Category Archives: EAP

Task-based language teaching and English for Academic Purposes: Challenges and effectiveness


Written by - Md. Morshedul Alam, Bangladesh

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This paper deals with the implementation of the Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) method to develop English competency in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Students from non-English-speaking backgrounds commonly enroll in EAP programs, which are intended to satisfy postsecondary English language proficiency requirements, as a means of pursuing higher education. TBLT has been growing in momentum in Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, and Vietnam since the 1980s as part of the communicative agenda and has drawn the attention of the educators, curriculum designers, policy makers, SLA researchers, and textbook writers. The method of TBLT is essentially a learner-centered and experiential pedagogical approach, which stands in contrast to more traditional approaches to language pedagogy like presentation,  Continue Reading →

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EAP
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Exploratory rhetorical analysis of TESOL conference abstracts


Written by - Addison Jalbert and Ritaj Karaja, Canada

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Abstract

Discourse analysis research has previously investigated the rhetorical structure of abstracts found within empirical texts. This has been used to inform academic writing practices and instruction of English for Academic Purposes courses. More recently, this research has analysed abstracts submitted to conferences in the area of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Research on the rhetorical structure of abstracts has utilized Swalesian rhetorical move-step analysis to figure out if they follow the models Create a Research Space (CARS; Swales, 1990) or Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion (IMRD; Lores, 2004), finding mixed results (Kessler et al., 2014; Yoon & Casal, 2020). The current study investigated abstracts successfully accepted into a TESOL conference proceeding (KOTESOL, 2023) to continue this research using similar methods,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Conference, EAP, ESL
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Fostering a virtual community of practice through scaffolded peer review


Written by - Olga Makinina, Canada

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Introduction

This article illustrates how peer review-focused learning tasks and activities helped multilingual students in an online English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course develop a sense of community and take ownership of their learning while also enhancing their writing, critical thinking, and research skills. Informed by the pedagogical frameworks of community of practice/inquiry (Peacock & Cowan, 2019; Wenger et al., 2002), constructivism (Olsen, 1999; Tam, 2000), and content and language integrated learning (CLIL), the course engaged students in a research project that aimed at exploring their local or digital communities. While working on the project assignments, students collaborated by providing regular feedback for one another’s work.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
EAP, online, Online teaching
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The role of making and correcting errors in second language learning


Written by - Brian Strong & Elif Once Buyukerol, Canada

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Understanding the role of errors in second language learning is crucial for developing effective teaching strategies. Despite their frequent occurrence, errors are often viewed negatively. However, they can provide invaluable insights into the learning process and serve as potent learning tools. This discussion aims to explore how making and correcting errors can enhance second language vocabulary acquisition, offering practical implications for classroom practices. Errors and mistakes are terms often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings in the context of language learning. Errors are systematic and occur due to a lack of knowledge; they reflect gaps in the learner’s understanding and are often persistent. Mistakes, on the other hand, are occasional lapses that learners can self-correct when pointed out,  Continue Reading →

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Assessment, EAP, ESL, Language
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Utilizing the affordances of an AI bot to facilitate a grammar lesson in an EAP classroom


Written by - Plamen Kushkiev, Canada

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Purpose

In this article, I critically analyze the integration of an artificial intelligence (AI) bot known as Pi (Personal Intelligence), introduced by Inflection AI in May 2023. The insights and implications that I share in this essay represent my observations and reflections as an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) professor at a public college in Ontario. These are not meant to present the results of a formal study but to create a dialogic space to problematize and conceptualize the applicability of Pi as a personal assistant bot to both the professor and intermediate-level EAP learners during in-person class activities. Although the bot has also been used for pedagogical and interaction purposes in class and as part of specific home assignments,  Continue Reading →

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AI, EAP, ESL, Language
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Spotlight — Shahriar Mirshahidi


Written by - An interview with Shahriar Mirshahidi

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Congratulations! You received the OCAD University Employee Equity Award. Talk to us a bit about that award and what it means to you.

I am deeply honored to receive the 2023 Employee Equity Award for my work as an English Language Learning Specialist at OCAD University’s English for Art & Design Program and the Writing & Learning Centre. This award highlights the importance of fostering an equitable, diverse, and inclusive learning and work environment, a mission I am passionately dedicated to. My commitment lies in empowering racialized and multilingual students by providing them with an equitable pedagogical space through amplifying their unique resources and knowledges. I advocate for translingual approaches to teaching English as an Additional Language and creating more accessible curricula that cater to multilingual students’ needs to ensure their success.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
communication, culture, Curriculum, EAL, EAP, ESL, Interview, Journal, Language, Research, Speaking, Spotlight
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Wax on. Wax off.


Written by - Jen Artan

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“Your first draft isn’t an unoriginal idea expressed clearly; it’s an original idea expressed poorly, and it is accompanied by your amorphous dissatisfaction, your awareness of the distance between what it says and what you want it to say.” (Chiang, 2023)

The rise of ChatGPT

Students have always been the subject matter expert in cutting corners; if a new tool or technology gives them the edge, they will take it.

When the internet emerged, educators prophesied the end of originality. They pondered how plagiarism will now exist on an entirely new plain. The teachers had a point. The internet made it super easy for essay mills to exist and recruit customers.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
AI, EAL, EAP, ESL, Language, Writing
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EGAP: What is missing?


Written by - Farnaz Karimian, Amy Parker, & Xiaoming Li, Canada

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The number of international students seeking enrollment in higher education in Canada has increased four times in just twenty years from 122,665 in 2000 to 621,565 in 2021 (Crossman et al., 2022). Thus, it is evident that there will continue to be a need for more EAP programs to prepare EAL (English as an Additional Language) students for their post-secondary studies. But before delving deep into this issue, it is important to first discuss the nuanced, yet meaningful distinction between EGAP (English for General Academic Purposes) and ESAP (English for Specific Academic Purposes). EGAP instructors typically focus on general English language proficiency required for post-secondary level education, whereas ESAP instructors center their curriculum on teaching English for specific academic purposes,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
EAP, Research
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EAP teacher identity negotiation and its impact on our teaching practice: Research insight from the public college system in Ontario


Written by - Plamen Kushkiev, Canada

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Rationale for research into EAP teacher identity

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) pre-sessional/pathway classes are a popular course offering at private and public institutions in Ontario (Kushkiev, 2022) as Canada ranks amongst the most popular study destinations for English language learning (Languages Canada- Bonard Research Report, 2021). Around 40 % of Canadian ESL and EAP programs are offered by institutions in Ontario (Languages Canada, 2020). International and domestic students opt to complete an EAP program as a pathway into their college or university studies without the need to write internationally administered English language proficiency tests to meet the admissions requirements of their institution of choice.

Due to the lack of a national or provincial institutionalized accrediting body similar to the British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP),  Continue Reading →

Categories:
EAP, Identity, Teaching
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Learner variability in English for Academic Purposes classes


Written by - Andreia Arai-Rissman, George Brown College & Seneca College, Canada

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As educators, we may often hear the term learner variability, especially when working with English for Academic Purposes (EAP) because classes consist of learners from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Before I delve into defining learner variability, I invite you to take a moment to reflect on yourself as a learner at a specific time in your life and ask yourself these questions: How old were you then? Which language(s) were spoken in your home? Which specific cultures do you think may have contributed to shaping your behaviours or activities as you grew up? How did your personal life affect your learning performance? Do you think you learned the same way as your peers did—by using the same strategies or taking the same amount of time,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
EAP, Language, pedagogy
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Benefits and challenges of a hybrid flexible EAP Program


Written by - Bill Hodges, Ling Hu, and David Siefker, Guelph University, Canada

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Introduction
The COVID-19 Pandemic caused changes in modes of instructional delivery in Canadian colleges and universities when many moved to fully remote classes in March 2020. Then, in September 2021, as a part of the Return to Campus Plan at the University of Guelph, the English Language Programs (ELP) pivoted to a program that combined in-person students with remote students living outside of Canada. To ensure a smooth transition and to provide a quality learning environment, the academic team needed to figure out how to teach these two groups of students by taking into consideration multiple factors, such as students’ learning needs and preferences, as well as the instructional teams’ knowledge, skills, and experience. This paper provides the learning context and rationale for the program teaching mode,  Continue Reading →

Categories:
COVID-19, EAP, Hybrid, online, Online teaching, Remote learning, Remote teaching, Teaching
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Pedagogical lessons for remote/blended online classrooms


Written by - By Karen Englander & Bruce Russell, University of Toronto, Canada

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Abstract
An English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Pathway Program of a major Canadian university suddenly pivoted to remote teaching and learning, as did so many other university programs across the country in the 2020–2021 academic year. The Pathway Program, took the opportunity of this “pivot” to research how students and instructors fared with the new technology-mediated curriculum and found key practices as useful for instructors. In this article, we describe the Community of Inquiry framework that underpins our study and the insights gained for instructors who retain at least some remote teaching activities in their classrooms. Implications of this study indicate that there are five ways in which instructors can potentially alter their pedagogy to further student satisfaction for online study.  Continue Reading →

Categories:
Community of Inquiry, EAP, Online teaching, pathway program, Remote learning, Remote teaching
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