EAP
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is the largest single branch of ESP. It refers, in Hamp-Lyons and Hyland's definition, to "the linguistic, sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic description of English as it occurs in the contexts of academic study and scholarly exchange itself", and to the teaching that follows from that description. In plainer terms (Jordan, 1997; Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001): EAP is teaching English with the specific aim of helping learners study or research in it.
EAP courses prepare learners to read research literature, write essays and dissertations, follow lectures and seminars, present their work, and participate in the social practices of an academic community. That last element, socialisation into disciplinary discourse, is what distinguishes sophisticated EAP from generic "study skills".
Origins
The term English for Academic Purposes first appeared in print in 1974. EAP's professional identity consolidated a little earlier: the association now known as BALEAP (British Association of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes) began life in 1972 as SELMOUS (Special English Language Materials for Overseas University Students), renamed in 1989. EAP emerged from the same Birmingham / Aston / Lancaster ecosystem that produced the early ESP literature; Tim Johns, Florence Davies, Tony Dudley-Evans, and Henry Widdowson are all part of the story.
The Journal of English for Academic Purposes (JEAP), founded by Hamp-Lyons and Hyland in 2002, anchored EAP's claim to be a research field in its own right.
Defining Features
- Goal-directed: learners have identifiable academic or professional goals, not a generic wish to "know English"
- Needs-based: courses are built on Needs Analysis of target academic tasks
- Time-limited: typically pre-sessional or in-sessional, not open-ended
- Adult learners: primarily university students and early-career researchers
- Task-focused: authentic academic activities rather than isolated grammar lessons
EGAP vs ESAP
EAP divides along a general-vs-specific axis:
- EGAP (English for General Academic Purposes): language and practices common across disciplines: essay structure, citation, hedging, critical stance, listening to lectures
- ESAP (English for Specific Academic Purposes): language and practices inside a particular discipline: the research-article genre conventions of biochemistry, the case-note conventions of law, the discourse of economics textbooks
The EGAP/ESAP debate runs through much of the EAP literature. Generalists (Spack, Hyland's early position) argue that EAP teachers cannot realistically specialise in every discipline; specialists argue that without disciplinary specificity EAP risks reducing to a set of transferable tips that transfer poorly.
Core Components
A mature EAP curriculum spans:
- Academic reading: journal articles, textbooks, research monographs; TAVI-driven, not TALO-driven
- Academic writing: essays, literature reviews, research reports, dissertations; attention to genre, Hedging, citation practices, stance and voice
- Academic listening: lectures, seminars, supervisor meetings; note-taking; monologic and dialogic modes
- Academic speaking: seminar participation, tutorial discussion, presentations, viva preparation
- Study strategies: planning, time management, engaging with feedback
- Cultural and institutional awareness: what a "good essay" means in this system, plagiarism norms, expectations of autonomy
Key Figures and Streams
- Tim Johns and Florence Davies: TAVI/TALO and the Birmingham EAP reading tradition
- John Swales: genre analysis, the CARS model, research-article structure, academic discourse communities
- Ken Hyland: academic writing, hedging, stance, metadiscourse, disciplinary variation
- Ann Johns (not Tim Johns, often confused): critical EAP, academic literacies
- R. R. Jordan: English for Academic Purposes (1997), still a useful orientation to the field
- John Flowerdew: academic listening and lectures
EAP and the Test Industry
High-stakes tests of academic English, namely IELTS Academic and TOEFL iBT, are the instruments by which universities operationalise the EAP construct at admissions. Most international EAP teaching happens under the shadow of these tests, and much of the washback debate in the EAP literature concerns what they measure well, poorly, or not at all.
Related
- ESP: the parent category
- TAVI / TALO / TASP: the reading stances that shaped EAP reading pedagogy
- Hedging, Genre, Discourse Analysis: the linguistic toolkit
- IELTS Overview, TOEFL Overview: the assessment infrastructure
References
- Jordan, R. R. (1997). English for Academic Purposes. Cambridge University Press.
- Flowerdew, J. & Peacock, M. (eds.) (2001). Research Perspectives on English for Academic Purposes. Cambridge University Press.
- Hyland, K. (2006). English for Academic Purposes: An Advanced Resource Book. Routledge.
- Hyland, K. & Hamp-Lyons, L. (2002). EAP: issues and directions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 1(1), 1–12.
- Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge University Press.