approaches to esap elmira kocheva
Post on 02-Jul-2015
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The case for a new acronym ESAPIncreasingly English is being used as the teaching medium for Business Studies, Medicine, Engineering etc at Higher Education and University levels. This presents interesting challenges for the English teacher faced with students who are not interested in learning English for its own sake, but who are concerned to have sufficient command of English to help them progress in their chosen careers. General English is being replaced by English for Specific Purposes but within an atmosphere of English for Academic Purposes. How can this best be done?
A general view
• Language teachers lack the expertise and confidence to teach subject specific conventions and content
• Skills and language across a range of disciplines remain the same
General English
Level driven: the main focus is on what a student can and cannot do now.
Student motives are varied and general. They may be interested in the language or want to enjoy the global community.
the specific view
When English is taught, it should include:
• current specific needs
• wider needs (transferable skills and
competencies)
• acknowledgement of future needs
• •
What do students say?
“We’ve been learning English for 6 years and we’re still doing the verb to be.” (Lack of interest / progression)
“I’d like more time to speak and practise the language. I forget it straight after the lesson.” (Frustration)
“Different teachers tell us different things. (Lack of faith in the teacher – or is it the book?)
Which means ...
• Students are generally goal-orientated.
• Students might not know what they need, but they do know what they don’t need.
• Our materials and methods should reflect this.
The acronyms
• EFL?• ENOP?• ESP?• EAP?• ESAP?• EOP?
English study at university
• ENOP?• EAP?• ESP?• ESAP?
EAP provides …
• Discourse structures and vocabulary spanning all academic fields
• General skills to help decode and construct text in appropriate registers
i.e., Bottom Up skills
•
EAP
Themes based on areas of human knowledge– not quirky– not imaginary– not ‘one-off’ human interest stories– not ‘teen’ topics
EAP
Listening: to lectures
Speaking: seminars, tutorials
Reading: for research
Writing: essays, assignments
EAP LISTENING
Listening and taking notes– not interactive listening – not ‘eavesdropping’– not multiple listening– not ‘after doing’ comprehension questions
How do we learn?• This seems like a simple ... • but there is no simple …• In the next two lectures, we’re...• to look at theories of …• This week, I’m going to talk...• theories from Ancient…• Next, theories from …• theory from a Russian scientist, …• ...agree about learning.
However...
• question• answer• going• learning• about• Greece• Islamic scholars• Ivan Pavlov• (contrary view)
Top down bottom up listening
How do we learn?
This seems like a simple …
but there is no simple …
In the next two lectures, we’re …
… to look at theories of …
I’m going to talk about …
… from Ancient …
Next, theories from …
A Russian scientist, …
… agree about learning. However
EAP SPEAKING
Speaking from research– not phatic communion– not every function that can be thought of– not convergent, ‘what I know / think’
EAP READING
Reading for research– not reading for pleasure– not every and any text type – not ‘after doing’ comprehension questions
Reading to Writing
ResearchedMeaning
into
RehearsedWords
EAP WRITING
Writing in academic genres– not first person– not informal postcards, letters– not convergent, ‘what I know / think’
EAP WRITING
is:• analytical not impressionistic • objective not subjective• intellectual not emotional• serious not conversational• impersonal not personal• formal not colloquial
Teaching writing: top down
• Researching• Structuring research notes• Understanding models• Organising information into paragraphs• Writing topic sentences
The TOWER of Production
Thinking
Organizing
Writing
Editing
Rewriting
audience, purpose, content
information from research, knowledge, opinion
appropriate writing plan
writing for the writer – cohesion
writing for the reader – coherence
EAP Grammar
We can start with a few facts ...
75% - 85% of EAP is in …
… the present (including passives)
10% - 15% of EAP is in …
… the past (including passives)
5% - 10% of EAP uses …
… modals (Source: Various inc. Longman Grammar of Written and Spoken English)
And ...
90% of EAP is in the simple aspect
7% of EAP is in the perfect aspect
3% of EAP is in the progressive aspect
0.5% of EAP is in the perfect progressive aspect(Source: Longman Grammar of Written and Spoken English)
EAP Grammar
the complex noun phrase
clause joining
clause embedding
prepositional phrases
stance adverbials
EAP
How does ESAP differ from EAP material?
• Content-centred approach to promote more meaningful learning
- teaches students to cope with input texts in their discipline (lectures, research articles, etc.)
• Addresses variations within disciplines
- different skills, conventions, lexis and register
ESAP students need …
TOP DOWN SKILLS
to use specific information from the field to
check and develop arguments and theories
Building background knowledge enables
ESAP
English for Specific Academic Purposes
•
ESAPWhat background knowledge?
• What is the discipline?• What are its branches?• What does a practitioner do?• What is the history of the discipline?• Who are the great people in the discipline – biography?• What are the great works in the discipline – references?• What are the basic principles / knowledge in the discipline?• What are the current issues?• What are the contentious issues?• Are there any Health and Safety issues (if relevant)?• How do you distinguish fact from opinion in the discipline?• What might the future hold?
ESAP
• Disciplinary variations:
• Disciplines see reality in different ways
ESAP Learning tasks
• Humanities & social sciences
Analysing & synthesizing from
multiple sources• Science and technology
Describing procedures, defining
procedures, planning solutions
ESAP Lexis and collocation
• Common core ignores multiple meanings
Consist means ‘stay the same’ in the social sciences and ‘composed of’ in the sciences
Volume means “book’ in applied linguistics and ‘quantity’ in biology
Abstract means ‘remove’ in engineering and ‘theoretical’ in social sciences
ESAP Reporting conventions
• Social sciences;• Verbs which refer to writing activities: discuss,
hypothesize, suggest, argue• Engineers and scientists:• Verbs which refer to research activities:
observe, discover, show, analyse, etc
Self-mention (per 1,000 words)
• Philosophy 5.5• Marketing 5.5• Applied Linguistics 4.5• Sociology 4.3• Physics 4.1• Biology 3.4• Electrical engineering 3.3• Mechanical engineering 1.0
Stance features (per 1000 words)
• Philosophy 42.8• Sociology 31.1• App Ling 37.2• Marketing 39.5• Physics 25.0• Mech Eng 19.8• Elec Eng 21.6
Biology 15.5Sociology 12.5 Philosophy 10.8Applied Linguistics 10.8Marketing 10.1Electronic Engineering 8.4Physics 7.4 Mechanical Engineering 7.3
Discipline
Citations per 1000 words
Some implications for teaching..
• Use target-language authentic texts• Encourage analysis• Encourage critical thinking• Encourage reflection• Use authentic models• Use expert informants
and ....................
S What we teach in any kind of content based course is not the content itself but some form of the discourse of that content.
ESAP should equip students with the vocabulary and skills they need to enable them to study their chosen discipline in the most effective way.
Thank youhttps://sites.google.com/site/linvamoderna
/
Basic content syllabus for ESAP courses
What is the discipline?What are its branches?What does a practitioner in the discipline do?The history of the disciplineThe great people in the discipline – biographyThe great works in the discipline – referencesBasic principles / knowledge in the disciplineCurrent issues in the disciplineContentious issues in the disciplineHealth and safety issues – if relevantFact vs opinion in the disciplineThe future of the discipline
Adapting the texts: Some features more common in academic Englishnouns = hypernyms, hyponymsprepositions = embedding in the noun phraseor = alternative; definition / explanationcataphoria = e.g. the problem + expositionits, their = non-human referenceour = to avoid my-tion nouns = production, definition etc.passives = although still only 25% of totalnoun C = e.g. the person that…; a way of doing etc.
Some features less common in academic Englishpronouns = EAP uses alternative nounsnot / no = EAP states positive propositionsquestions = except as rhetorical devicesimperatives = although technical has manyphrasal verbs = Latinate words used insteadprogressive = is doing, was doing etc.perfective = has done, had done etc.
Top downActivating schemataBuilding background knowledgeMaking hypothesesChecking hypotheses against incoming data
EXTRACTING PRAGMATIC MEANINGComparing grammatical meaning with hypothesisExtracting grammatical meaningDecoding text into meaningful units
Bottom up
top related