5 Tips to Successfully Teach English for Academic Purposes

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EAP is short for English for Academic Purposes. These are lessons in which students are taught how to use English in an educational setting such as a classroom or a workplace, in the future.

What is EAP? What is the purpose of the EAP program?

EAP classes are a little different from the regular ESL classes because EAP is very focused and goal-oriented.

You’ll be learning English to effectively work and communicate in academic situations or gatherings. Because EAP has a specific goal, it’s not necessarily limited to a native speaker and can be learnt by anyone.

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These classes are different from regular and comprehensive classes in English. This is more professional and formal.

Teachers of EAP need to remember that their students should focus on specific skills such as the skills a student may need in future for writing a test like TOEFL or help with their college application etc.

The skills should help the students understand their college lectures with ease, help with taking college examinations, being able to read or participate in a discussion at college, write academic papers etc.

In certain cases, students have the option to undertake an entire degree online. In such an occasion, they mostly learn reading and writing in the English language and gain skills they need for using the internet.

Tips to Improve EAP teaching

Use study material that is not designed for ESL students. You can get your materials from newspapers, different journals et cetera. You can also have subscriptions from different magazines. Read short stories, listen to a podcast, listen to songs written and sung in English as different creative ways to hone English skills.

Play classroom lectures in your EAP class. It’s a good idea to introduce your students to college lectures as they prepare to join college. You can avail classroom lectures of the most renowned institutes in the world today including Harvard and Yale. These classes will also be helpful in learning how to take notes, listening ability, and conducting assignments.

Engage your students with assignment types that they will face in their near future, such as college assignments. Have your students read entire books, write papers, finish assignments in groups etc. This way they will be more successful when they enter their real classrooms.

Make your classrooms more interesting by making it more inclusive and encouraging of participation. In programs like these, students come with a more direct outlook of professional improvement and are generally more formal. While choosing texts for such classrooms, it’s important to pick things that are not designed for language studies or interpretation. Choose subject material that will be relevant to the academic learning and knowledge of the students.

Have your students participate and say what they would like to study and achieve out of this program. Most students enrolling for these programs may have learning goals. By allowing them to have a say in their education and goals, you will be better at listening to the needs of your students and the entire learning process would be extremely enriching.

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