English for Academic Purposes

A Cure For Formal Language Errors In Papua New Guinea (& Elsewhere) - This Is Your Problem, Friend, Not Mine

by Thorold (Thor) May

The material in this article is as relevant now as it ever was. Some things don't change.  It was first published in Guidelines - A Periodical For Classroom Language Teachers, Vol.8, No.1,  June 1986, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, Singapore. This is an extended version of a paper given  at the TESLA Conference in Goroka, PNG, in July 1985.

This paper proposes that teacher correction often has very little transfer effect on a student's later language... more This paper proposes that teacher correction often has very little transfer effect on a student's later language behaviour. It examines reasons for this, and the motivational paradigm within which students operate. The paper argues that student self-correction is more likely to have a measurable long term effect. A mechanism to motivate directed self-correction is therefore proposed. This mechanism involves subtracting marks from assessed essays, and indicating line locations where there is a problem, without however explaining the problem. The procedure gives students the option to recover the lost marks through re-editing and re-submission within a time frame. The system has been tested empirically and found to yield promising results. The method of error evaluation also results in a lower burden of pointless correction for teachers.

When Grammar Doesn't Help

by Thorold (Thor) May

This paper questions the role of grammar in language teaching and learning. Firstly it identifies the constituencies... more This paper questions the role of grammar in language teaching and learning. Firstly it identifies the constituencies in academic language teaching, and their often conflicting notions of language programs. Several kinds of learners are discussed, with particular attention to the large group who are uncomfortable with any technical analysis, including formal grammars. Some conventional ideas about what a natural language grammar actually is are challenged. The consequences of a connectionist view of language processing are briefly explored. The power of collocation sets is identified as a key to language acquisition. Language is set in the broader cognitive context of memory processes and patterns of generalization. Pedagogical grammars are viewed as forced external generalizations with little organic presence in memory, but some suggestions are made about how to make use of them. Actual student language memory, as well as teacher self-insight into L1 are both contrasted with the idealized patterns assumed by academic language programs. Finally, the stubborn problem of average teacher behaviour is set against the real ways in which people appear to use grammars and learn languages.

Fractional Language Learning

by Thorold (Thor) May

first published in Asian EFL Journal Quarterly Vol. 9, No.4, December 2007

Abstract : Many users of a second language, especially English, have little productive mastery of the language.... more Abstract : Many users of a second language, especially English, have little productive mastery of the language. Rather, some requirement in their life forces them to use limited subroutines (maybe quite small and formulaic) which are effectively encapsulated as special elements within L1.

This paper proposes that fractional language learning is a valid objective for large numbers of users, and briefly examines some of the contexts in which it has a pragmatic application. It notes that much fractional language learning occurs outside of formal educational environments, and then goes on to consider how both the classroom teaching and evaluation can be adapted to give proper recognition to student achievements on a fractional scale. The paper suggests that this kind of graduated recognition is in fact likely to enhance outcomes across the full spectrum of language teaching, and can be consciously incorporated into curriculum design.

A paradigm shift to teacher acceptance (and community acceptance) of fractional language learning has strong implications for assessment practices. Most current measures of language assessment offer little or no recognition to the achievements of learners in the pre-production phase of acquisition. Attempts at language use in this phase are routinely punished by existing assessment tools. Partly as a result of this discouragement, large numbers of students never progress to independent language production. Fractional language objectives are one remedy for this deep flaw in language teaching outcomes.

The Critical Role of Journal Selection in Scholarly Publishing: A Search for Journal Options in Language-related Research Areas and Disciplines

by Hacer Hande Uysal

Language Tangle - Predicting & Facilitating Outcomes in Language Education - PhD Thesis - ThorMay

by Thorold (Thor) May

Doctoral dissertation in knowledge worker productivity (specifically language teaching productivity) awarded by the University of Newcastle, NSW in 2010. The abstract and links to supporting documents including the thesis itself may also be viewed at http://thormay.net/lxesl/lxtangle_abstract.html. The full dissertation title is "Language Tangle - Predicting and Facilitating Outcomes in Language Education".

This thesis argues that foreign and second language teaching productivity can only reach its proper potential when it... more This thesis argues that foreign and second language teaching productivity can only reach its proper potential when it is accorded priority, second only to language learner productivity, amongst the many competing productivities which are always asserted by stakeholders in educational institutions.

A theoretical foundation for the research is established by examining the historical concept of productivity, and its more recent manifestation as knowledge worker productivity, especially as applied to teachers.

The empirical basis of the thesis is sourced from a chronological series of twenty biographical case studies in language teaching venues in Australia, New Zealand, Oceania and East Asia. The biographical case study methodology, although rare in applied linguistics, is justified by reference to its wide and growing application in other fields of qualitative research. The case studies are analysed for common patterns of productivity, as well as teaching productivity inhibition or failure.

It was affirmed across all of the case studies without exception that external parties could not control or even reliably predict what individual students might learn, and how well, from instances of instructed language teaching. This was regardless of the power of institutional players, external resources, curriculums or the teacher. Student belief in the immediate value of what was to be learned in a given lesson, and personal confidence in an ability to learn it were the most critical factors.

Teaching productivity was found to turn, ultimately, on the teacher's ability to influence the probability of student learning. The teacher could best influence learning probability by enhancing student motivation. The most effective environments for teaching productivity were seen to be those where the teacher was professionally equipped and politically enabled to exercise judgements which maximized opportunities for student language learning productivity. A negotiated pact concerning both curriculum and method often proved effective, especially with mature students, and at times required some deception of institutional authorities.

Empirically, the encouragement of reciprocal learning relationships between teacher and students was found to be powerfully enabling for language teaching productivity in the case studies.

In many venues a small but effective minority of 'intimate learners' were also able to leverage their language learning productivity by forging more personal relationships with the teacher.

The wider cultural paradigm within each of the countries represented in the case studies sanctioned different paths and limitations for both language learners and teachers, and hence was seen to influence teaching productivity in critical ways. It was found that under certain conditions, notably (but not exclusively) those prevailing in many East Asian educational institutions, that certification of foreign language skills had a higher cultural, employment and monetary value than the actual ability to exercise foreign language skills.

A negative influence on teacher productivity in many of the case studies was an ignorance about language learning and teaching amongst institutional players. The disregard of language teacher professionalism was fed by a belief that being able to speak a language was all that was necessary to teach it, and reinforced by misinterpreting the meaning of test results. Related to this, an imbalance of power relationships between teachers or students with other institutional interests was consistently found to interfere with teaching and learning productivities. Overall, the model of productivity understood in institutions instanced by the case studies tended to reflect a 19th Century economic paradigm of capital, raw materials (students) and labour (dispensable classroom workers) rather than any more sophisticated grasp of knowledge worker productivity.

It was demonstrated in the context of the case studies that productivity, and in particular knowledge worker productivity, is a complex concept whose facets require detailed analysis to arrive at a proper understanding of the role that foreign and second language teachers play in educational institutions.

Plain Speaking : Judging an Oratory Contest

by Thorold (Thor) May

Although first published in 1989, this paper retains relevance, especially for the "speech competitions" which are run (usually poorly) in countries where English is taught as a second language.

Abstract: This paper attempts to explain the criteria which judges are likely to apply in the Fiji National Oratory... more Abstract: This paper attempts to explain the criteria which judges are likely to apply in the Fiji National Oratory Contest. It comments upon some features of the 1989 contest, and suggests factors which may have underlain the performance of contestants. However, the analysis is not merely local to an historical time or place. Oratory contests are a special case of the “speaking competitions” which are widespread in countries where English is learned as a second language. The cultural beliefs and traditions which come into play in public speaking are especially important in cross-cultural situations. The solutions discussed here have universal relevance for speakers and judges.

Evaluating Linguistic Difficulty

by Thorold (Thor) May

This material was originally published in TESOL News Vol. 8 No. 3 1987 . In spite of the date, its content remains very current for language teachers and others.

While ESL teachers cannot eliminate linguistic difficulties, with an awareness of the factors involved it is possible... more While ESL teachers cannot eliminate linguistic difficulties, with an awareness of the factors involved it is possible to minimise the confusion of their students. This article systematically analyses some important problem areas in language learning. It itemizes a range of syntactic and semantic phenomena, considering in each cas how the rule or pattern might pose a difficulty for some learners. This paper has been published for a number of years now, and the writer has become aware that many teachers themselves have found it a useful aid in preparing and presenting course material.

Table of Contents: INTRODUCTION // orders of complexity // LEXICAL DIFFICULTY // Syllabic length:// Clusters // Irregular spelling // Irregular stress // Affixes // Multiple denotation // Range of connotation // Specialized application // Frequency of lexical items // Selectional restrictions // Subcategorical restrictions // MEASURES OF STRUCTURAL COMPLEXITY IN SENTENCES // Sentence length // Qualifying words // Adverbial and prepositional phrases // Conjunctive sentences // Equi-deletion // Deletion by convention // Permutation // Transposition // Embedding // Sentential complements // Topicalization // Presupposition // Tense // Aspect // Agreement (concord) rules // Anaphoric, cataphoric and exophoric references // DISCOURSE COHESION // CUEING // IDIOM // CONCEPTUAL DIFFICULTY // More accessible reference // Less accessible reference // Types of Inference // REFERENCES

Fluency Vs Accuracy OR Fluency AND Accuracy for Language Learners?

by Thorold (Thor) May

This document is also available on the blog, Thor's Language & Teaching Notes at http://thorslanguageandteachingnotes.byeways.net/
// This is the outline of a seminar on teaching methodology given as a teacher inservice for Chinese English teachers in Zhengzhou, Henan, China, in November 2009.

Abstract : This seminar paper indicates a fundamental difference in objectives between language learning for... more Abstract : This seminar paper indicates a fundamental difference in objectives between language learning for certification and learning for live use. Whereas accuracy is an absolute goal within schooling contexts, its value on the street is highly variable. This difference is reflected in teaching perspectives.

Tips_for_Teachers

by Thorold (Thor) May

Also available on the blog, Thor's Language & Teaching Notes at http://thorslanguageandteachingnotes.byeways.net/?p=28

These notes consist of three parts : 1. Some short backround notes on the profession of teaching languages; 2. A few... more These notes consist of three parts : 1. Some short backround notes on the profession of teaching languages; 2. A few useful links for teaching tips and content; 3. A collection of ten activities which the seminar presenter has invented or borrowed, and found to be popular with students.// This is an outline from one of a monthly series of seminars by Thor May on teaching skills. The seminars were given as a teacher inservice for Chinese English teachers in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. This seminar was conducted on 10 June 2008

eng 215 child soldiers literature review 30-4-2012

by Nassau Tes

Analysis of the generic discourse features of the English-language medical research article: a systemic-functional approach

by Daniel Lees Fryer

Published in Functions of Language, 19(1), 2012

Genre analysis can be used as a means of understanding the communicative practices of specific discourse communities... more Genre analysis can be used as a means of understanding the communicative practices of specific discourse communities and may therefore be of particular benefit to students in higher education for whom the interpretation and production of discipline-specific texts is paramount. This study takes global medical research as a case in point and examines the generic discourse features of the experimental medical research article (RA), using a systemic-functional and ‘structural moves analysis’ approach. Based on this novel, combined methodology, a sequence of generic rhetorical moves and steps across a series of medical RAs are described in terms of their function and lexicogrammar. The implications of the study are discussed in relation to previous research and their potential pedagogical and methodological applications.

Re-envisioning English for Academic Purposes: The view from Kiso Semi

by Howard Brown

Co-authored with John Adamson

This case study re-envisions the objectives of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program as taught by expatriate... more This case study re-envisions the objectives of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program as taught by expatriate staff in a Japanese university. EAP courses in Japan often assume students will study in English speaking countries and prepare them for a western academic experience. However, increasingly English medium content courses are offered in Japanese schools. These courses, while conducted in English are nevertheless grounded in a Japanese academic context and its customs. This qualitative study examines the values and opinions of Japanese Kiso Semi (a fundamental academic skills preparation seminar) teachers through questionnaires and interviews to better inform EAP decision-making. Findings reveal insights into both Japanese academic norms and Japanese faculty expectations for student behavior and performance. Understanding these norms and expectations has lead to a questioning of current EAP curriculum design and a proposed localization of that design. This has implications for specific EAP course objectives, particularly in terms of the importance of intertextuality, multimodality, the role of critical thinking, and the possible transferability of skills between content and language classes.

ESL Learners Learning Content Subject in English: What do the Malaysian First Cohort Students Say?

by Souba Rethinasamy

Souba Rethinasamy, Kee Man Chuah, & Mohd Hafizan Hashim. (2012). ESL learners learning content subject in English: What do the Malaysian first cohort students say? The International Journal of Learning, 18(7), 353–366.

Throughout the world English language has become an important language of academic instruction. Thus, the teaching and... more Throughout the world English language has become an important language of academic instruction. Thus, the teaching and learning of a content subject in English is not a unique phenomenon in various parts of the world. In Malaysia, English for the Teaching of Mathematics and Science (ETeMS) policy was implemented in 2003. This has received and is still receiving various reactions particularly from politicians, parents, language experts and policy makers. This study employed a survey research design and investigated the views of the 600 students who have completed all 6 years of primary education under the ETeMS policy. Four aspects of the students’ views namely, views on personal ability in English, learning Science in English, importance of learning Science in English and language medium preference were covered in the questionnaire items. The findings show that the majority of the students viewed their English language ability as good, had positive views about learning Science in English, very aware of the importance of learning Science in English and preferred to learn Science in English only and bilingually in the Malay language and English. The paper highlights the need to listen to the students’ voice and recommends the way forward for addressing English medium instruction issues.

Keywords: English Medium Instruction (EMI), Content Based Learning (CBL), ESL Learners

Academic English programs feeding the walking dead of academia: Critical thinking as a global antibody?

by Sara Felix

Felix, S. (2012) “Academic English programs feeding the walking dead of academia: Critical thinking as a global antibody?” In Zombies in the Academy: Living Dead in Higher Education. Ed. R. Walker, C. Moore, & A. Whelan. London: Intellect Press.

ABSTRACT: English for Academic Purposes (EAP), the entrance for international students into universities, is... more ABSTRACT: English for Academic Purposes (EAP), the entrance for international students into universities, is historically anything but academic. In fact, EAP prevents any form of reflection and encourages brain inactivity. It is the first step towards the zombification of higher education. And, as these students return to their home countries, educated and infected, the silent take-over of zombies grows. Global infect rates expand exponentially as a zombie pandemic seems inevitable. However, all hope is not lost. EAP may be a field created for the living dead, but the application of praxis—action informed by reflective thought—offers antibodies against the temptation to join the zombie horde for these students about to enter into higher education.

EAP is now a place for those that are brain dead. Zombie features dictate the teaching in these programs. Just as zombies act without thinking, so do teachers and students. The use of checklists and forms, the simplification of language at the cost of ideas, and the lack of desire to push students past simple linguistic regurgitation and memorization all show brain decomposition. Scanning commonly used textbooks found in EAP resource rooms reveal these zombified thoughtless activities as they offer texts on critical reading without asking any inference or evaluative questions, provide listening activities that focus on numbers and fact and not on concepts and interpretations, and finally encourage the writing of simple five paragraph essays without asking the students to ever take a stand, critique arguments, and form ideas of their own. The message of this form of teaching and learning is clear: brains not wanted, and if they show up, they shall be consumed. After all, zombies feast on the brains of the living. So, it is best to follow the horde of zombies—better to become one than to be devoured. This is academic English for the international university—a zombie’s groan without thought.

However, there are potential antibodies. The integration of thought into this mindless action can provide a defence against further zombification. Specifically, critical thinking as defined by Kincheloe (2000, 2010) could provide this immunity. The reflective process changes thoughtless action into praxis. Rather than infecting the teacher and student with a viral desire to consume, it empowers both to take control over themselves through a critical stance. Freire (1972) first introduces this in adult literacy as a means of combating powerlessness in the city slums. Through dialogue between the students and teachers, both sides of the dialogue begin to promote thought and understanding from each other which is then used to inform action. As action becomes informed, the temptation to simply allow one’s self to become a member of the living dead diminishes. The very act of questioning (Freire, 1989) leads to thought, to wider understanding and to change. The living need not choose between consuming or being consumed. The intertwining of thought and action become the purpose behind everything that is ‘taught’—including language. Other educators, such as Giroux (2009) and hooks (1994, 2010) have built upon this theme to combat zombies in general and higher education.

These antibodies offered to the living who still have the will to fight is slow in being offered in EAP. Benesch (2002) offers a look at this understanding of the role of education as a place to foster thought and change for society (rather than unquestionably following the hordes) in the context of EAP programs. After all, is it not purpose and meaning in phonemes that separate out the language of humanity from the groans of zombies? However, she remains one of the lone voices behind the zombie front lines crying out for praxis in EAP. This needs to change if there is to be life for those international students entering into the academy.

Creating a critical stance as a way of transforming EAP students from zombie candidates to the living demands the use of content to foster students' think. Content gives students something to engage in, therefore resulting in a desire to communicate. There needs to be an integration of alternative academic texts that offer opposing stances on issues otherwise deemed to be “the way things are” by dominant culture—the culture of zombie consumption. Through these alternative readings, students question what they know and why they know it—forcing their nearly eaten brains to reactivate, and to use language (in this case, academic English) to express this stimulated brain function. Thinking, specifically critical thinking, needs to be brought to into focus.

EAP programs have been developed from their first inception as a way to create a zombie class that was to do the bidding of their corporate business masters.
However, the field is not doomed to remain in the grips of the living dead. There is hope (a pedagogy of hope according to Freire and hooks) that zombies can be defeated and beat back within their own territory. And, should this fight succeed, then these students can enter into the academy and into their degrees of study, prepared to defend themselves against the zombies that lurk in the shadows of their faculties. A first line of defence against the zombie hordes can be created from a place that was once the source of infection.

Key writing challenges of practice-based doctorates

by Cynthia Nelson

So Noxious a Premonition

by Mohamed Eno

Excerpted from my forthcoming volume Guilt of Otherness: A Brief Personal Memoir in Poetry

Strong and weak leadership exist everywhere, in every profession, and academia is not an exception. This verse is... more Strong and weak leadership exist everywhere, in every profession, and academia is not an exception. This verse is dedicated to all men and women academics who at some point in their professional life felt oppressed, frustrated or marginalized for one reason or another by the powers that be in their respective institutions.

Wiki Tools and English for Academic Purposes-Fostering Collaborative and Autonomous Learning in Higher Education

by Cristina Felea

Dynamic assessment, tutor mediation and academic writing development

by Prithvi Shrestha

Co-authored with Caroline Coffin; to be published in Assessing Writing 17 (1).

Supporting undergraduate students with their academic literacies has recently been a major focus in higher education... more Supporting undergraduate students with their academic literacies has recently been a major focus in higher education in the UK. This paper explores the value of tutor mediation in the context of academic writing development among undergraduate business studies students in open and distance learning, following the dynamic assessment (DA) approach that has been developed within Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning (Vygotsky, 1978). DA is an assessment approach that blends instruction and assessment. The data, which came from a pilot study of a larger research project, consisted of text-based interaction between a tutor–researcher and two business studies students across various drafts of two assignments in line with the DA approach. This interaction was mediated by computers mainly through emails. The analyses of such interaction suggest that DA can help to identify and respond to the areas that students need the most support in (in this study, managing information flow). Finally, we argue that a learning theory-driven approach such as DA can contribute to undergraduate students’ academic writing development by responding to their individual needs.

P. Durrant (2009). Investigating the viability of a collocation list for students of English for Academic Purposes. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3).

by Phil Durrant

Winner of Horowitz Prize for best article published in English for Specific Purposes in 2009.

A number of researchers are currently attempting to create listings of important collocations for students of EAP.... more A number of researchers are currently attempting to create listings of important collocations for students of EAP. However, so far these attempts have 1) failed to include positionally-variable collocations, and 2) not taken sufficient account of variation across disciplines. The present paper describes the creation of one listing of positionally-variable academic collocations and evaluates the extent to which it is likely to be useful to students from across a wide range of disciplines. A number of key findings emerge. First, cross-disciplinary collocations differ in type from the collocations on which most researchers have traditionally focused in that they tend not to be combinations of two lexical words, but rather pairings of one lexical and one grammatical word. Second, most of the words which are found in academic collocations are not found on Coxhead’s influential Academic Word List. This, it is argued, reflects a serious methodological weakness in Coxhead’s listing. Third, the vocabulary needs of students in the arts and humanities are characteristically different from those of students in other disciplines. Researchers and teachers therefore need to deal with these learners separately. The paper finishes by making a number of recommendations for future developments in this area.

Manipulating Media: using collaborative social media projects to build academic literacy in undergraduate Media Studies students

by Marcus Leaning

Details a course develped to improve academic literacy through the use of social media

This case study details a module developed to enhance the core academic literacy skills of analysis, argument,... more This case study details a module developed to enhance the core academic literacy skills of analysis, argument, critical thinking, information literacy, presenting, basic project management, referencing, research and writing in undergraduate Media Studies students. The lack of academic literacy in undergraduate students is a noted problem. However, courses that explicitly seek to develop these skills are notoriously unpopular with students. This case study details a course where an alternative approach has been successfully used. Students taking the course work upon a number of ‘live’ team briefs which present problems that require the use of academic literacy. The projects make extensive use of collaborative online learning and social media.