Maggie Charles, Karin Whiteside and Michael Jenkins
Recently, there have been calls to broaden the field of English language teaching by researching more diverse participants and contexts (e.g., Canagarajah, 2016). In response, this paper reports EAP teachers’ views of their online teaching on the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) Syria programme in order to ascertain what insights can be gained from extending the coverage of EAP to include non-traditional participants. The Cara Syria programme has been running since 2016 and provides EAP support for Syrian academics who have fled conflict in their country. The evidence for the present research derives from 57 responses to a 33-item questionnaire completed by teachers on the programme. Results show the importance of negotiating content and approach and of building personal relationships for the efficacy of the tutoring programme. Teachers’ views provided in the responses to the open questions highlight their appreciation of the opportunity to exercise their pedagogical skills in a different context and bring into focus the contrast with the often highly structured and assessment-led practices required in their everyday teaching in UK universities. These responses suggest that the focus on social justice, evident in the Cara Syria programme, can lead to a more equitable and caring pedagogy, and thus, offer a much-needed counterweight to the commercialisation underlying many current EAP programmes.
