?
What skills or attributes
will they need to
succeed in these tasks?
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Skills Approach of an EAP course
Speaking Tasks at uni
Presentations + leading a discussion
Tutorial discussions
Group projects
General social interaction
Transactions on campus
Communication with tutors and
lecturers MacAulay 2017
Why might students find these activities difficult?
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How can we prepare students for these tasks
in an EAP course?
Communicative classroom
Simulations of these activities
Eg. task based projects, (task-based) discussions,
presentations, consultations
Identify sub-skills required of tasks
Analysis of task
Brainstorming of ideas, evaluating ideas
Discussion management strategies
Supporting opinions with evidence
Body language, eye contact
signposting
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Listening-Tasks and difficulties
Differences between GE listening
Lectures-lengthier than GE listening
Note-taking
Difficulties?
EAP activities
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Reading
What is the purpose of reading at university?
How do we read?
Why can reading be difficult for students at university?
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Purpose of reading at university
Expand your information of a topic or develop your
understanding
To support your research (for a written assignment or
presentation)
Texts: course books, academic journal articles, case
studies, reports including graphs and other visuals, course
outlines, *newspaper and magazine articles
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Working with written texts in EAP
Why may academic texts be difficult for EAP students?
Texts are longer than in GE
Denser language (complex sentences including noun phrases)
Use of referencing
Unknown vocabulary
Students have a slow reading speed
Knowing which reading strategy to use for different texts and
purposes
UNSWIL 2014
UEEC 10 Writing Workshop Unit 2, p. 2.44 (2014) UNSW Institute
of Languages
Water is a resource that is under current and increasing stress. A recent study by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) found that one-quarter of the world’s people live in areas of ‘physical water scarcity’ – that is, available water resources are not sufficient to meet all demands and one billion people live in basins with ‘economic water scarcity’ – that is, there is a lack of investment in water or lack of human capacity to keep up with growing water demand (IWMI 2006). In summary, around one-third of the world’s people exist with some form of water scarcity.
Working with written texts in the EAP classroom:
Beyond Comprehension
Reading subskills:
Surveying a text
Making predictions
Skimming for gist
Scanning
Interpreting visual information
Reading for detail
Inferring author’s view
Inferring authors’ purpose
Noting text organisation
(genre)
Use of cohesive devices
Looking at lexical chains
Summary
Text response (personal
evaluation)
*critical thinking
+ developing understanding of a
topic
Example text: Water quantity, uses and over-extraction
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Exploiting a text for language and support for
writing
Inferring vocabulary
Example:
‘Changed climatic conditions … have led to discussion as to whether
Australia can continue to support the current forms of agriculture. The
consequent social and economic ramifications are obviously immense.’
Flow of ideas-theme/rheme
Noticing use of citation
Functional Language: cause/effect
‘For example, in the irrigation areas of the Murray-Darling in Australia,
drought in 2007 coupled with over-allocation led to inability to sow crops
and, in some cases, death of mature fruit trees.’
Building vocabulary on a topic-e.g. water scarcity, overallocation, drought
Exploiting a text for language and support for
writing
Text –exploitation for purpose/meaning
Text-exploitation for language
(Further language work and analysis of a model text-e.g.
problem solution essay)
Writing task: Students construct a text based on the
content of the reading or the language studied
(cause/effect) or both.
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What types of writing will students need to do at
university?
essays or ‘essay-type’ assignments
Critical reviews
Literature reviews
Reports (e.g. engineering reports, business reports, lab
reports)
Annotated bibliographies
Short answer questions
What ‘general’ writing skills can we teach students which they
could transfer and transform to their written assignments?
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Example of writing sub-skills
Awareness of purpose and genre
Analyse the question-determine topic and task, text-type, structure,
genre
Brainstorm, Plan (ideas!), Write, Edit
Sentence structure (control of sentence types)
Paragraph structure (topic sentence+ supporting details, concluding
sentence)
Cohesive devices (Transition signals and reference words)
Academic style
Appropriate vocabulary for the topic
Functional language for the genre (problem/solution-e.g. cause/effect
language)
+ Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing
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Developing writing skills
Regular writing w/ formative feedback
Developing the writing process- understanding the
purpose for writing, brainstorming, planning, writing,
editing, redrafting
Targeted feedback-focus on areas of instruction-e.g
cause/effect
Peer and self-feedback, writing workshops
**Resource: Longman Academic Writing Series Levels 1-4
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Fostering learner autonomy
EAP Tertiary
courses
Developing study
competence
Introducing students to
resources
Encouraging self-reflection
Gradually handing over
more control to students
Alexander, Argent, & Spencer (2008)
Tips
Know the materials, know the context of
the course.
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Writing at university
https://student.unsw.edu.au/essay-and-assignment-
writing
Help students make connections.
How can we establish relevance?
First, make it relevant-content and
activities
(Teaching for transfer James, 2006)
Link to previous experience
Perceived present worth
Perceived future usefulness (Anticipate
applications!)
Present models of success
Adapted from the ARCs Model of Motivational Design Keller 2010
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Mix it up (when appropriate)
Stick to the aims and content but occasionally…
vary presentation/activities.
Use …
academic warmers
visuals
technology (Kahoot,Quizlet, Socrative)
movement
student-generated content.
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Professional Development (Getting into EAP)
Observe an EAP course
Become familiar with EAP materials and resource books (E.g.
Longman Academic Writing Series Levels 1-4, Using English for
Academic Purposes www.uefap.com/)
Teach a pre-DEP course (e.g. Intermediate level EAP course)
Network and share current practice
E.g. #AusELT Facebook and Twitter chats, University English
Language Centre (UECA) PD Fests
http://www.ueca.edu.au/pdfest2017/index.php
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References Alexander, O., Argent, S., & Spencer, S. (2008). EAP essentials: A teacher’s guide to principles and practice. Reading, UK:
Garnet Education.
Alexander, O. (2007). ‘Groping in the dark or turning on the light: routes into teaching English for Academic Purposes’. In Lynch, T.
(ed.) Teaching Languages for Academic Purposes. Edinburgh: IALS, Edinburgh University.
BALEAP (2008). ‘Competency Framework for Teachers of English for Academic Purposes’ https://www.baleap.org/wp-
content/uploads/2016/04/teap-competency-framework.pdf
Brandon, K. & O’Keefe, S. (2017). Guide to best practice in direct entry programs. Best practice guides: English Australia.
Available from: https:// www.englishaustralia.com.au/best-practice-guides
Campion, G. (2012). The Learning never ends: investigating teachers’ experiences of moving from English for General Purposes
to English for Academic Purposes in the UK context; What are the main challenges associated with beginning to teach EAP, and
how can these challenges be overcome? Unpublished Masters Dissertation. University of Nottingham.
Flowerdew J. & Peacock M. (2001). Issues in EAP: A preliminary perspective. In J. Flowerdew, & M. Peacock (Eds.), Research
perspectives on English for academic purposes (pp. 8-24). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. James, M.A. (2006b).
Teaching for transfer in ELT. ELT Journal, 60 (2), 151-159.
Keller, J. M. (2010). Motivational Design For Learning And Performance: The ARCS Model Approach. New York: Springer.
MacAulay M (2017). Energising EAP the round minis.
MacAulay, M (2016). Transition and transfer: Effects of an EAP direct entry course on students’ discussion skills at university.
University of Sydney Papers in TESOL, vol 11, pp. 97-130. http://faculty.edfac.usyd.edu.au/projects/usp_in_tesol/currentissue.htm
UNSW Institute of Languages (2014). UEEC 10 Course Materials Reading Skills Unit 2, p. 2.8-2.11.
Please contact me if you have more questions.
Meredith MacAulay
Good luck!