Teacher’s Views of English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
Materials Development
Shameem Rafik-Galea
Faculty of Modern Languages and
Communication
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Research
within the context of EAP has largely concentrated on EAP learners in English as a second and foreign language. However, little
attention has been paid to how teachers use commercially produced EAP materials and their problems in using and developing
EAP materials for their own localised situations. Teachers’ skills and teachers’ views about developing such materials
have not been well researched. This paper presents preliminary findings of a survey carried out with Malaysian English language
teachers based on a larger study on EAP materials design. It presents their views and feelings, and concludes with a discussion
of the implications of such findings.
A Plea for the Use of Authentic Data in the ESP classroom
Maya Khemlani David and Zuraidah Mohd Dom
University of Malaya
Language teaching
and learning becomes meaningful when authentic text is used in the ESP classroom. Authentic texts can be culled from a range
of resources- advertisements, speeches of politicians, vice-chancellors. Written authentic data can be obtained from many
sources- newspapers and magazines, web sites, e-mails etc while spoken data can be obtained from radio and television live
programmes. A hardworking ESP practitioner can also even visit the site where the ESP learner will eventually work and collect
authentic spoken and written data on such a site. This paper argues that such authentic material is ideal ground for examining
both spoken and written discourse in specific sites. The ultimate goal is to use such awareness of specific language needs
required in a range of setting so that practitioners, having such knowledge are empowered to teach ESP learners. Use of authentic
texts to help deconstruct meaning is a powerful and meaningful way to learn connections between choice of lexical items, choice
of structures, choice of tenses and the communicative goal of the speaker.
Communications in a second-language engineering environment; a program case
study.
David F
Dalton
Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi
UAE
This
paper describes and examines a communications program delivered to Arabic speaking (foreign language) engineering students
in the United Arab Emirates. The purpose of the paper is to place the teaching of communications in a context of practical
needs and applications influenced by user and client needs and learning outcomes. In addressing this question, particular
reference will be made to issues of second language learning, constructivism, collaborative learning and independent learning.
The paper will advocate a less teacher-centered approach to program delivery and give recommendations on the delivery of such
a program in the Gulf context. Elements of a student survey on responses to the program will be briefly presented and commented
upon.
Perceptions of trilingual corporate communication practices in Hong Kong and Greater
China: A pilot focus group interview with pre-service corporate communication trainees from a Hong Kong university
Patrick P.K. Ng,
Department of Chinese
& Bilingual Studies,
Hong Kong Polytechnic
University
Cindy S.B.Ngai,
Hong Kong Community College,
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Abstract
In the wake of
rapid globalization, grappling with “the use of more than one language in the same place at the same time” has
become one of the challenges facing multilingual professional communicators in Hong Kong (Thomason 2001). They often deploy various
interlingual strategies of contact-induced diglossic conditions when conveying identical
messages of distinct constituencies within and outside their polities (So, 1989; 1998).
Goodman (2004) argues
that to perform successfully these myriads of corporate
functions in international environments hinges upon a proper understanding of crucial socio-cultural-linguistic variables. This article reports findings from a pilot study which seeks to identify,
analyze and taxonomize common and variant interlingual functions and strategies deployed by private and public corporate practitioners,
while considering respective cultural norms, in conducting spoken communication activities
within Greater China. The focus interview guages the perceptions of seven undergraduate students from Hong Kong Polytechnic University specializing in the area of bilingual
corporate communication toward such an issue. Key findings indicate a consensual view that corporate communicators generally integrate bilingual or trilingual skills via code-switching and code-mixing strategies in corporate Greater China contexts. Such practices are thought to be
different from the role of translation in everyday workplace contexts.
Exploring motivation among Sri Lankan undergraduates: A social
constructionist approach
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
Mohana Nambiar
This
article reports on a study of the motivation patterns of Sri Lankan undergraduates towards the learning of the English language.
In order to develop a conceptual framework that is appropriate for the current Sri Lankan setting, the social constructionist
framework proposed by Williams, Burden and Lanvers (2002) was expanded. The study adopted a mixed research design that used
both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (semi-structured interview and observation) approaches. The sample population
consisted of 133 undergraduates of a Sri Lankan university. The findings reveal that students’ motivation is closely
intertwined with the social, economic and cultural milieu they live in. The findings of this study further reveal that Sri
Lankan students have an ambivalent relationship with English: though they view English as the language of economic advancement,
at the same time they perceive it as the language of the elite. Therefore, though they are aware of the instrumental value
of English, they are also conscious of how learning English can add a negative dimension to their social identities. This
challenges the popular assertion in language learning theory which holds that learning a second language necessarily endows
the learners with positive subject positions.
