English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
By Ira Rasikawati
The number of students learning English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has expanded internationally due to the growing number of students taking tertiary education in English. UKRIDA students are also required to learn EAP in the first semester of their undergraduate study. To do well in a particular course, it is important for the students to know at least some basic information about the course. We might have been familiar with other types of English courses such as General English or Business English; but, what is EAP? Why do we need to learn it? How can we be successful in an EAP course?
Based on its purposes, English teaching is divided into three categories: English for general purposes, English for social purposes, and English for specific purposes. EAP is a branch of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). While ESP is the umbrella term for any English Language Teaching designed to meet the learner’s specific needs related to particular disciplines, occupations or activities; EAP refers to the teaching of English related to a study purpose (Dudley-Evans and St. John, 1998). The following figure introduced by Dudley-Evans and St. John explains the position of EAP on a continuum from General English courses to ESP:
EAP falls either in or between the positions 3 or 4. In position 3, the course is recognized as English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP). EGAP prepares students to acquire the skills they need during their study such as listening to lectures, participating in seminars, reading textbooks, writing reports or essays, etc. (Dudley-Evans and St. John, 1998). In reading textbook for instance, students learn to identify main ideas and supporting details or use reading skills such as skimming and scanning to obtain the information they need in a specific text. In position 4, the course is known as English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP). ESAP also consists of study skills learned in EGAP but with the addition of tasks to understand the actual lectures, reading texts, or to write the essays and reports related to the students’ actual study department (Dudley-Evans and St. John, 1998).
In an Indonesian university context, the needs for learning EAP may not be as great as those in English speaking countries or in other ESL situations in which English is used throughout the education system such as in Malaysia or Philippines (Jordan, 1997). Today there are many universities in Indonesia that offer certain subjects in English. This type of class is usually known as an International class and is characterized by the use of English as the medium of instruction. Although English is not yet used in subject courses in UKRIDA, students need to learn EAP since many textbooks are in English. In the Medical Faculty for example, English is essential considering almost all medical knowledge is in English. Another need that usually arises later, either in the final year, future study or work, is that students may be required to demonstrate their proficiency in English by taking a standardized proficiency test such as TOEFL or IELTS. In UKRIDA Faculty of Economics, students are obliged to take the TOEFL test prior to registering for their thesis. Learning EAP will help students to prepare for this type of test that measures the students’ English skills in the academic context.
To be successful in an EAP course, students need to make connections between the study skills they have acquired in their first language with the study skills in English. If the students already possess study skills in Bahasa Indonesia, they can actually transfer their skills into English. In their first language for instance, students do not have to read every word but do skimming instead when they are reading magazines to find the articles they want to read. They can apply the same strategy in reading in English. Another important key to success is by understanding well and meeting the EAP course expectations. At the beginning of the course, most instructors, including EAP instructors explain their expectations for the course. I have observed that students often take for granted the course syllabus and fail to meet the expectations set for them. One of the specific expectations for EAP 1 course this year is; students are expected to identify the main idea of a reading text. If students do a lot of practice finding the topic sentence in a text, they will be able to identify the main idea of a text easily. Paying attention to the classroom rules and policy is another important aspect to perform well in an EAP course. Finally quoting Mr. Ardi’s recommendations, students need to read, read, and keep reading to gain success in learning EAP. Good luck with your study!
Glossary:
tertiary education (noun, uncountable): education at a college, university etc
branch (noun, countable): one part of a large subject of study or knowledge
common core (noun, countable): (in language teaching) those basic aspects of a language (e.g. vocabulary and grammar) which a learner needs to know whatever his or her purpose is in learning the language.
continuum (noun, countable): a scale of related things on which each one is only slightly different from the one before
discipline (noun, countable): an area of knowledge or teaching, especially one such as history, chemistry, mathematics etc that is studied at a university
EGBP (noun): English for General Business Purposes
IELTS (noun): International English Language Testing System: a test of English for academic purposes, used widely to measure the English language proficiency of international students whose native languages are not English and who intend to enter universities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and elsewhere
occupation (noun, countable): a job or profession
TOEFL (noun): Test of English as a Foreign Language: a standardized test of English proficiency administered by the Educational Testing Service, and widely used to measure the English language proficiency of international students wishing to enter universities in America, Canada and elsewhere.
umbrella term (noun, countable): a word whose meaning includes many different types of a particular thing
References:
Harding, Keith. 2007. English for Specific Purposes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dudley-Evans, Tony and Maggie Jo St John. 1998. Developments in ESP: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jordan, R.R. 1997. English for Academic Purposes: A guide and resource books for teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. 4th Ed.
Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Richards, Jack C and Richard Schmidt. 3rd Ed.
(published in UKRIDA Newsletter | No. 68 - Year VIII, October-November 2010)
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