EAP Unit One

The Needs of EAP Learners: 

The Needs of EAP Learners

What is EAP ?: 

What is EAP ? The aim of EAP - English for Academic Purposes - is to help international students overcome some of the linguistic and cultural difficulties involved in studying through the medium of English. The objective of an EAP course, then, is for the students to learn the language and related skills to enable them to do this. Gillett and Wray EAP and Success http://www.uefap.com/articles/aeeapp.pdf

EAP - a form of ESP: 

EAP - a form of ESP ESP is … Goal oriented – the language is a means not an end Based on an analysis of learner needs Robinson, P. (1991). ESP today: A practitioner's guide. London: Prentice Hall.

Can we predict those needs?: 

Can we predict those needs? Reading – textbooks, academic papers Listening – lectures, seminars Listening and Speaking – questions after lectures; questions, opinions (dis)agreement etc in seminars and tutorials Speaking – presenting ideas etc in tutorials Writing – written assignments, exam questions, dissertations, theses.

In terms of subskills …: 

In terms of subskills … What might a student need to be able to do when writing ? Analyse assignment titles and plan an essay. Utilise different organisational patterns in texts. Organise information coherently in paragraphs. Use a combination of simple, compound and complex sentences. Use punctuation accurately and effectively. Create cohesion in a text using appropriate connectives, and syntactic and lexical strategies. etc

But are all EAP learners the same ?: 

But are all EAP learners the same ? Who are the learners? Where are they studying? What are they studying? At what level are they studying? What are the demands of the course?

Who are the learners?: 

Who are the learners? Age? Nationality, L1, Cultural background …? Current knowledge of general English ? Experience of studying at tertiary level? Experience of studying in English?

Where are they studying?: 

Where are they studying? In an English speaking country ? In their own country? In another country? And who are the lecturers? English native speakers? The same L1 as the learners? Another L1?

What subject are they studying?: 

What subject are they studying? Specialist vocabulary Genre features – eg citations : Hyland (1999) found that writers of academic papers in Humanities and Social Science subjects tended to used citations which were integral to the text. There is a tendency for writers of academic papers in the Sciences and Engineering to use citations which are not integral to the text. (Hyland 1999)

What is the level and what are the demands of the course?: 

What is the level and what are the demands of the course? Undergraduate or postgraduate? Taught course or research based? Taught how – lectures? seminars? tutorials? reading? laboratory work? field work? etc etc Research – source based or original? Assessment methods?

Needs Analysis : Obtaining the data: 

Needs Analysis : Obtaining the data In an ideal world the EAP course designer would be able to … Complete a full Target Situation Analysis Complete a full Deficiency Analysis Take into consideration participants’ wants and demands as well as “necessities”

The TSA- how ?: 

The TSA- how ? Obtain and analyse … information on the syllabus, teaching and assessment methods of the course (documentation, questionnaires, interviews) the reading materials to be used on the course (course reading lists, library access) the spoken discourse used in lectures, tutorials, seminars, laboratory sessions etc (sit-in sessions or recordings)

The TSA - continued: 

The TSA - continued information on faculty expectations regarding approach to study, quality of work etc (interviews, tasks completed by past students) information on non-academic needs eg finding accommodation, health problems, social life (interviews with university accommodation officer, student welfare officer, past students etc)

Analyse for what ?: 

Analyse for what ? Linguistic and genre features Skills and subskills Knowledge

Linguistic and Genre Features: 

Linguistic and Genre Features Let’s turn now to the results of the experiment. These would seem to suggest that there may be a connection between bacterial phage shock and thylakoid biogenesis … Functions – eg a) introducing a new topic b) hedging Structure – eg use of modals in hedging Lexis – eg subject specialist terms Phonological – eg raise in pitch to indicate start of new section Discourse – eg cohesion, style

Slide16: 

Organisational –the recognisable sections in a lecture or research paper and moves and steps within those sections. Example : The structure of the introduction section of research articles : Move 1: Establishing a Territory Move 2: Establishing a Niche Move 3: Occupying the Niche Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre Analysis – English in academic and research settings. CUP Cited in : Dudley-Evans http://www.aelfe.org/documents/text2-Dudley.pdf

The Deficiency Analysis: 

obtain lecturers’ views of the main problems encountered by their students assess the learners’ current general English language proficiency assess the learners’ current academic English proficiency assess the learners’ current cross-cultural awareness identify the learners’ current learning strategies and concept of education The Deficiency Analysis

EAP Courses : Situations and Constraints: 

EAP Courses : Situations and Constraints Pre-sessional or In-sessional ? Time available pre-course? Data available pre-course? Time available for the course? EGAP or ESAP? Teachers? Facilities and equipment ?

EAP Course Design: 

EAP Course Design Designer prediction of needs supplemented by as thorough a pre-course needs analysis as possible Course design : objectives, syllabus, teaching approach, content, materials and assessment In-course evaluation, collection of further data, and adaptation if possible Post course evaluation and adaptation or re-design

Slide20: 

This presentation is part of an on-line EFL teacher development programme run by Business Talk Milan. If you would like to receive full details of the courses we run, please contact us through our website : www.business-talk.it