English for Academic & Specific Purposes
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| EDEN4003 | School of Education and English | 4 | 20 | Spring China |
- Code
- EDEN4003
- School
- School of Education and English
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring China
Summary
This course is aimed at teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) who are interested in teaching, or who may in future be required to teach, learners to use English in higher education or other definable, restricted contexts of language use. Examples of such contexts range from the general (English for Business or English for Science & Technology) to specific (English for Civil Engineering graduate students or English for Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers). The module considers aspects of EAP/ESP teaching and research and the interactions between them. On the course we consider EAP/ESP to be examples of communicative language teaching, since both are based on a theoretical construct of contextualized communicative language ability; what constitutes good teaching and research practice in communicative EFL courses is also appropriate for EAP/ESP courses.
Target Students
MA TESOL, MA Applied Linguistics and MA Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching. Language teachers and trainee teachers.
Classes
- One 3-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
Assessment
- 40% Coursework 1: A collection of an ESP/EAP language sample with an accommpanying analysis of the main lingusitic features. (2000 words)
- 60% Project 1: Students submit a detailed course proposal for a defined EAP/ESP context with discussion of at least 2 of the following elements: needs analysis, syllabus design, materials or assessment. (3000 words)
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The objectives of the course are to:•develop students' awareness of what matters in the language learning context: analyzing stakeholder needs in defined academic and other specific purpose situations•increase, through Genre Analysis, students' understanding of how language varies in different contexts: the language and practices in communicative situations in particular discourse communities•improve students' understanding of the factors involved in syllabus design: tailoring the scope and sequence of EAP/ESP course content to the teaching situation•provide students with an overview of EAP/ESP course assessment: defining and measuring learning outcomes in specific contextsLearning Outcomes
Intellectual skills
• have an understanding of the development of EAP and ESP over the last 50 years
• have gained and applied knowledge of past and current approaches to EAP and ESP syllabus design
• have gained knowledge of EAP assessment practices
Professional / practical skills
• be able to conduct a stakeholder needs analysis in a defined learning situation
• be able to conduct a genre analysis of an EAP/ESP situation and identify characteristic language
Transferable / key skills
• have become a critical reader who cross-checks with other authors before agreeing with an author's conclusions
Conveners
- Prof Douglas Bell