Online event/webinar

EAP and Language: What do learners want?

Date: Monday 4th December

Time: 15:00 GMT

Research into the needs of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners has indicated that an explicit focus on language is a priority for them. While Second Language Acquisition research has not shown conclusively whether language instruction leads to acquisition, more attention is now being given to EAP learners’ self-perceived needs in relation to learning grammar and discourse.

Learners consistently report that good language skills will allow them to express themselves more effectively when they move on to full-time tertiary study in English. This raises the question of what language these learners should study and how they should study it. This presentation will look at examples of native speaker and non-native speaker academic writing and then look at the kind of grammar and discourse that can help EAP learners produce written and spoken language that is more sophisticated and complex. It will also consider the issue of subject-specific EAP language.

The presentation will also look at learners’ methodological preferences when they do engage with language and then explore approaches and principles that can lead to more effective noticing of language in authentic academic texts.

About the speaker

Craig Thaine has been involved in ELT for 30 years. He is Cambridge DTEFLA qualified and also has an MA (Hons.) in Applied Linguistics. He has worked as a teacher and teacher trainer in many different countries. He is currently Director of Teacher Training at Languages International, Auckland and is a Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards assessor for both the CELTA and Delta schemes. He has extensive experience developing and teaching English language courses to adult learners, including ESP and EAP courses. Craig is co-author of Empower, the general English adult course.

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