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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature reviewed will be discussed in five sections. The first section provides the theoretical underpinnings of English for General Purposes (EGP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The second section introduces related literature and research on EAP. The third section presents aspects regarding curriculum design.
The fourth section concerns needs analysis. The fifth section reviews the medium of instruction (MOI) and content-based instruction (CBI).
English for General Purposes and English for Specific Purposes Numerous researchers (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998; Far, 2008; Johns &
Dudley-Evans, 1991; Swales, 1988) have pointed out that English Language Teaching (ELT) or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) can be divided into two broad categories: English for General Purposes (EGP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The difference between EGP and ESP has been discussed in terms of theory and practice. According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), there was no difference in theory between EGP and ESP; however, there was a large difference in practice.
As Al-Humaidi (n.d.) aptly defined EGP:
English for General Purposes (EGP) is essentially the English language education in junior and senior high schools. Learners are introduced to the sounds and symbols of English, as well as to the lexical/grammatical/rhetorical elements that compose spoken and written discourse. There is no particular situation targeted in this kind of language learning. Rather, it focuses on
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applications in general situations: appropriate dialogue with restaurant staff, bank tellers, postal clerks, telephone operators, English teachers, and party guests as well as lessons on how to read and write the English typically found in textbooks, newspapers, magazines, etc. EGP curriculums also include cultural aspects of the second language. (¶ 5)
On the other hand, the essentials of ESP root in learners’ needs (Robinson, 1984).
More specifically, it is the awareness of learning purposes that makes ESP different from EGP (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). ESP also seeks the balance between theory and practice. For example, according to Al-Humaidi (n.d.), “The design of syllabuses for ESP is directed towards serving the needs of learners seeking for or developing themselves in a particular occupation or specializing in a specific academic field. ESP courses make use of vocabulary tasks related to the field such as negotiation skills and effective techniques for oral presentations” (¶ 4). In view of the scope involved in ESP, Hutchison and Waters (1987) regards ESP as “an approach,” rather than “a product.”
Strevens (1988) proposed a definition of ESP by offering four absolute characteristics and two variables:
(1) Absolute characteristics:
ESP consists of English language teaching which is:
designed to meet specified needs of the learner
related in content (i. e., in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupations and activities
centered on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc., and analysis of this discourse
in contrast with “General English”
Variable characteristics:
ESP may be, but is not necessarily:
restricted as to the language skills to be learned (e.g., reading only)
not taught according to any pre-ordained methodology (as cited in Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001, p. 13)
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Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) later modified the definition of the variable characteristics of ESP:
ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines
ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of general English
ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be used for learners at secondary school level
ESP is generally designed for intermediate and advanced students. Most ESP courses assume basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be used with beginners (p. 5)
In early days, it was a controversial issue whether ESP would be more successful than EGP at preparing students to study through the medium of English—a validity issue (Johns & Dudley-Evans, 1991). Higgins (1966) and Allen and Widdowson (1974) argued for the case and proposed reforms. However, ESP has been recognized internationally nowadays and is less of a controversial issue, especially in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) contexts (Johns & Dudley-Evans, 1991).
Nevertheless, as Johns and Dudley-Evans (1991) stated:
Controversies and questions within ESP remain. Principal among them are the following:
1. How specific should ESP courses and texts be?
2. Should they [ESP] focus upon one particular skill, e.g., reading, or should the four skills always be integrated?
3. Can an appropriate ESP methodology be developed? (p. 304)
Therefore, a debate between a “wide-angle” and a “narrow-angle” approach began. The “wide-angle” approach suggested using specific topics to teach language and skills, instead of teaching English from students’ own disciplines or professions (Hutchison & Waters, 1980, 1987; Spack, 1988; Widdowson, 1983; Williams, 1978).
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However, the wide-angle approach was not suitable for all ESP courses, especially for graduate students and professionals (Swales, 1990) or in some EFL contexts (Johns & Dudley-Evans, 1991). Team-teaching in ESP demonstrated that students’ specific needs and actual language difficulties displayed in classes needed to be addressed (De Escorcia, 1984; Johns & Dudley-Evans, 1980).
In regard to the difference between EGP and ESP, teachers and material designers nowadays take learners’ needs into consideration. As a result, teachers of General English were in fact using ESP syllabuses or materials for teaching. Hence, this phenomenon “demonstrates the influence that the ESP approach has had on English teaching in general. Clearly the line between where General English courses stop and ESP courses start has become very vague indeed” (Anthony, n.d., sec. 3).
There are two subfields in ESP: English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP), according to Strevens (1977). However, the distinction between EAP and EOP cannot be clearly delineated. This point will be further illustrated in the following section.
Another type of classification of ESP based on the discipline or professional areas was offered by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998), as shown in the following figure:
Figure 2.1. ESP Classification by Professional Area. (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998, p. 6)
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Although English for Business Purposes (EBP) was categorized under EOP, EBP could be a unique category by itself:
This classification places English for Business Purposes (EBP) as a category within EOP. EBP is sometimes seen as separate from EOP as it involves a lot of General English as well as Specific Purposes English, and also because it is such a large and important category. A business purpose is, however, an
occupational purpose, so it is logical to see it as part of EOP. (Dudley-Evans &
St John, 1998, p. 7)
EBP could also be divided into English for General Business Purposes (EGBP) and English for Specific Business Purposes (ESBP). Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) further classified the level of specificity in ELT courses as follows, from the most general to the most specific:
Figure 2.2. Continuum of ELT Course Types. (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998, p. 9)
As demonstrated in Figure 2.2, two types of courses were categorized as the most specific ones. One type was academic courses, and the other was one-to-one
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work with business people.
English for Academic Purposes
As pointed out by Jordan (1997), “EAP is needed not only for educational studies in countries where English is the mother tongue, but also in an increasing number of other countries for use in the higher education sector” (p. xvii). Flowerdew and Peacock (2001) defined English for Academic Purposes (EAP) as “the teaching of English with the specific aim of helping learners to study, conduct research or teach in that language” (p. 8). Moreover, EAP could be further categorized into two types:
English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) and English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) (Blue 1993; Clapham, 2001; Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998; Jordan 1997), as shown in the following figure:
Figure 2.3. Categories of English for Language Teaching Purposes.
ELT (English Language Teaching) /
TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
EGP (English for General Purposes) ESP (English for Specific Purposes)
EAP
(English for Academic Purposes) EOP
(English for Occupational Purposes)
EGAP
(English for General Academic Purposes)
ESAP
(English for Specific Academic Purposes)
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Jordan (1997) proposed seven main study skills to be focused for EGAP:
academic reading
vocabulary development
academic writing
lectures and note-taking
speaking for academic purposes
reference/research skills
examination skills
Three areas were included in ESAP, according to Jordan (1997):
academic discourse and style
subject-specific language
materials design and production
Although there are two main branches in ESP, EAP is often the main focus in education, as Johns and Dudley-Evans (1991) stated:
For most of its history, ESP has been dominated by English for academic
purposes, . . . EAP continues to dominate internationally. However, the increased number of immigrants in English-speaking countries and the demand for MBA courses in all parts of the world have increased the demand for professional and business English, vocational English (VESL/EVP in the U. S., EOP in the U.K.), and English in the workplace (WPLT) programs. (p. 306)
EAP, being one branch of ESP, also overlaps with EOP to a great extent, as depicted in the following figure:
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Figure 2.4. Sub-Divisions of EAP. (Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001, p. 12)
According to Flowerdew and Peacock (2001), the reason for the overlap between EAP and EOP was primarily due to the fact that academic work could be in fact preparation for occupational purposes. Therefore, they suggested that EAP should probably be further sub-divided into “EAP designed to help students with their studies and EAP directed towards professional preparation” (p. 12).
It was reported that nonnative-speaking (NNS) researchers’ performance in academic development was hampered due to their limited academic English training (Kushner, 1997). Most of their time was mainly devoted to content knowledge,
instead of language learning (Jenkins, Jordan, & Weiland, 1993; Orr & Yoshida, 2001).
Furthermore, studies indicated that most NNS researchers were not satisfied with their own English abilities although they acknowledged the importance of English (Kuo, 2001; Orr & Yoshida, 2001; Tsui, 1991). Hence, research progress was often
slackened with NNS researchers due to their English deficiency (Yang, 2006). Swales (1990) further emphasized that it was wrong to treat EAP programs as remediation, and pointed out that helping postgraduate students to achieve English competence
ESP
EAP EOP
academic occupational
accounting engineering pharmacy etc. accounting engineering pharmacy etc.
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exceeding average native speakers was important as English is the main lingua franca in worldwide research.
In regard to the application of EAP in higher education in Taiwan, Joe and Lin (2010, 2011) investigated teachers’ and graduate students’ perceptions towards EAP curriculums in business colleges in Taiwan. Ten professors who had taught EMCs (English-medium courses) in graduate programs or instructed graduate students to write English theses, and 12 graduate students from business colleges in Taiwan were interviewed. Results showed that teachers (subject specialists) had not heard of the term EAP; therefore, their interpretations greatly differed—mainly relating to the EMCs they had taught. The perceptions of EAP for business graduate programs from teachers’ perspectives included six areas or types of courses:
basic professional terminology
professional courses
English reading and writing abilities
research methods
case study
business English
On the other hand, business graduate students’ perceptions towards EAP consisted of five English abilities:
comprehension of professional terminology
English conversation
EAP materials reading
oral presentation
EAP writing
From the findings of Joe and Lin (2010, 2011), professional terminology was no
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doubt directly related to EAP. Reading and writing for EAP were also considered as important by both teachers and students. However, for teachers in the business field, the word “academic” was mostly associated with professional courses such as research methods and case study. For students, English conversation was considered as EAP, which was connected to what teachers meant by “business English.” In addition, business graduate students considered oral presentation skills important in EAP, while teachers did not particularly mention them.
Curriculum Design
The term curriculum has had a wide variety of definitions (Finney, 2002;
Richards, 2001; Rodgers, 1989). The narrowest definition could be the synonym of syllabus. However, under the broader definition of curriculum, Kelly (1989) argued that the following must be included:
the intentions of the planners, the procedures adopted for the implementation of those intentions, the actual experiences of the pupils resulting from the teachers’
direct attempts to carry out their or the planner’s intentions, and the ‘hidden learning’ that occurs as a by-product of the organization of the curriculum, and, indeed, of the school. (as cited in Richards & Renandya, 2002, p. 70)
The teaching and learning of EAP faces its unique challenges and issues. Hence, the curriculum or course designers have to face these challenges and take them as opportunities for changes. In the following sections, literature review regarding syllabus design, instructional practices, teaching materials, and program evaluation will be presented.
Syllabus Design
A syllabus consists of the detailed description of course objectives, procedures,
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and contents (Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001; Richards & Schmidt, 2002). Many approaches were proposed for EAP syllabus design, and these approaches were greatly influenced by research in applied linguistics.
Eight approaches to EAP syllabus design were summarized by Flowerdew and Peacock (2001). The first was Lexicogrammar-based approach, which concerned the teaching of vocabulary and sentence structure. Although it was influenced by register analysis in the 1960s and 1970s, it is still influential to date. The second was
Function-notional-based approach in the 1970s, in opposition to the previous
form-focused approaches. Next was the Discourse-based approach in the late 1970s, which emphasized cohesion and coherence of the texts. The fourth was
Learning-centered approach, proposed by Hutchison and Waters (1987). It
emphasized what learners had to do in class in order to learn language items and skills, meaningful and appropriate content, as well as communication in the classroom. The fifth was the Genre-based approach, which adopted authentic materials to build up students’ awareness of the conventions and genre. The next approach was the skills-based approach, which concentrated on particular skills. According to Flowerdew and Peacock (2001), this approach has been very important because it started some EAP courses to meet students’ needs. Another important approach was content-based approach, which claimed that content would increase learners’
motivation. The final approach was task-based approach, in which the teacher was a
“guide and advisor rather than omniscient source of knowledge” (Flowerdew &
Peacock, 2001, p. 184). In this approach, students were given tasks, and teachers could assist students through modeling, providing feedback, and organizing learners’
cognitive structure.
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Instructional Practices
In regard to teachers’ actual instructional practices in the classroom,
collaboration or team-teaching models, as well as cultural issues relating to EAP are introduced.
Collaboration/Team-Teaching Models
According to Flowerdew and Peacock (2001), the collaboration between specialists in different disciplines has become popular in EAP field. For example, Johns and Dudley-Evans (1980) reported that overseas students in the U.K.
encountered problems concerning language teachers not being able to fulfill students’
needs for completing academic work. In order to help teachers and students overcome the problems, Johns and Dudley-Evans (1980) conducted a team-teaching experiment to a small class of graduate students. They stated that a language teacher needed to be able to help both subject teachers and students:
[a language teacher] needs to be able to grasp the conceptual structure of the subject his students are studying if he is to understand fully how language is used to represent that structure; to know how the range of different subjects are taught during the course; and to observe where and how difficulties arise in order that he can attempt to help both student and subject teacher to overcome them. (p. 8)
Later on, Flowerdew (1993) reported that a similar team-teaching experiment in a larger scale was conducted to beginning university students in Oman. A science course was team-taught by paired science and language teachers. Lectures and the assigned reading were focused. The language teachers would observe and video record the science classes. The recordings would then be used in the English classes.
Moreover, English and science teachers would collaborate to write and edit the
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teaching materials for both science and English classes.
Barron (1992) also proposed two collaborative teaching methods for subject specialists and language teachers:
The first of these is the subjects-specialist informant method, where the subject specialist provides insights into the content and organization of texts and the processes of the subject. The second is the consultative method, where the subject specialist is brought in to participate at specific stages in a course.
He/she may suggest topics for projects, give lectures, assist in the assessment of students’ work, and run discussions, among a whole range of activities. (as cited in Flowerdew & Peacock, 2001, p. 19)
Johns (1997) further suggested that EAP literacy specialists be “mediators”
among administrators, faculty, and students. She believed that EAP literacy teachers should encourage subject specialists and students to work together and examine how factors such as texts, roles, and contexts could better function to serve the EAP needs.
The literacy teacher should educate both subject teachers and students to understand the nature of academic literacy in their fields and the overall issues involved in a language program designed to help students in their disciplines.
Cultural Issues in EAP
There could be a mismatch between EAP teachers and learners from different cultures. According to Flowerdew and Peacock (2001), “Such mismatches may occur both where curricula with an ‘Anglo’ bias are employed in non-Anglo settings and where overseas NNSs study in Anglo countries” (p. 20). In other words, problems may occur in the application of EAP among English as the first, second, or foreign language contexts. For example, in a large-scale EAP project funded internationally in Egypt, Holliday (1994) discovered that foreign pedagogic models were imposed in non-Anglo EAP settings. Hence, scholars (Barron, 1992; Holliday, 1994) strongly
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proposed that greater sensitivity to the social context should be taken into account for local EAP curricula.
In a 3-year ethnographic study on academic classes conducted at an
English-medium university in Hong Kong, Flowerdew and Miller (1995) found that four cross-cultural communication breakdowns may occur: ethnic culture, local culture, academic culture, and disciplinary culture. Ethnic culture concerned the contrasting ethnic backgrounds of the overseas teachers and students. Local culture regarded the overseas teachers not being familiar with the local settings. Academic culture was concerned with the values, assumptions, attitudes, patterns of behavior and so on across cultures. Disciplinary culture referred to the unfamiliarity students encountered in class in terms of the theories, concepts, terms, and so forth in the target discipline. Flowerdew and Miller (1995) elaborated on the academic culture, as
shown in the following table:
Table 2.1
Confucian and Western Values Relating to Academic Lectures
Confucian Western
respect for authority of lecturer lecturer valued as a guide and facilitator
lecturer should not be questioned lecturer is open to challenge
student motivated by family and pressure to excel
student motivated by desire for individual development
positive value placed on effacement and silence
positive value placed on self-expression of ideas
emphasis on group orientation to learning
emphasis on individual development and creativity in learning
Note. From “On the notion of culture in second language lectures,” by J. Flowerdew and L. Miller, 1995, TESOL Quarterly, 29(2), p. 348. The term Confucian for East Asians had a rich meaning which consisted of Chinese historical, cultural, and traditional philosophical patterns.
Numerous studies (Benson, 1989; Cortazzi & Jin, 1994; Dudley-Evans & Swales,