The role of published materials in an ES/AP course

EAP is usually considered to be a branch of ESP, along with English for Professional Purposes (EPP) and English for Occupation Purposes (EOP). In that sense, as with all ESP, the EAP teaching content is explicitly matched to the language, practices and study needs of the learners. Most definitions of ESP (e.g. Robinson, 1991, pp. 2-5; Dudley Evans & St John, 1998, pp 4-5) include the following essential feature: ESP is goal directed and based on an analysis of needs. For that reason, any ESP course needs to specify as closely as possible exactly what it is that the learners have to do through the medium of English, and what their purpose is in learning English. A central role of the EAP lecturer or course designer, then, is to find out what the learners need, what they have to do in their academic work or courses, and help them to do this better in the time available. Every EAP course is therefore different, as every student has different needs, and therefore needs to be designed from scratch. What, therefore, can the role of a published textbook be in this process? In trying to answer the question of what we need materials for, Allwright (1981) starts by asking what there is that needs to be done. Once it is agreed what needs to be done, then the role of materials can be decided. Before any class or programme is started, observe the following: • Goals need to be set for the course.

• Content must be decided on. • Teaching methods have to be considered. • Guidance should be given. Goals Goals should include long-term aims and short-term objectives, how these aims are weighted in relation to each other and how they are sequenced. The materials chosen need to be flexible enough to ensure that the goals of the course and the learners can be achieved. Content Of course, what we are teaching is language. This needs to include all the linguistic items needed by the students from phonology and spelling, through lexical items and syntax to discourse and genre. As well as this, relevant academic and discipline content needs to be included as well as any discipline-specific strategies and techniques. All this must be weighted and sequenced appropriately. Method Before deciding on materials, the appropriate learning processes and relevant learning activities/tasks that need to be employed should be considered. Related to this is the amount of time available and the people who will be involved. Guidance The last thing to consider before deciding on the the materials is the amount of guidance required. Answers may need to be given to tasks and areas of content will probably need to be explained as well as suggestions regarding sequencing and timing. Information also needs to be given regarding standards expected from the students as they progress through their EAP course. Once these preliminary decisions have been made, materials need to be found that: • provide relevant exposure to language through, for example, reading and listening. • provide a source of appropriate content and activities, such as speaking and writing practice. • provide a structure and progression. • motivate learners by giving them appropriate achievable challenges and content. • provide advice for the teacher. However, with ESP or EAP it is unlikely that published materials will serve without any adaptation. As most published coursebooks: • may contain language, texts or practices that are inauthentic to the subject. • may not contain appropriate language such as text types or genres. • may distort the subject content. • may not reflect students' needs. Unless the teacher is designing all his or her own materials, it is likely that the teacher or course designer will need to evaluate existing materials and select appropriate items from them. In addition, there will need to be a large amount of modification of existing materials. Adapting textbooks

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About the author

Andy has spent most of the last 35 years teaching ESP & EAP in UK and abroad. He is now director of Andy Gillett Consulting Ltd. You can find out more about him at: www.andygillett.com