This book, written by pioneering architects of original social theory in educational/linguistic fields as well as expert practitioners, systematically exposes the sociological commitments of mainstream ideas and theories in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), commitments which are very often not fully examined by the discipline, but nonetheless shape practitioners' ideas and their praxis. The initial chapters outline what social theory is; the normative, critical, descriptive, social and generative purposes it serves; the scope and limits of social theory, and tracing the major historical traditions and recent currents. This mapping of social theory is followed by a detailed argument that makes the case for the centrality of social theory for EAP practitioners and praxis and the need to develop a sociological imagination to enhance knowledge and agency of practitioners. The contributions reveal the sociological foundations and commitments that underpin established theories in EAP, such as genre theories, systemic functional linguistics, and academic literacies. Each of these three major research streams in EAP is subject to critical analysis, linking each of these streams to the sociological commitments that underpin them. Finally, the book explores the social theories and approaches that have yet to make a full or significant impact on EAP research and practice, but would enable practitioners and researchers to understand educational contexts, texts, structures, culture(s), knowledge production and producers, and social agents with greater sociological clarity and sophistication. Topics covered include: social realism, legitimation code theory, critical realism, ethnography, feminism and Bourdieusian concepts for EAP. The overarching aim of this volume is to position social theory much more centrally to frameworks and conceptions of the (unstable and contested) knowledge-base for EAP practitioners and to promote a 'sociological imagination' among and for EAP practitioners.

This volume provides insights into EAP practitioners' identity and agency in varied contexts and field positions. Each chapter delves into a theoretical perspective (Bourdieu's field theory, Post-humanism, Legitimation Code Theory, Symbolic Interactionism..), and a variety of methodologies, enabling different questions to be explored. Each chapter is also a window into the everyday life of practitioners as they navigate their professional lives, and the specificities of their EAP contexts, the politics and struggles over power, domination, legitimacy, status, ambition and recognition. The authors' concerns and strategies vary and show that the weight of powerful structures and collective habitus is difficult - but not impossible- to resist. From a socio-analysis of EAP and its narratives of origins, to a discussion on Ethics in EAP and a critique of the Global South label, the reader will explore contributions from Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, the UK, and Zimbabwe. The chapters reveal a field which is made up of a constellation of worlds, each with its own logic but importantly, a field with no centre. The studies in the chapters are likely to intrigue, inspire, but also disrupt some readers' expectations and challenge their assumptions about the field and its practitioners.

A hands-on guide for practitioners, this book prepares instructors to teach in-sessional English for Academic Purposes (ISEAP) higher education courses. As university cohorts become more diverse, there is demand for in-sessional EAP courses not only to support international students, but also increasingly as a provision for all students. This informative resource explores the varying formats of ISEAP courses and how they are embedded within and alongside students’ degree programmes in the United Kingdom and beyond. In accessible chapters, authors Neil Adam Tibbetts and Timothy Chapman present illuminating findings drawn from interviews conducted with experts in the field and highlight the challenges that students and practitioners face. Avoiding prescriptive recommendations, Tibbetts and Chapman address different models and contexts of ISEAP courses at the university level and offer guidance and tools for practice. Covering key topics such as pedagogies, logistical challenges, and the wider university context, this book not only provides a roadmap to the often ill-defined but essential domain of ISEAP but also provokes questions and ideas for further reflection, guiding the reader towards a deeper understanding of their role and development in context. Engaging and inviting, Tibbetts and Chapman’s helpful text is a necessary resource for teachers to design and lead successful ISEAP courses.

This book highlights the centrality of political and ideological issues as they relate to the positioning and practice of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), demonstrating that EAP cannot flourish as a profession or a discipline without an awareness of the macro- and meso-level political shifts that impact the wider university. The volume states that the practices of EAP are, in fact, political acts and examines these as yet unexplored power dynamics. The volume begins by considering key influences that have shaped universities and their governance and management over the last three decades and how these relate to the role and practice of EAP. These influences include neoliberal economic policies, governmental demands for widening participation, globalization, entrepreneurial approaches to higher education, students as clients and therapeutism in universities. Following consideration of these broader contextual issues, specific chapters focus on politics and policies surrounding the recruitment and participation of international, fee-paying students, their positioning and identity within English-medium universities, including issues relating to English language, standards and academic integrity. Further chapters then consider more local influences that shape EAP programmes, such as their strategic roles within universities, their management, their teaching and wider academic impact.

The critical grounded theory presented in this book offers valuable insights on the social processes and strategies used by Blended English for Academic Purposes Professionals (BLEAPs) at higher education institutions, as they struggle to negotiate the challenges arising from a new focus on recruiting international students and hunting for other resources for their universities. Drawing from in-depth interviews with numerous research participants at over eleven higher educational institutions in the UK, Japan and the United States, this work focuses on those who have been precariously placed as middle manager at many EAP and TESOL programs. Lacking in both positional power or permanence, these 'BLEAPs' are faced with many challenges as they seek to understand their changing role in higher educational institutions, and engage in strategies that can help them gain greater control over issues in their profession.

This edited volume brings together researchers and practitioners who work in various linguistic frameworks and EAP contexts, with contributions from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, UAE, the UK, Ukraine and the USA. It extends existing linguistic research further by applying theories and approaches and by investigating genres that have received little attention in EAP so far, such as Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, Grice's Cooperative Principle and the article comments and university seminar genres, amongst others. The volume provides linguistic description of both student and expert genres and provides clear pedagogical implications, in the form of teaching recommendations, suggested teaching activities, evaluation of teaching materials or a practical methodological approach. Overall, by focusing on new areas of linguistic research in EAP, the volume enhances teaching practice and inspires further research and scholarship.

Drawing from original research and recent developments in theory, Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education brings together insights from multiple national contexts and phases to consider a diverse range of equity issues in higher education. Authored by current and recently graduated PhD students, chapters examine the socioeconomic, ethnic and gender equalities at play within each of the following components: • access to higher education • the student experience • the academic workforce An essential read for anyone researching higher education, or wishing to address social inequalities within higher education, this volume unpacks how higher education is becoming more accessible, inclusive and beneficial to an increasingly diverse population of students and staff.

This volume reconsiders the problem of context in language testing and other modes of assessment from the perspective of transdisciplinarity. Transdisciplinary assessment research brings together collaborators who draw on the strengths of their differing backgrounds and expertise in order to address high-stakes complex socially-relevant problems. Traditional treatments of context in language assessment research have generally been informed by individualist cognitive theories within measurement and psychometrics. The additive potential of alternative social theories, including theories of genre, situated learning, distributed cognition, and intercultural communication, has largely been overlooked. In this book, the benefits of socio-theoretical reconsiderations of context are discussed and further exemplified in transdisciplinary research studies that investigate the use of assessment in classroom and workplace settings. The book offers a renewed view of context in arguments for the validity of assessment practices, and will be of interest to assessment researchers, practitioners, and students in applied linguistics, education, educational psychology, language testing, and other related disciplines and fields.

This book uses an in-depth, phenomenological interview approach to explain the generational characteristics of today’s Chinese university youths and the critical dispositions they believe indispensable in acquiring English as an academic language in and outside school settings. By presenting the authentic voices of the recruited participants, the book clarifies how English for academic purposes (EAP), as an emerging global phenomenon and a research-informed practice, enables and empowers them for conscious self-transformation and critical awareness development through language study. The book also explores issues arising in the fields of general English language teaching as well as traditional and critical EAP, and discusses university English language learners’ learning needs and rights. The book further promotes a dynamic and transformative University EAP pedagogy of particularity, practicality, and possibility moving from the oppression of language education to its liberation, and the increasing critical consciousness among the present and future university youths in a time of great social changes.

This volume presents a range of views about language, learning, and teaching in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Its purpose is to go beyond individual cases and practices to examine the approaches and ideas on which they are based. The aim is for readers to adopt an analytical stance toward the field and to identify current perspectives in ESP and the ideas driving them. Ideas and Options in English for Specific Purposes does not promote any one approach, but rather identifies and illustrates those in evidence today. The main emphasis is on the links between theory and ESP teaching and research. Ideas from linguistics, sociolinguistics, education, SLA, and social theories are described. Links are then made between these ideas and ESP course designs, instructional materials, and research projects. Thus the book moves back and forth between descriptions of theories, teaching practice, and research. Part I introduces the book's approach to description of ESP and the framework used to investigate it. Part II examines ideas of language, learning, and teaching in ESP. Recognizing that ESP is taught in many different countries and contexts, the author draws on a wide range of examples of teaching practice and research from around the world and from different branches of ESP, including English for Academic Purposes, English for Professional Purposes, and English for Vocational Purposes. From Chapter 3 onward, each chapter includes Questions for Discussion and Projects, to encourage readers to research and analyze the practices of ESP in their own contexts and to consider the ideas they draw on in their own teaching. This text is geared toward graduate-level TESOL education courses.