From Push to Pull

With the increase of non-native English speakers undertaking degrees in English-medium universities, on-going EAP support is an important aspect of the student experience, intended to contribute to academic success. Looking specifically at the context of University of Nottingham Ningbo China, this paper charts the development of on-going EAP support and its evolution from a prescribed set of workshops to a much more flexible system, blending academic consultations and online learning solutions.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015

The paper investigates the impact of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course on the development of academic study skills, language and culture. The course, designed within the framework of the Virtual University project, is aimed at English Major students who need to develop their writing skills and strategies for writing their theses in English and their presentation skills for an oral defense of their theses. The course was developed on the findings of a needs analysis and piloted in the EAP course in the bachelor-degree program in the 2013-2014 winter semester. The paper examines the research conducted in 2012 and 2013 that has confirmed expected progress in academic skills and language development and revealed a necessity to focus on cultural awareness more systematically. The paper discusses the results achieved from assessing students' essays and oral presentations.

Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 1997

TESL Canada Journal, 2017

CALL: Using, Learning, Knowing, EUROCALL Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, 22-25 August 2012, Proceedings, 2012

Summer pre-sessional courses in English for academic purposes (EAP), which prepare growing numbers of international students for degree programmes at now make other options available and this paper will present a possible solution: an e-presessional for the 21st century learner. At the University of Southampton, building on prior experience in the delivery of online distance learning (ODL), the repurposing of face-to-face courses and in designing courseware in the form of interactive learning objects, a tutored online pre-sessional course was developed and delivered to 60 in the School of Management. Adopting a new practice in pre-sessional provision, the their home countries before arriving at the University to complete the remaining ten they produced assignments and received online feedback at the same time as developing their academic writing and reading, study skills, vocabulary and grammar.The paper will how the adoption of a hybrid approach to pre-sessional provision can have a number of prior to their arrival.

2019

This study was undertaken to examine English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students' perceptions and use of online learning resources (OLR), which are freely and openly available digital materials. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative research instruments to collect data. EAP students who came to the UK to improve their language and then wished to undertake a postgraduate study there completed pre-and post-questionnaires during the first academic semester. They also replied to semi-structured interview questions after each questionnaire. The findings gave insights into both the students' awareness to use OLR outside the classroom, and the students' exercise of learner autonomy through scaffolding from OLR. However, they seemed still dependent on their teacher. The reason of this dependence might be the challenges they faced whilst learning. This study made some recommendations for the design of a scaffolded autonomous e-learning environment in order to benefit from OLR.

The Buckingham Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2010

Higher education in Britain faces new challenges as the composition of students becomes more diverse in terms of cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds. In connection, a range of professional issues has arisen: the need to understand better the attitudes, motivations and learning needs of these students and consider their implications for pedagogical practice; and, secondly, the design and delivery of appropriate curricula. This paper argues in favour of theme-based EAP in the context of a presessional course for overseas students at a British university. It provides an outline of an integrated, semester-long programme designed for international students targeting undergraduate study; a summary of relevant contextual factors; and a rationale for the course, along with key aspects of its implementation. We have devised a course that is content focused and holistic in design with an emphasis on preparing students for discipline specific learning and literacy challenges they will encounter in mainstream study. It is a non-EAP core around which we have moulded EAP pre-sessional support. The course has had positive results, in terms of staff and student response.

International Journal of Innovative Research and Knowledge, 2017

Non-native students of English studying in the language in institutions of higher learning, whether in Anglophone countries or in their own countries are expected to gain access to the discourses of the academia via competence in the language. The present paper reviews the theoretical and practical bases of EAP (English for Specific Purposes) needs analysis within the context of higher education teaching-learning of ESL/EFL as a set of analytical procedures for the identification of what the learner has to learn, and how it has to be learnt and how it is to be learnt, focusing essentially on aspects of language, pedagogy, and the learner's specific interests in terms of language use. The key issues concern how as a pragmatic, practitioner-oriented approach, EAP needs analysis has to come to grips with the subjectivity inherent in the concept of " need " , as well as the multifarious educational, pedagogical, political, and ideological considerations that impact upon its analysis in higher education. Based on the relevant literature in the area, the paper then reviews the mainstream framework EAP needs classification and analysis before it proposes a theoretical model for application in the field.

Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes

This study aims to understand whether EMI students considered EAP courses as helpful in promoting their academic achievement and to unearth their ideas about the qualities of an ideal EAP course. Data were collected from 563 undergraduate students enrolled at three EMI universities in Turkey. Results indicated that students found EAP courses effective in enabling them to improve their academic skills, academic language and content knowledge, and personal benefits. However, students expressed their dissatisfaction with EAP course designs and their improvement level of speaking, vocabulary, reading and writing. EMI students suggest that an ideal EAP course should be conducted 2 or 3 hours a week either by a faculty or English instructors. The expectations that EMI students mentioned in this study point at the need for a skill-based EAP course design for which they also pinpointed several essential sub-skills to be covered. The study concludes with a discussion of challenges encounter...