What’s special about EAP teaching and learning?

Diane SchmittChair of BALEAPNottingham Trent University(Sponsored by Pearson)

“The English Effect”

• English is spoken at a useful level by some 1.75 billion people worldwide – that’s one in every four. By 2020, we forecast that two billion people will be using it – or learning to use it. And it is the economically active, the thought leaders, the business decision-makers, the young, the movers and shakers present and future who are learning and speaking English. They are talking to each other more and more and English is the ‘operating system’ of that global conversation.

British Council, (2013) The English Effect

International students in higher education• According to OECD estimates, in 2013 nearly

4.5 million students in higher education are studying abroad. This is almost double the number in 2000.

• The most popular destinations for overseas study are English-speaking countries.

• Conversely, the largest numbers of international students originate from countries where English is not the language of education and the proficiency levels of high school leavers in these countries vary widely.

Internationalisation

• The internationalisation of universities is increasingly linked with economic competitiveness, reputation and human capital.

• The drivers for internationalisation are today primarily economic and political and less academic and cultural.

(Tsiligiri, 2012 citing Knight, 2011)

Education or economics• In order to compete in the lucrative tertiary

student market, more and more countries are offering English-medium degree programmes.

Another way of looking at this…

• More and more students are having to, or at least feel they have to, undertake degree study in a second language (English) in order to be “economically active” let alone “a mover and a shaker.”

Goals for the talk• EAP and applied linguistics research do not

always meet• One example of a key issue for EAP materials

developers and practitioners • areas for research collaboration between

EAP and other areas of applied linguistics

Is EAP special?

EAP is…

• …specialized English language teaching grounded in the social, cognitive and linguistic demands of academic target situations, providing focused instruction informed by an understanding of texts and the constraints of academic contexts (Hyland, 2006).

Praise for research in EAP

• There has been a healthy research tradition in EAP since the 1970s and well-known researchers such as Averil Coxhead (e.g. Coxhead, 1998), Ken Hyland (e.g. Hyland, 2000), Hilary Nesi (e.g. Nesi & Gardner, 2012) & John Swales (e.g. Swales, 2004), have helped us define what EAP is. (Gillett, 2012)

Collocation exercise

•What words collocate with: • Nesi & Gardner• Swales• Hyland• Coxhead

Corpora and genre

(Bennett, 2011)

Claims about EAP’s special status• “An EAP course is needs driven rather than level

driven.” (p. 18) • “Content is limited to academic discourse…

[while] for GE] the totality of the English language is possible content.” (p. 4)

• “To deny students the opportunity to engage with authentic texts in their subject disciplines is patronizing.” (p. 21)

• Alexander, Argent and Spencer (2008)

Olwyn Alexander (lots of places)

Focus on delivery Focus on content

The difference between ELT and EAP

• Focus on research of language description

• Far less focus on research on how learners learn

Don’t students know they are supposed to read for a degree? (Derek Watling, Programme Leader: MSc HRM, Nottingham Trent University)

A story…

• A cohort of 19 students studying for a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management

• External accrediting body requires that core modules are assessed by exams

• Two of these are based on case studies• 13 students fail the first exam• 11 students fail all three exams• The students only read the case studies and

did not read other texts from the reading list.

‘Reading for a degree’?• Student: We know our assignment type, but

we haven’t been given the exact topic yet. Should we start reading now or would that be a waste of time? Should we wait until we get the topic?

• Diane: Of course, you should start now. Do you understand why your lecturers give you reading…..(long monologue from me)

You have got to re

ad widely to write

well.

(Deane in Tribble, 2

010)

Reading ‘widely’ for a degree

Reading - Purpose •Reading to search for information•Reading for quick understanding•Reading to learn•Reading to integrate information•Reading to evaluate, critique, and use

information•Reading for general comprehension (for

interest or entertainment)(Grabe, 2009: 7-10)

Reading Constructs• Reading for basic comprehension

▫recall▫summarization▫text-based multiple choice questions

• Reading to learn – connecting new information with background knowledge▫recognition of text structure▫create a representation of content

knowledge• Reading to integrate

▫link texts with regard to their individual text structure

▫link content knowledge from a single text with that from one or more texts

(Trites and McGroarty, Language Testing, 2005)

Early Term 1 Mid Term 1 Late Term 1

Reading for a degree

Getting to grips with

the subject

Making links between reading &

lecture content

Reading for assignments

Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Summer

Reading for a degree

Getting to grips with

the subject

Integratingideas within

andacross modules

Applying concepts

fromreading

to a majorassignment

Aims of Undergraduate Study• Conceptual understanding that enables the student to:

▫ to describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in the discipline

▫ an appreciation of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge

▫ the ability to manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to the discipline).

• Typically, holders of the qualification will be able to:▫ apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to

review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects

• critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem

Writing tasks are driven by disciplinary content knowledge.

(QAA, 2008)

One step earlier, critical thinking tasks

depend on being informed.

You need to read widely for a degree.

Learning to readText Model

• Process clausal semantic units

• Link related units of meaning

• Repeated links are noted as being thematic main ideas

• An information structure of a text is built which reflects main ideas and supporting ideas

• Inferences are used to create links that maintain coherence

(Grabe, 2009b:197)

Situation Model

• A text model that has been elaborated to add:▫ reader attitudes▫ evaluations▫ personal inferences▫ links to background

knowledge• The text model and the

situation model develop in parallel

• This model connects the reader’s goals to the information produced by the text model

Teaching Intervention 1:Intensive Reading with a GO

Example Teaching Intervention:Intensive Reading with a GO

(In Chan, 2011)

Learning to read• It is important to note that, contrary to the

commentary of many educators, there are not primarily schema-driven or word-driven readers, that is bottom-up or top-down readers….

• Instead, readers are, of necessity, always both bottom-up and top-down readers.

• Fluent readers are, at all points, exercising very skilled and automatic word-recognition and parsing abilities….

• Reading would stop if [these processes] were absent.

• Similarly, readers could not assemble a text model of comprehension or a situation model if they were not continuously using background knowledge representations (Grabe, 2009a: 55)….

Comparing Reading in L1 and L2 • Study participants - First year students of

Biology▫Swedish students from Stockholm

University▫British students from Reading and

Edinburgh Universities• Advanced proficiency university students are

“less than 75% as efficient as L1 students reading the same textbooks” (Shaw and McMillion, 2008:141)

Results for comprehension test under time pressure (Shaw and McMillion, 2008)

Is EAP special - Skills vs Strategies• Reading skills are automatic actions that result

in decoding and comprehending of texts with speed, efficiency and fluency, usually without the reader’s awareness of the components or controls involved. Reading skills operate without the reader’s deliberate control or conscious awareness….

• Reading strategies are deliberate, goal-directed attempts to control and modify the reader’s efforts to decode text, understand words, and construct meaning of a text. The reader’s deliberate control of work, the goal-directedness of the work, and the reader’s awareness of work define a strategy.

(Afflerbach, Pearson and Paris, 2008:15)

‘Reading for a degree’• Grabe (1991:378)

states that “the reader needs to maintain the flow of information at a sufficient rate to make connections and inferences vital to comprehension”.

• Grade 2 students read at 121 wpm, Grade 6 at 177 wpm, and Grade 12 students at 261 wpm (Carver, 1992).

• Anderson (2009:130) proposes an adequate reading rate of 200wpm and 70 comprehension.Yachna Emily Sandra Nu Marie Kerry Lefki Nazli

wpm156

wpm156

wpm133

wpm192

wpm152

wpm140

wpm152

wpm139

• Graves (2000) claims that point of view about develop and adapt the material in classroom. How to adapt and develop course material in an activity should consider students’ experience and background, so that students can understand the topic. For example, I will talk about some topics they are interested in. It also considers students’ needs in their real life that they have confidence to apply what they learned from the class to real situation. It can ask Student would be asked what they would do if they were the characters in the textbook. I will give students the opportunity to solve and analyze problems. Students can find the answer through group discussion and ideas sharing from their peers. The material should help learners develop particular learning skills. For example, I will ask students to find specific information or match the heading in reading text in order to let students understand the article’s construction. It can help students learn and use in other similar situation and texts they may face.

Reading Experiences of International MA/MSc Students • Understanding the gist is not enough to fully

engage in PG classes.• Students may be forced to rely on background

knowledge and familiar topics to complete their PG assignments instead of broadening their knowledge.

• Lack of automaticity hinders the activation of known vocabulary in other modalities.

• Reading speed bumps up against library loan periods.

• Slow reading speed also leads to truncated reading.

Reading Experiences of International MA/MSc Students• Lack of vocabulary leads to difficulty in

expressing complex ideas• Vocabulary gain and loss – when vocabulary is

not consolidated there is little or no overall growth.

• Danger of inadvertent plagiarism. • Overall missed opportunities and scaled back

goals.(based on Banerjee, 2003)

Exposure to vocabulary• To what degree is it feasible to

manipulate the occurrences of mid-frequency vocabulary in learning materials to enable sufficient recycling to occur? Is it only possible to do this with computer-based materials or can it be done in traditional textbooks?

Relationship between vocabulary size and text coverage

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

90%

91%

92%

93%

94%

95%

96%

97%

98%

99%

100%

Vocabulary Coverage

Co

mp

reh

ensi

on

Per

cen

tag

e

Mean

+1 SD

-1 SD

(Schmitt, Jiang & Grabe, 2011)

Vocabulary coverage for business texts

(Hsu, 2011)

Country Vocab Size

Hours ofInstruction

Reference

JapanEFL University

20002300

800-1200 Shillaw 1995 Barrow et al 1999

ChinaEnglish Majors

4000 1800-2400 Laufer 2001

IndonesiaEFL university

1220 900 Nurweni and Read 1999

OmanEFL university

2000 1350+ Horst et al 1998

Israel HS Graduates

3500 1500 Laufer 1998

Francehigh school

1000 400 Arnaud et al 1985

GreeceAge 15, HS

1680 660 Milton and Meara 1998

GermanyAge 15, HS

1200 400 Milton and Meara 1998

Vocabulary Profiles by IELTS Scores    IELTS 2000 3000 5000 10000 AWL  

LLM International Trade Law Brazilian 6 100 93 63 40 100 Top

MA Branding and Identity Design Chinese 6 100 93 97 50 93  

MSc Marketing Thai 6 90 100 77 33 97Media

n

MA Fashion Marketing and Communication Chinese 6 90 87 60 0 83  

BA International Business Admin Chinese 6 67 37 27 23 67Botto

m

MSc Applied Child Psychology Cypriot 6 63 40 43 20 57  

  Mean   90 75 60 20 81  

N = 48 S.D.   9.28 17.31 19.54 15.60 15.56  

      2000 3000 5000 10000 AWL  

BA Marketing Management Taiwanese 6.5 100 97 87 27 100 Top

MSc Management & HRM Chinese 6.5 100 93 60 0 83  

MSc Management Taiwanese 6.5 100 83 77 3 90Media

n

MA Media and Globalisation Chinese 6.5 100 73 67 37 80  

BA International Business Admin Chinese 6.5 83 73 57 37 70Botto

m

MA English Language Teaching Chinese 6.5 83 47 13 3 50  

  Mean   95 82 60 20 81  

N = 12 S.D.   6.97 13.86 25.90 15.29 15.14  

Students with the lower IELTS score have a bigger gap in their knowledge of high frequency vocabulary.

Vocabulary Profiles by IELTS Scores    IELTS 2000 3000 5000 10000 AWL  

LLM International Trade Law Brazilian 6 100 93 63 40 100 Top

MA Branding and Identity Design Chinese 6 100 93 97 50 93  

MSc Marketing Thai 6 90 100 77 33 97Media

n

MA Fashion Marketing and Communication Chinese 6 90 87 60 0 83  

BA International Business Admin Chinese 6 67 37 27 23 67Botto

m

MSc Applied Child Psychology Cypriot 6 63 40 43 20 57  

  Mean   90 75 60 20 81  

N = 48 S.D.   9.28 17.31 19.54 15.60 15.56  

      2000 3000 5000 10000 AWL  

MA Fashion Business Chinese 5.5 97 77 50 10 87 Top

MA Product Design Innovation Management Chinese 5.5 93 47 10 0 47  

BA Photography Chinese 5.5 83 77 30 10 53Media

n

MA Graphic Design Chinese 5.5 83 57 33 0 57  

MA Fashion Marketing and Communication Taiwanese 5.5 80 57 50 20 57  

BA Fashion Marketing Chinese 5.5 67 33 17 0 57Botto

m

BA Fashion and Textile Management Chinese 5.5 53 47 40 10 50  

  Mean   81 62 43 16 67  

N = 21 S.D.   10.64 16.59 18.74 13.36 13.68  

This is even more pronounced when we compare IELTS 6.0 with IELTS 5.5 .

+3%+7+9%

+12

Max Score 150

Even small increases in vocabulary

coverage can lead to big gains in

comprehension.

Reading Score

134 – Exempt from English

116 – 1 semester

104 – 2 semesters

95 – 3 semesters

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Receptive Vocabulary

Optimal Threshold – 98% (8000 word families)

Minimal Threshold – 95% (4-5,000 word families)

Is EAP special?

Skills vs Strategies•Reading skills are motivated by goals of

fluency, effortlessness, and accuracy; they give rise to the student reader’s pride in ability, not effort….

•Strategic readers feel confident that they can monitor and improve their own reading so they have both knowledge and motivation to succeed. (Afflerbach, Pearson and Paris, 2008:19)

Implications from Research: What L2 Readers Need (Grabe, 2008)

1. Decode forms for efficient word recognition 2. Access the meanings of a large number of

words automatically 3. Draw meaning from phrase and clause level

grammatical information4. Combine clause-level meanings to build a

larger network of text comprehension5. Recognize discourse level relationships that

build and support comprehension6. Use reading strategies with more difficult texts

Implications from Research: What L2 Readers Need (Grabe, 2008)

7. Set goals for reading, adjust them as needed 8. Make inferences of various types and monitor

comprehension in line with reading goals 9. Draw on prior knowledge as appropriate10. Evaluate and synthesize information from a

text 11. Develop fluent reading processes and read

fluently for an extended period of time12. Develop and maintain motivation to persist in

reading, and recognize the benefits of reading

Thresholds in language proficiency•Reading•Listening

•This issue is not about a false dichotomy about differences between teaching GE or EGAP or ESAP.

We have not fully closed the circle on research and practice

Research Agenda

Fiction News/ Textbooks Journals Magazines

EFL EAP Freshman

Disciplinary Exams Writing Comp

Writing

What do we mean when we say something is academic?

Coverage of technical words in specialized texts (Chung and Nation, 2003)Vocabulary Level Anatomy Text Applied

Linguistics Text

1st 2000 239,790 (53.3%) 63,992 (68.5%)

AWL 16,554 (3.7%) 6,422 (6.9%)

Technical Words 140,400 (31.2%)(35.6%) (64.4%)

19,208 (20.6%)(88.4%) (11.6%)

Low Frequency Words

53,256 (11.8%) 3,803 (4.0%)

Total Word Families

450,000 (100%) 93,445 (100%)88.2% coverage

96% coverage

Academic vocabulary

•Can we usefully build vocabulary profiles of texts in different disciplines and levels of study?

Academic coverage (size)

•How much text coverage is required to read for different purposes?

•Can readers build text models with limited vocabulary?

•Can writers successfully mine difficult texts for information when coverage levels are low?

Vocabulary learning rates• At what rates can we reasonably expect

learners to acquire vocabulary? Milton (2009: 89) surveys a range of studies and concludes that “learners, as a very general average, appear to gain about four words per hour from regular classroom contact.” Is this rate a cognitive learning constraint or an artifact of an insufficient focus on vocabulary?

Exposure to vocabulary

• What amount and type of vocabulary input are students exposed to in EAP classrooms when teacher input, student talk and materials input are combined?

• To what degree is it feasible to manipulate the occurrences of mid-frequency vocabulary in learning materials to enable sufficient recycling to occur? Is it only possible to do this with computer-based materials or can it be done in traditional textbooks?

Fluency in reading

•Can fluency training improve students reading ability when faced with long, difficult and dense academic texts?

Thank you for your attention.

diane.schmitt@ntu.ac.uk

Actors and Coalitions in the Struggle over Belo MonteThe question of Belo Monte and its associated upstream dams has been and continues to be the subject of an intense struggle between those for and against the project. The two sides are composed of a variety of actors and coalitions. Pressing for construction are the “Barrageiros,” or dam builders, who represent a distinct sub-culture in Brazilian society (see Fearnside 1989c). The Belo Monte Dam has a special place in barrageiro culture – a sort of Holy Grail, the quest for which includes an emotional element that goes beyond the logic of cost/benefit calculations. One of the engineers involved in planning the dam expressed it this way: “God only makes a place like Belo Monte once in a while. This place was made for a dam.” Belo Monte takes advantage of a unique location that allows a comparatively low dam to be built relative to the amount of electricity that can be generated. Rather than a traditional design with the powerhouse located at the foot of the dam (as was the plan in the original 1989 design for Kararaô [Belo Monte]), the current (2002) plan for Belo Monte would divert the bulk of the water laterally through a series of canals and flooded streambeds (the “Canals Reservoir”) to a main powerhouse at a lower elevation, downstream of the great bend of the Xingu River, thus gaining the benefit of the fall in elevation at the great bend while only requiring construction of a smaller dam (at Sitio Pimentel).