CENTRE for ACADEMIC LANGUAGE and DEVELOPMENT (CALD)
Recently I experimented with playing background music during an EAP reading class in an attempt to make the process of reading and analysing a quite dry, difficult text more palatable for the students. Their subject tutor had noted that students were not completing preparation reading, which was negatively impacting their seminar performance. I was surprised by how popular the move was and how the benefits of playing music that I’d read about were evidenced during the class. (more…)
Many a language teacher will be well-acquainted with the affective potential of a well-chosen image in the classroom, while from the earliest stages of learning students will have become accustomed to the use of such learning aids as photos, drawings, timelines and other diagrams. Pre-university students will of course be familiar with the much-loved graphs and charts of the IELTS exam, and may even have enjoyed a map-navigating or diagram-labelling task in one of the reading and/or listening sections. Yet strangely enough, such cherished memories have about them the aspect of a chore when later recalled, and for many students in the EAP classroom visual literacy has an indeterminate and often subsidiary value in comparison to grammar development. (more…)
Yawning, passive, phone-obsessed students … any of these can constitute a challenging class: what can you do to involve them? (more…)
My name is Hannah Gurr, I’m an EAP tutor and my sexual orientation is none of your business.
‘Hang on a sec,’ you might protest, ‘I didn’t even speculate, let alone ask!’
And of course, you are absolutely right. (more…)
by Kaz Yamamoto
The number of English Medium Instruction (EMI) universities and universities providing EMI courses has been growing dramatically. (more…)
by Steve Peters
One aspect in particular has taken me by surprise at Professional Issues Meetings (PIMs) and academic conferences. This is how others’ work can be joined up by a whole other set of dots to the ones I might use to map my own understanding of the field of EAP and Applied Linguistics. Attending presentations, responding to questions, striking up conversations have all provided the chance to reveal other horizon(s). (more…)
by Paul Hendrie
In my previous post I discussed my conversations with colleagues about the value of being ‘contributors’ (defined in that post as ‘ teachers who present, write a blog, publish articles, or actively share examples of their teaching practice’). (more…)
by Paul Hendrie
Why should you, as a teacher, post on an EAP blog, present at a conference, or publicly share examples of your practice with colleagues? (more…)
In ELT, especially in EAP settings, there have been moves recently to involve learners more actively in giving and receiving feedback on their work and to encourage learner autonomy. (more…)