Abstract
This study investigated undergraduate preparation of English as a Second Language (ESL) students through English for Academic Purposes courses, in relation to recipient subject lecturers’ expectations. Qualitative data were gathered from 36 faculty teaching ESL undergraduates in nine countries. A two-phase approach included seeking discursive responses to questionnaires from faculty and information about curricula. Outcomes highlighted difficulties with material selection for EAP tutors. Tutors chose between ‘general interest’ or ‘discipline-specific’ material, but reported that the former could lead to oversimplification or discipline irrelevance, while the latter usually requires some specialized subject knowledge which may be beyond tutors’ remit. Addressing this, it is suggested that articles about EAP-related topics can form the subject matter of EAP courses with significant benefits. In particular, they can simultaneously provide students with models of academic writing, while the content reinforces skills needed for successful study.
Citation
Brandt, C. (2008), "Material matters: The case for English for Academic Purposes as subject matter of university language courses", Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 25-38. https://doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v5.n1.04
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2008 Caroline Brandt
License
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Acknowledgements
Publisher's note: The Publisher would like to inform the reader that the article “Material matters: The case for English for Academic Purposes as subject matter of university language courses ” has changed pagination. Previous pagination was pp. 1-14. The updated pagination for the article is now pp. 25-38. The Publisher apologises for any inconvenience caused.