" DELTA Module 3: Extended Essay EAP: An EGAP Course Mustafa Akincioglu Centre Number: ..... Candidate Number: ..... Date: June-2012 Word Count: 4474 Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course "" Table of Contents Part 1 ........................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Part 2 ........................................................................................................................... 5 The Learners ............................................................................................................ 5 Needs Analysis ........................................................................................................ 5 Findings ................................................................................................................... 6 General Information .............................................................................................. 6 Learning Styles ..................................................................................................... 6 Motivation ............................................................................................................. 6 Self-Diagnosis ...................................................................................................... 7 Language Level .................................................................................................... 7 Part 3 ........................................................................................................................... 8 Aims and Objectives ................................................................................................ 8 Course Constraints ................................................................................................ 10 Syllabus Design ..................................................................................................... 11 Part 4 ......................................................................................................................... 13 Assessment and Course Evaluation ...................................................................... 13 Assessment ........................................................................................................ 13 Course Evaluation .............................................................................................. 16 Part 5 ......................................................................................................................... 16 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 16 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 19 Appendices ................................................................................................................ 23 Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course """ Appendix 1: Course Plan ....................................................................................... 23 Appendix 2: Needs Analysis and Test Results ...................................................... 33 Appendix 3: Completed Samples of the Needs Analysis Instruments ................... 36 Appendix 4: Completed Diagnostic Test ................................................................ 36 Appendix 5: Samples of Assessment and Evaluation Tools .................................. 36 Appendix 6: Samples of Course Materials ............................................................. 36 Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course # Part 1 Introduction I have chosen English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for my DELTA Module 3 Extended Assignment. The reason for this choice is that as a non-native speaker who has recently gone through the intensive DELTA and an Applied Linguistics MasterÕs program, I have become more aware that academic skills are of seminal importance if one is to be successful within an academic community. Hence, I have decided to further expand my understanding of this subject area both to help myself become a more successful academic and also to help the students whom I tutor. The concept of EAP first manifested itself at an institutional level when the British organization, Special English Language Materials for Overseas University Students was formed in 1972 (Hamp-Lyons, 2001). As a sub-branch of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (Jordan, 1997), EAP can be described as Ôprograms designed to prepare non-native users of English for English-medium academic settingsÕ and as being Ôa branch of applied linguisticsÕ (Hamp-Lyons, 2001:126). Further to this, it has two main branches; English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) and English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) (Jordan, 1997). Before looking specifically at issues within EAP, we must briefly discuss how EAP differs from General English Teaching (GET). In doing so, we will refer to Alexander, Argent and Spencer (2008). 1. EAP is goal driven whereas GET is level driven; 2. In EAP contexts, time for courses is usually limited and study is often a Ôone- offÕ endeavourÕ whereas in GET contexts, time parameters are more flexible; 3. EAP courses are high stakes as the outcome of the course dictates whether students will gain entry onto their chosen courses/whether they will be Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $ successful within their academic field. GET is lower-stakes as students are often studying for personal/general reasons. 4. EAP students are often instrumentally motivated whereas for GET students motivation can vary; 5. In EAP contexts, teachers and students are more equal whereas GET teachers are seen as language ÔexpertsÕ; 6. In EAP, content is limited to academic discourse whereas GET includes a wide range of communicative situations; 7. In EAP, the main emphasis is on reading and writing whereas in GET speaking and listening are usually prioritised; 8. In EAP, materials are chosen from academic disciplines and written texts must conform to academic standards. In GET, materials often focus on self- expression and creativity; 9. In EAP, study-skills and strategy training are prioritised whereas in GET there is little emphasis on these skills. As mentioned above, EAP can be broken into two main categories; EGAP and ESAP. This divide has been contentious as those in favour of EGAP claim that EAP should be Ôconcerned with a common core of universal skills or language formsÕ (e.g. Spack, 1988) whilst those in favour of ESAP argue that as there is Ôclear evidence that academic discourses represent a variety of specific literaciesÕ (e.g. Hyland and Hamp-Lyons, 2002:5) we must focus on discipline specific genres, languages, and skills (ibid.). These opposing viewpoints challenge course planners Ôto take a stance on how they view language and learning and examine their courses in the light of this stanceÕ (Hyland, 2008:9). A course designerÕs stance has obvious implications Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course % for the way teaching is organised (Hyland and Hamp-Lyons, 2002) and the training EAP teachers need in order to perform their roles effectively. In order to determine which approach is more suitable, we must look more closely at ESAP and EGAP advantages and disadvantages. Hyland (2006:10-13) states that an advantage of EGAP courses is that they help students with limited English proficiency develop a set of language forms/skills that are transferrable across disciplines which acts as a good base for them to begin tackling more subject specific language/skills. Another important advantage is that EGAP courses may be considered more practical as they tend to be less complicated in terms of course design as they focus on and teach pre-determined core academic forms/skills. Furthermore, it is easier to train EAP teachers to teach such courses as they do not need a high degree of subject-specialist knowledge. However, this holistic approach can also turn in to a disadvantage, especially when learners aim to go into disciplines such as medicine, history, engineering etc. that do not share much in common in terms of commonly shared language skills and academic conventions (ibid.). Despite the practicality of EGAP courses, today ESAP tends to be preferred due to the notion that EAP teachers cannot rely on subject specialists to teach discipline-specific literacy skills, as they are not trained to do so (ibid.). One important advantage of this approach is that ESAP courses aim to equip learners with subject-specific language skills and academic literacies that will be of great use when they start their studies. Whilst this is a great advantage, in practical terms, it may not be possible to organise EAP courses for specific disciplines due to the constraints of the course centres (Lynch, 2001). Another disadvantage is that ESAP approaches require EAP teachers to have subject-specific knowledge. Training EAP Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course & teachers to conform to these qualities poses a great challenge for the teacher training programs as they need to train teachers who either have specialist- knowledge in a variety of disciplines, which is a formidable target to achieve, or have specialist-knowledge in a specific discipline, which requires the course centres to employ a greater number of ESAP teachers than they normally do. Having looked at both approaches, it still remains problematic to determine which approach is more comprehensive as EAP contexts vary vastly and each course brings about unique needs and challenges; thus, the specific needs of the EAP course to be designed and delivered will dictate which approach to be taken. Finally, there are two other important ethical issues within EAP that must be considered. The first is the dramatic growth of the field due to the hegemony that English enjoys within the global academic community (Canagarajah, 1999), which has negatively impacted scholarly writing in other national cultures (Hyland, 2006:8). The second is EAPÕs aim to socialise learners into particular academic discourse communities (Alexander, Argent, & Spencer, 2008), which is felt, by some, to be a form of linguistic imperialism and therefore damaging to other cultures it maintains unequal power relationships within the international community (Phillipson, 1992). Whilst the above is undoubtedly unjust, all EAP teachers can do is to develop critical awareness and the ability to de-naturalize the discourses that they are a part of in order to become more critically aware of the environments they find themselves in (Fairclough, 1989). Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course ' Part 2 The Learners A..... and B..... are planning to come to the UK for their undergraduate degrees in Economics and Medicine respectively. I chose them for this assignment because I know them well as I was their English teacher. Needs Analysis Before devising the course for my learners, I carried out a needs analysis survey, which as Jordan (1997) states, should be the starting point for any EAP course/syllabus designer as it allows one to make decisions on materials and teaching approach, which are apposite to the studentsÕ needs. I used the following needs analysis tools: Firstly, I requested Ôadvanced documentationÕ (suggested by Alexander, Argent, & Spencer, 2008) from the studentsÕ school in order to gain their perspective on the learnersÕ linguistic needs and reviewed the results of a proficiency exam the studentsÕ had sat (IELTS) in order to gain an understanding of their general ÔcharacteristicÕ level (Harmer, 2001). After this, I conducted a series of diagnostic assessments in order to build up an analytic profile of the learnersÕ reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. These tests came in the form of the Academic IELTS reading, writing, speaking and listening papers that were marked using the IELTS published analytic marking scales. Subsequently, I asked the learners to complete three questionnaires; Perceived Needs, as EAP learners tend to be very proficient judges of their own needs Lynch (2001); Learning Styles; (online test based on Honey and Mumford, 2000); VAK test based upon Dun, Dun and PriceÕs (1975) learning inventory in order Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course ( to determine my learnersÕ preferred way of receiving and processing information. I also had an informal chat with them to find out their motivation type to study English. Finally, to prepare the learners for the target language use situations where they would need to perform/function, I referred to JordanÕs (1997:7-8) study situation/activity and study skills analysis to I plan my course. Findings General Information Both students are Turkish, 18, and attend a selective Turkish private school. They are learning within a CLIL environment and both are planning to study for their Undergraduate degrees abroad. Although they both had the required IELTS band scores to start their courses, they decided to attend a 4-week pre-sessional course to better adapt to their new learning environments. Learning Styles The learning styles questionnaires revealed that A..... is a ÔpragmatistÕ. In terms of strengths, this means that she approaches her study with logic and objectivity and likes to think things through carefully. In terms of weaknesses, she may have the tendency to be too much of a perfectionist. The VAK questionnaire revealed that she, like B....., likes to receive information in visual formats. The questionnaires showed that B..... is a ÔreflectorÕ and is therefore a thoughtful and analytical student whilst also being a good listener. One drawback of this learning style is that he may be likely to procrastinate and to keep a low profile. Motivation In light of the informal chat that I had with both learners prior to the course, I believe that A..... has strong instrumental, integrative and intrinsic motivation as she stated that she liked learning English, enjoyed learning about British culture, and was Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course ) looking forward to studying aboard. I believe B....., contrastingly, was not as highly motivated to learn English and was instrumentally motivated as he stated that he found English hard and was learning because Ôwithout it is impossible to study abroad.Õ Self-Diagnosis A..... states that she has difficulties with each of the four skills ÔsometimesÕ and B..... states that he has difficulties with listening, reading, and writing ÔsometimesÕ but has difficulties ÔoftenÕ with speaking. Within each skills area both students have also identified more specific areas that they would like to focus on. For example, in writing, both students would like to improve their ability to edit their own work and in reading, B..... states that he has difficulty guessing the meaning of unknown words in a text, and A..... states that she has difficulty locating specific information in a text. In addition to this, both learners state that they would particularly like to improve their lecture note-taking skills and B..... states that he would particularly like to improve his speaking in small groups. Language Level Reviewing the IELTS results reveal that both learners are at a band 7. The diagnostic tests reveal that writing is weaker than other skills for both learners, as both learners obtained a band 6 in writing. For A....., her speaking, band 7.5, is her strongest skill as she was very fluent and easily managed to get the meaning across using circumlocution where necessary. B..... on the other hand was strongest in reading, band 7.0, and listening, band 7.5. Indeed, in the listening paper he was able to pick out key pieces of information in long and complex spoken texts well. Some of the main difficulties the learners have, reveal in this test, are: ¥ Lack of general vocabulary impedes expression in writing and speaking Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course * ¥ Speaking lacks accuracy ¥ Lack of awareness of academic style and register ¥ Lack of organisation of ideas, especially at paragraph level ¥ Misuse of cohesive devises ¥ Poor editing and revising skills ¥ Reading is slow and laboured ¥ Inability to pick out key points within complex texts ¥ Inability to select information from a text discerningly to support a point they want to make Part 3 The course was an intensive two-week, 40 hours course, taught by myself. (This assignment will look at the first 20 of these hours). The course took place in (country) in a private language school during 2012. During each week 20 hours of tuition was timetabled. Lessons ran from 14.00pm - 18.30pm with a 10-minute break between each hour. Aims and Objectives As Richards (2001) states, course aims broadly define the purpose of the course. This course aimed to: ¥ Develop the English language skills learners need to study for a degree at a British university. ¥ Raise learnersÕ awareness of what will be expected of them in their university- learning environment. ¥ Develop necessary study skills and learner autonomy. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course + Course objectives provide a basis for the organisation of teaching activity (ibid.). This course aimed to help learners: Writing ¥ Write in different genres appropriate to their future target language use situation. ¥ Write in an appropriate academic style and register. ¥ Successfully use lexical, rhetorical, and grammatical cohesive devises and techniques. ¥ Understand how grammar and vocabulary are used in academic texts. ¥ Correctly refer to sources and avoid plagiarism. ¥ Plan, structure, revise and re-draft work. Reading ¥ Deduce meaning of unfamiliar lexical items. ¥ Identify the main point in discourse. ¥ Distinguish the main idea from supporting details. ¥ Extract salient details to summarise. ¥ Extract relevant points from a text selectively. ¥ Skim to gain an overall understanding of the text. ¥ Scan to locate specifically required information. Speaking ¥ Successfully use markers in spoken discourse to introduce an idea, develop an idea, transition to another idea, conclude an idea, to indicate important information, and to anticipate a contrary view. ¥ Express relationships between parts of a spoken utterance through cohesive devices. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #, ¥ Mark the main points or important information in spoken text through vocal underlining and through verbal cues. ¥ Planning and organising information in formal expository discourse. Listening ¥ Deduce meaning and use of unfamiliar lexical items. ¥ Understand attitudinal meaning in spoken text and utterances. ¥ Distinguish main ideas from supporting detail. ¥ Listen to obtain the gist of spoken text. ¥ Listening for specific details in spoken text. ¥ Note-take from spoken text. ¥ Extract salient points to summarise specific idea or topic in text. ¥ Selectively extracting relevant key points from text. General ¥ Develop active knowledge of a wide range of academic lexical items. ¥ Develop a range of study skills that will lead to learner independence. Course Constraints As Alexander, Argent and Spencer (2008) state, possible constraints on the course may include availability of time, class composition, access to resources, teachersÕ experience/expertise, learnersÕ experience, and institutional practices. As this course took place during the learnersÕ semester break there was a two-week time constraint. Although there were only two learners, the needs analysis revealed that despite both learners being of roughly the same English language level, their motivation, learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, and target language use situations varied considerably in some areas. I planned to overcome these difficulties through differentiation where appropriate. As I had previous EAP teaching Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course ## experience both in Turkey and the UK I understood the differences between the Turkish education system and the British education system and would be able to guide these students appropriately. Further to this, I am a part-owner of a private language school, therefore access to resources such as teaching materials, a space to carry out the course etc. was not an issue. Finally, as I did not have access to their prospective university tutors I could not analyse the target language use situations to determine these learnersÕ subject-specific language needs. Therefore, I decided to design an EGAP course. Syllabus Design The course syllabus was based upon the following important principles outlined by Alexander, Argent and Spencer (2008): ¥ Identify and describe the studentsÕ needs; ¥ Identify the needs to be met through discrete course components; ¥ Prioritise and sequence these needs in a comprehensive hierarchical framework; ¥ Include recycling in order to allow students to consolidate learning. In terms of building a hierarchical framework for the course, as Alexander, Argent and Spencer (2008: 88) state, because EAP syllabi Ôare closely related to student needs in academic disciplines, they are necessarily eclecticÕ. With this in mind, I chose a multidimensional syllabus as described by Hedge (2000), which combines different organising principles. As the needs analysis revealed that the learners needed to develop in a range of different ways, for example, their understanding of sentence level grammar, academic vocabulary, rhetorical functions, genres, and text level grammar, as well as their academic skills and autonomy, this syllabus type allowed me to include aspects that addressed all of these needs. Further to this, it Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #$ allowed me to centre learning, where appropriate, around the task types that the learners may be required to perform at university (Alexander, Argent & Spencer, 2008) which made learning more authentic and meaningful for the students. I took a learning-centred approach (described by Hutchinson and Waters, 1987) to ensure the course took into account the learners, their situations, and their linguistic lacks. Furthermore, I sought to construct a negotiated syllabus (Lynch, 2001) with the learners based on their input during the needs analysis procedure, as this would make the course more learner focused. For example, B..... stated that he needed to work on communicating in small groups. Due to this, I included a focus on this area. As in university learning contexts in the UK autonomy is expected from student members of the academic community (Lynch, 2001), the course not only sought to strike a balance between all four skills, but also aimed to help the learners develop greater autonomy. As Ôthe goal of autonomous learning is the negation of the teaching-learning distinctionÕ (Benson, 1996, cited in Lynch, 2001:394), one way this will be achieved is through methodology, specifically, by the teacher acting as a facilitator, resource, and counsellor (Voller, 1997, cited in Lynch, 2001:394) rather than as a transmitter of information. Another way in which this will be achieved is to integrate strategy training into the course learning activities in order that learners develop their own ways of working independently of their teacher. In terms of materials, we used ÔEAP Now!Õ (Cox and Hill, 2004) as a basis for the course as it takes an integrated skills approach, seeks to engage learners in tasks and activities similar to those that they will encounter in their target language use situations, and integrates strategy training into these tasks and activities. This approach suits my multidimensional syllabus type well and will also help me to Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #% facilitate the development of learner autonomy. The course will also be supplemented with ÔFocus on VocabularyÕ (Schmitt & Schmitt, 2005) to help the learners increase their academic vocabulary, ÔAcademic WritingÕ (Bailey, 2003) to help the learners focus on particular writing skills such as paragraph level organisation and cohesion, and reading and note taking, Instant IELTS (Brook-Hart, 2004), Check Your English Vocabulary (Wyatt, 2007), my own materials, and authentic reading sources, again in order to make learning similar to what will be expected of them in their future academic contexts. Part 4 Assessment and Course Evaluation Assessment Assessment, incidental or intended, is an integral aspect of teaching and learning (Brown, 2003) and refers to the ways we evaluate information about learnersÕ language achievement or ability (Hyland, 2006). Brown (2003) proposes the below main assessment categories: 1. Informal: mostly incidental and embedded in classroom tasks. Formal: systematic and aims to appraise both teacher and students. 2. Formative: supporting learnersÕ progress; looks forward. Summative: evaluates learnersÕ achievement; looks back. 3. Norm-referenced: aims to place test-takers along a mathematical continuum in rank order. 4. Criterion-referenced: aims to give test-takers feedback usually in form of grades. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #& Furthermore, as Hyland (2006:99) states, assessment enables teachers to: 1. Identify studentsÕ strengths and weaknesses for needs assessment or to indicate where remedial action is needed (diagnostic). 2. Enable learners to demonstrate the progress they have made in a course (achievement). 3. Indicate studentsÕ ability to perform target academic tasks (performance). 4. Assess general competence (proficiency). 5. Provide funding authorities with evidence that intended outcomes have been met and expenses justified (accountability). Finally, Bachman and Palmer (1996) also argue that assessment tasks, in terms of their usefulness, need to have six qualities, namely reliability, construct validity, authenticity, interactivity, impact and practicality. In line with this, Hyland (2006) states that test reliability, which requires an assessment task to measure consistently both in terms of the same student on different occasions and the same task across different raters, and construct validity, which requires an assessment task to assess what it claims to assess, are the two most important qualities that an assessment task should have. In terms of assessment on this course, as my objectives were skills focused, I did not include any formal, summative, discrete item tests and the learnersÕ development in the areas of grammar and vocabulary were considered within the context of their spoken or written output. Having said this, during the course as a learning experience the students did engage in some discrete item activities, and the learnersÕ performance during these activities informed my teaching decisions. Overall, given the skills based objectives, assessment came in the form of performance testing and was formative apart from a final IELTS test at the end of the Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #' 40-hour course, the results of which were compared with the baseline assessment IELTS test scores from the beginning of the course. In terms of the formative assessment, in order to assess the learnersÕ progress in speaking I conducted a performance test, asking them to deliver an oral presentation which I graded using a self-constructed rubric which included elements of the published IELTS speaking marking scale. As there was a cross over between my rubric and the IELTS one, I was able to compare the learnersÕ performance in the presentation to their performance in the baseline assessment mentioned above. In terms of writing, again I conducted performance tests. For example, I asked the learners to write a 1000 word explanatory essay describing and explaining the Turkish education system. In order to grade this assessment, again, I used the published IELTS assessment scale and was able to compare the results of this essay task with the learnersÕ scores on the IELTS baseline assessment. This data helped me to evaluate the usefulness of the course later. In terms of reading and listening, the assessment was mostly based on the learnersÕ performance in classroom activities and sought to emulate the type of tasks the learners would have to carry out in their future target language use situations in order that the assessments were more meaningful to them (Bachman & Palmer, 1996). For example, the learners completed section four of an IELTS listening paper. Section four is an example of a lecture situation. After answering the questions on the paper, I asked the learners to take notes on the lecture and judged their listening in terms of their ability to select key points from the spoken text as this is what they would have to do in a lecture situation. Further to the above, as one of the objectives of the course was to develop learner autonomy, I also sought to develop the learnersÕ ability to self and peer- Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #( assess. Due to this, I supplied the learners with checklists so that they could check their own written and spoken work. For example, I video recorded the learnersÕ oral presentations, after which I got the students to watch themselves, supplied them with a marking criteria, and got them to grade their own performance. Course Evaluation As suggested by Hutchinson and Waters (1987), the course evaluation was planned to be carried out during, at the end of, and after the course. In order to evaluate the usefulness of the course, the degree to which the course met the learnersÕ needs and its targets (ibid.), I held informal interviews with the learners throughout the course to gain an understanding of their perception of its usefulness. Further to this, halfway through the course and at the end I asked the learners to complete a feedback form about the usefulness and delivery of the course and about their own progress. Further to this, my students and I also agreed to meet to have an informal discussion about the success of this course after they started their pre-sessional courses at their future university in the UK, as at this point they would be better able to judge the usefulness of the course (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). Part 5 Conclusion In summary, to successfully address the learning needs, firstly, I gathered and analysed the data, i.e. the diagnostic assessment results. Secondly, I determined their learning needs, motivation to attend this course, and learning styles/preferences. Finally, I analysed the target language situations, in light of which, I designed a multidimensional syllabus EGAP course and delivered it. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #) Both learners improved their writing by one IELTS band which I believe was mainly due to the intensive support they received and the content of the course specifically addressing their learning needs. However, as in this 40 hours course there was not enough time to study the varying genres and length of the papers they will need to write when they get to their universities the students will need further support in their writing when they start their pre-sessional courses in order to broaden their understanding of the genres they will have to write in. Having said this, the learners gained a solid understanding of how to reference, which is a very good starting point for developing their academic writing as plagiarism is a serious consideration within UK university contexts. During informal interviews after the course, designed to evaluate the courseÕs usefulness to the students, B..... expressed great positivity with the level of improvement in his speaking and stated that he started feeling more confident to converse with people in small groups. In his school he did not get enough opportunities to talk in classes of 25 and felt intimidated. As this course was a small group and, unlike his classes at school, was fully delivered in English, he was exposed to intensive use of English. As is evidenced in the assessment data, the studentsÕ reading also showed progress. The intensity of the reading they did in this course was lower than their future university, however, and although I used lot of authentic texts to support the learners to become familiar with the academic style that they will encounter in their future target language use situations, I believe they will need more support in reading, which will hopefully be provided by the pre-sessional course they will attend. Two main limitations of the course were its limited time (40-hour) and its intensive nature. As there was so much to take in a short period of time, the learners Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #* may not have internalised everything covered in the course. Further to this, we did not have enough time for the learners to practice and therefore develop all of the skills they will need when they go to university. However, any remaining issues I believe will be addressed during the four-week pre-sessional programme the learners are going to attend. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course #+ Bibliography Alexander, O., Argent, S., & Spencer, J. (2008). EAP Essentials. Reading: Garner Publishing. Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language Testing in Practice: Designing and Developing Useful Language Tests. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Canagarajah, S. A. (1999). Interrogating the 'Native Speaker" Fallacy: non-linguistic roots, non-pedagogic results. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-Native Educators in English Language Teaching (pp. 77-92). Mahwah, USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Dunn, R., Dunn, K., & Price, G. E. (1975). The learning style inventory. Lawrence, KS: Price Systems. Fairclough, N. (1989). Language and Power. New York: Longman. Hamp-Lyons, L. (2001). English for academic purposes. In R. Carter, & D. Nunan (Eds.), The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (pp. 126-132). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. Oxford: Oxford University press. Honey, P., & Mumford, A. (2000). The learning styles helper's guide. Maidenhead: Peter Honey Publications Ltd. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $, Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hyland, K. (2006). English for Academic Purposes: An advanced resource book. London: Routledge. Hyland, K., & Hamp-Lyons, L. (2002). EAP: issues and directions. Journal of English for Academic Purposes , 1, 1-12. Jordan, J. J. (1997). English for Academic Purposes: A guide and resource book for teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lynch, T. (2001). Promoting EAP Learner Autonomy in a Second Language University Context. In J. Flowerdew, & M. Peacock (Eds.), Research Perspectives on English for Academic Purposes (pp. 390-403). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Spack, R. (1988). Initiating ESL Students into the Academic Discourse Community: How Far Should We Go? TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 1 , 22 (1), 29-51 . Course Books / Materials Bailey, S. (2003). Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $# Brook-Hart, G. (2004). Instant IELTS. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Cambridge Univeristy Press. (2011). Cambridge IELTS 8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cambridge Univeristy Press. (2009). Cambridge IELTS 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cambridge Univeristy Press. (2006). Cambridge IELTS 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cox, K. K., & Hill, D. (2004). EAP Now!: English for Academic Purposes Student's Book. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia. Forman, D., Donoghue, F., Abbey, S., Cruden, B., & Kidd, I. (1990). Campus English: A Problem-solving Approach to Study Skill Student's Book. London: Macmillan Publishers. Schmitt, D., & Schmitt, N. (2005). Focus On Vocabulary: Mastering the Academic Word List. White Plains, USA: Longman. Wyatt, R. (2007). Check you English Vocabulary TOEFL. London. A & C Black Publishers. Website Based Materials No Author. (n.d.). Public version of IELTS Writing Task1-2 band descriptors. Retrieved 19 March, 2012, from https://www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org/ts/digitalAssets/113300_public_writin g_band_descriptors.pdf No Author. (n.d.). Public version of IELTS Speaking task band descriptors. Retrieved 19 Match, 2012, from http://www.ielts.org/pdf/UOBDs_SpeakingFinal.pdf Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $$ No Author. (n.d.). Learning styles questionnaire based on Honey and Mumford (2001). Retrieved 02 April, 2012, from http://www.brianmac.co.uk/learnstyle.htm No Author. (n.d.). VAK learning styles questionnaire. Retrieved 02 April, 2012, from http://www.businessballs.com/vaklearningstylestest.htm No Author. (n.d.). International students perspectives. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTI_5hYOSQQ No Author. (n.d.). Academic Word List. Retrieved from http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/academic/sublist01/ No Author. (n.d.). Harvard System of Referencing Guide. Retrieved from http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm No Author. (n.d.). APA Style Referencing Guide. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ No Author. (n.d.). Funny Presentation. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXILI9Q1jIw No Author. (n.d.). Live Presentation. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtraR3gezQw No Author. (n.d.). International Student Support. Retrieved from http://www.exeter.ac.uk/internationalstudents/studyskills/ Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $% Appendices Appendix 1: Course Plan Course Objectives Reading Writing Speaking Listening ¥ Deduce meaning of unfamiliar lexical items. ¥ Identify the main point in discourse. ¥ Distinguish the main idea from supporting details. ¥ Extract salient details to summarise. ¥ Extract relevant points from a text selectively. ¥ Skim to gain an overall understanding of the text. ¥ Scan to locate specifically required information. ¥ Write in a range of different genres appropriate to their future target language use situation. ¥ Write in an appropriate academic style and register. ¥ Successfully use lexical, rhetorical, and grammatical cohesive devises and techniques. ¥ Understand how grammar and vocabulary are used in academic texts. ¥ Correctly refer to sources and avoid plagiarism. ¥ Plan, structure, revise and re-draft work. ¥ Successfully use markers in spoken discourse to introduce an idea, develop an idea, transition to another idea, conclude an idea, to indicate important information, and to anticipate a contrary view. ¥ Express relationships between parts of a spoken utterance through cohesive devices. ¥ Mark the main points or important information in spoken text through vocal underlining and through verbal cues. ¥ Planning and organising information in formal expository discourse. ¥ Deduce meaning and use of unfamiliar lexical items. ¥ Understand attitudinal meaning in spoken text and utterances. ¥ Distinguish main ideas from supporting detail. ¥ Listen to obtain the gist of spoken text. ¥ Listening for specific details in spoken text. ¥ Note-take from spoken text. ¥ Extract salient points to summarise specific idea or topic in text. ¥ Selectively extracting relevant key points from text. General ¥ Develop active knowledge of a wide range of academic lexical items. ¥ Develop a range of study skills that will lead to learner independence. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $& Day Objectives Hour Suggested Activity Suggested Materials 1 ¥ To raise the learnersÕ awareness of the skills and language the learners will need to succeed in an English medium university and to discuss the organisation and goals of the course. ¥ To provide an opportunity for learners to develop reading skills including prediction, skimming, scanning, and selecting relevant points from a text selectively. ¥ To develop the learnersÕ understanding of the structure and features of explanation texts. ¥ To develop awareness and understanding of cohesion and coherence. ¥ To develop understanding of the rhetorical function, cause and effect. Subsidiary Objectives: ¥ Provide 1 1. Discuss the reasons the students have for wanting to study abroad in the UK. The teacher will explain the course objectives and how the course activities will be designed to help prepare the students for their new academic environments as well as improve their English Ð discuss study skills, independence, autonomy Ð these are important aspects of being a successful student in the UK. 2. Task A & B - Discuss questions in pairs. Feedback. 3. Teacher input Ð explain different essay questions require different responses from students Ð essays will be organised differently etc. The teacher explains that some common essay types or explanation, discussion, etc. 4. Students work in pairs Ð tasks C Ð E. Feedback. 5. Teacher will explain that to begin with, the students will focus on learning to write explanation essays. Students do task A & feedback. 1. N.A. 2. EAP Now! (p. 11) 3. N.A. 4. EAP Now! (p. 12 Ð 14). 5. EAP Now! (p. 14, Task A) 2 1. Students work in pairs. Feedback & discussion after each task. 2. Watch YouTube clip about one studentÕs experiences. Teacher to set comprehension questions to develop listening for gist and for specific information. Discuss ideas in the clip Ð lead onto: 3. Discussion about what may be different about studying in the UK compared to the studentsÕ home countries. Feedback and teacher input. 4. Do Task A then read the text on Western Education Systems. The students read to see if their predictions were true. 5. The teacher will set some additional comprehension questions. Students read to find answers. Check answers in pairs and feedback & discuss the ideas/vocabulary in the text with the teacher. 1. EAP Now! (p. 15 Ð 18) 2. www.youtube .com/watch? v=lTI_5hYOS QQ 3. EAP Now! (p.2, Task A) 4. EAP Now! (p. 21 Ð 24) 5. Smartboard slide 3 1. Next, students work in pairs to analyse the text for structure (task b) and discuss the purpose of the text Ð explanation. 2. Students identify the main idea of each paragraph and then write an outline for the essay not an outline for an essay about their own country as suggested in task C. Teacher 1 Ð 3. EAP Now! (p. 21 Ð 24 + page 13) Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $' opportunities for learners to develop oral fluency through discussion with other learners and the teacher. ¥ Develop listening for gist and for specific information and students discuss which essay outline on page 13 would suit this situation best. 3. Next, the learners take the key points of each paragraph and compare what is said about Western education with education within their own country Ð write notes on similarities and differences. 4 1. Write an essay outline for an essay about their own countryÕs education system. 2. Focus on cohesion Ð do activities in pairs. Feedback. Discussion. 3. On Smartboard teacher displays paragraphs from the text read in hour 1. The teacher highlights referents and asks students to identify what they relate to. 4. Correct paragraphs Ð cohesion mistakes 5. Review of the day Ð feedback from students regarding course content/level. 1. N.A. 2. EAP Now! (p. 25 & 26) & Academic Writing (Bailey, 2003:73-74) 3. Smartboard Slide 4. Own Materials 5. Smartboard Slide. Day Objectives Hour Suggested Activities Suggested Materials 2 ¥ To extend learnersÕ academic vocabulary range. ¥ To raise awareness of vocabulary study strategies and vocabulary recording methods. ¥ To develop understanding of academic referencing and of what plagiarism. ¥ To develop positive writing processes including note- taking, planning 5 1. Recap what was covered the day before in class Ð quick quiz. Remind students/elicit the type of essay they read the day before (explanation). 2. Focus on cause and effect Ð do activities in pairs. Feedback. Discussion. 3. Teacher takes half sentences from the text and students have to complete them using Ôbecause/as a result of/owing to/due to/consequently etc. and the correct information. 1. Smartboard slides 2. Academic Writing (Bailey, p. 70 Ð 71) 3. EAP Now! (p. 21 Ð 24) 6 1. Focus on academic vocabulary: Using words on the academic word list/education specific from the text (EAP Now! p. 21 Ð 24) Ð students do worksheet in pairs. (Worksheet asks the learners to build the word families of 15 words within the text), asks them to define the words, state their word class, and write a sentence of their own containing the words. 2. Next, students read the text and are asked to pick out between 5 and 10 words they personally would like to develop their understanding of, using a dictionary and the teacher as a resource the students research these words individually and record their ÔfindingsÕ onto the vocabulary record sheet 1. Own materials based on the text from EAP Now! (p. 21 Ð 24). 2. Check your English vocabulary for TOEFL (p. 110). 3. N.A. 4. Own materials & Smartboard Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $( and drafting skills. ¥ To develop the ability to extract relevant points from a text selectively. Subsidiary Objectives: ¥ Provide opportunities for learners to develop oral fluency through discussion with other learners and the teacher. provided by the teacher. 3. Students share their understandings of their personal words and explain their meaning to each other. 4. Teacher shows students a range of different vocabulary record sheets and asks the students how they currently study vocabulary. The teacher makes some suggestions and students and teacher discuss the pros and cons of the different record sheets and vocabulary study strategies. The teacher discusses with the students what it means to really know a word and tells the learners that there is an academic word list, explaining its relevance to them. slide containing link to the academic word list: http://oald8.oxf ordlearnersdic tionaries.com/ academic/subl ist01/ 7 1. Next, the teacher draws the learnersÕ attention to the referencing in the text. 2. Gives them a short oral quiz (which they do together) based upon Academic Writing (p. 99) to find out what they know about the rules of referencing and about plagiarism. 3. Look at and discuss the examples of summaries and quotations provided in Academic Writing and also discuss the different ways in which the learners can record their notes. The teacher will also show them some examples of his notes and other students from his MasterÕs course. The students discuss which one might work best for them 4. The students do the exercises in the book together. Feedback. 5. The teacher explains now about Bibliographies and that there are different referencing styles. The teacher shows the learners the two websites Ð one for the Harvard referencing system the other for APA. He allows the students to read through the website. He brings some books along and gets one of the learners to practice writing a reference list using these books as ÔpropsÕ in APA and the other to practice writing in Harvard style. Finally the students compare their reference lists and find the similarities and differences. 1. EAP Now! (p. 21 Ð 24) 2. Own Materials 3. Academic Writing (p. 99 Ð 100) 4. Academic Writing (p. 100 Ð 101) 5. Academic writing (p. 201) http://libweb.a nglia.ac.uk/ref erencing/harv ard.htm & http://owl.engli sh.purdue.edu /owl/resource/ 560/01/ 8 1. The teacher now asks the learners to get out their essay plans (about education within their own country) from the day before. He explains that in the rest of the lesson they are going to do some research, take notes on what they have read, and subsequently fill out their plans 1. N.A. 2. http://www.me b.gov.tr/stats/a pk2002ing/apa ge29_48.htm & http://en.wikip Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $) with relevant information so that each section is more comprehensive. This will help them when they come to write their draft essays (for homework). 2. Students work individually to take notes. The teacher will be on hand to answer any questions and to support the learners. 3. The students swap notes to see what quotations and/or pieces of information they each found to be important. 4. The students work together to fill out their plans with the new information, discussing what pieces of information are most relevant to each section etc (Homework Ð write draft essay) edia.org/wiki/E ducation_in_T urkey & http://www.fulb right.org.tr/en/ about- turkey/turkish- educational- system Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $* Day Objectives Hour Suggested Activities Suggested Materials 3 ¥ To develop proof-reading skills and develop learner autonomy. ¥ To develop note-taking, planning and drafting skills. ¥ To develop skim reading skills ¥ To develop the ability to extract relevant points from a text selectively. ¥ To develop the ability to plan and organise information in formal spoken discourse. ¥ To develop the learnersÕ ability to express relationships between parts of a spoken utterance through cohesive devices. 9 1. Recap from day before Ð quick referencing quiz again to see how much the students remember. 2. The teacher asks the students to swap drafts, and using the writing check list provided the students pretend that they are the teachers and give feedback to each other on their essays. 3. The students read their feedback and make changes where required. 4. The teacher then takes in the essay to give feedback on them himself (they will be returned the next day). 5. The teacher explains that for the rest of the day the learners are going to research and plan a short presentation about studying at a UK university. In two days time, the teacher has arranged for a group of students attending the language school at which these learners are studying to be the audience. 6. Start off by watching a couple of examples of bad presentations. The students watch and make notes on what the presenters are doing wrong. Afterwards they share their notes with each other and discuss what they think a good presentation looks like. The teacher writes down the students ideas on the board. 7. The teacher now gives the learners a checklist stating the elements of a good presentation. The students check their thoughts on the matter (written on the board) with what the checklist states. The teacher says they can add anything they feel might be missing from the checklist. 1. Quiz from day before 2. Writing checklist & writing marking key from EAP Now! (p. 248) 3. N.A. 4. N.A. 5. N.A. 6. http://www.youtu be.com/watch?v= wXILI9Q1jIw & http://www.youtu be.com/watch?v= KgObza4ek1U & http://www.youtu be.com/watch?v= TtraR3gezQw 7. Own Materials 10 1. The teacher gives the learners some more details about the presentation requirements (length/that there should be a PowerPoint presentation to accompany it). 2. The teacher now asks the learners what they think they should include in a presentation about moving to the UK to study at a British university. He encourages the learners to think of their audience (students like themselves who have never studied abroad, and some who havenÕt visited the UK before, but who are going to 1. N.A. 2. N.A. 3. N.A. 4. N.A. 5. http://www.exeter .ac.uk/internation alstudents/studys kills/ Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course $+ study at UK universities next academic year). What would they like to know? What are the most important points to cover about study/culture etc.? 3. Together the teachers and students make a rough presentation outline on the board, however, the teacher tells the students that this may change as they begin to do some research and read what other people have to say on the matter. He makes the point that planning should always be flexible. 4. The teacher gives the learners a link to begin their research; however, he also encourages the learners to look wider than this one source. Students now together read and take notes (in the style they were shown the day before). 11 & 12 1. The students start to create their PowerPoint and plan what they are going to say during the presentation. The teacher acts as a resource and facilitator and gives input where applicable. 2. The teacher helps the learners edit their PowerPoint and draws attention to, but doesnÕt correct, their mistakes. The teacher makes sure that the students reference any sources theyÕve drawn on. Homework Ð students edit and correct their Presentation. 1. Language Scaffold Ð own material (sentence stems, cohesive devises that may be useful, useful discourse markers, key vocabulary). 2. Marking key from EAP Now! (p. 248) Day Objectives Hour Suggested Activities Suggested Materials 4 ¥ Develop the learnersÕ ability to mark the main points or important information in spoken text through vocal underlining and through verbal cues. ¥ To develop the learnersÕ ability to express relationships between parts of a spoken 13 1. The students rehearse their presentations. The teacher records their rehearsals and then models presenting himself and records that too. 2. The teacher asks the students to listen to the two recordings. He asks them to note the differences between his version and theirs in terms of speed, intonation, and stress. He gives some examples first and also points out some examples of linking and elision. 3. After analysing the recordings the students practice again, this time adjusting their speed, intonation and stress patterns in order to underline certain important pieces of information. 4. The students practice once more and record themselves. The teacher asks them to listen to their recording and write down 1. Laptop with recording facility 2. Worksheet for self-reflection Ð own material 3. N.A. 4. N.A. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course %, utterance through cohesive devices. ¥ To develop awareness of aspects of connected speech including stress, intonation, strong and weak forms, linking and elision. ¥ Provide an opportunity for learners to develop the ability to note- take from spoken text. ¥ Develop ability to extract salient points to summarise specific ideas in a spoken text and to selectively extract relevant key points. ¥ Develop ability to independently edit and redraft the studentsÕ own written work. ¥ Develop the ability to organise information at between 3 Ð 5 things they think they still need to work on for homework. (For homework they will practice their presentations Ð the next day they will perform them for a small audience of students who will be studying in the UK next academic year). 14 1. After this the focus will shift back to the studentsÕ draft essays. The teacher returns the learnersÕ draft essays and gives them individual feedback. Whilst one of the learners is receiving feedback, the other will be given a listening task to perform Ð this will be part 4 of the Academic IELTS listening exam Ð they will be asked to do this questions and then check their own answers after which they will be asked to take notes on the lecture they are listening to. 2. After giving individual feedback, the teacher will go through the listening exercise with the learner, using it as a learning tool Ð why did they answer as they have? Where is the correct answer to be found if the students didnÕt answer correctly the first time? Etc. The teacher will also get the learners to swap notes and discuss why they have selected the pieces of information they have Ð teacher input if necessary about which parts of the lecture are most important. Discussion about how to take notes Ð short hand or directly typed onto a laptop? Which is best? 1. Instant IELTS (p. 26 Ð 27, but not question 3 + answer key), note-taking scaffold, individual headphones and two laptops so that the learners can play the track. 15 1. After going through the listening and receiving their individual feedback there will be a focus session on writing introductions. In pairs students do the exercises in Academic Writing. Feedback. Teacher input. 2. After this, students work together to make a checklist outlining the features and purpose of a good introduction. 3. Students use these criteria to check their own introductions to their essays about the Turkish Education System. Correct/re-write as necessary. 1. Academic Writing (p. 52 Ð 55) 2. N.A. 3. N.A. 16 1. Focus session on writing conclusions - in pairs students do the exercises in Academic Writing. Feedback. Teacher input. 2. After this, students work together to make a 1. Academic Writing (p. 56 Ð 59). 2. N.A. Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course %# paragraph level logically and coherently. checklist outlining the features and purpose of a good conclusion. 3. Students use these criteria to check their own conclusions to their essays about the Turkish Education System - Correct/re-write as necessary. 3. N.A. Day Objectives Hour Suggested Activities Suggested Materials 5 ¥ Develop self- reflective practices in order to facilitate further learner autonomy. ¥ Develop oral presentation skills. ¥ Develop active knowledge of a wide range of academic lexical items. ¥ To develop the ability to deduce meaning of unfamiliar lexical items from context. ¥ To develop the ability to identify the main point in discourse. ¥ To develop the ability to distinguish the main idea from supporting details. ¥ To develop the ability to extract salient details to summarise. 17 1. Students come and run through their presentation once. The audience then comes to the classroom and the students deliver their presentation. 2. The teacher will video record their presentation whilst also marking them using a checklist. 3. After the presentation the teacher will congratulate the students. He will show the students the checklist he used to mark their presentation performance but will not at this stage share his marks with them. Instead he will explain the checklist carefully so that the students fully understand each section of it. Next, together the students will watch the recording of their performance/delivery on the SMART Board using the same checklist as the teacher to mark themselves. 4. Students together will discuss/compare the marks they have given themselves and argue their point if there are any discrepancies. 5. Finally, the students and the teacher will compare their gradings and the teacher will give feedback on the studentsÕ performance. 1. SMART Board/Data projector 2. As above & a video camera & checklist 3. Checklist 4. N.A. 5. N.A. 18 Change of focus Ð vocabulary 1. The teacher will explain that during the next week they will focus on a new topic Ð ways of living. This will include ideas about how inventions have changed the way we live and interact, about society etc. The teacher explains that they are going to read a text about how society has changed over the last 300 years. The teacher shows some pictures that depict how society in Turkey has changed over the last 300 years. The students discuss the Ôgetting startedÕ questions in ÔFocus on VocabularyÕ. 2. The teacher sets a pre-reading task Ð how do you think the text will say society has changed over the last 300 years. Read to 1. Focus on Vocabulary (p. 2 Ð 10), SMART Board/Data projector 2. Own materials 3. Own materials 4. Focus on Vocabulary Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course %$ find out. Feedback. 3. The teacher now sets comprehension questions. Read. Feedback answers. Teacher uses the opportunity as a learning experience Ð shows learners where they may have gone wrong and where the correct answers are in the text. 4. Next students do the Ôtaret wordÕ and Ôwork meaningÕ sections from ÔFocus on VocabularyÕ. Share answers. Feedback. 19 20 1. Students now work in pairs to complete the exercises from pages 6 Ð 10, and the teacher supports. 2. Learners record any vocabulary they feel is important to their own development onto vocabulary record sheets and staple them into their books. 3. Students fill in an evaluation sheet for the first week of the course. 4. The teacher asks the students also to write down three things they feel that they have achieved during the week, and three things they feel still needs more work. 1. Focus on Vocabular y (p. 6 Ð 10) 2. Vocabular y record sheets 3. Evaluation form 4. Notebooks . Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course %% Appendix 2: Needs Analysis and Test Results Learner Profiles A.....Õs Learner Profile Name: A..... Gender/Age: Female / 18 Nationality/L1 Turkish/Turkish Country of residence Turkey Educational History: A..... started her education at a private school in Ankara. This private school, which has a good reputation for delivering high quality education at all levels namely primary, secondary and high school, provided A..... with ample of opportunities to develop intellectually. She has achieved high grades particularly in social sciences and language studies at school. Language Learning Background: A..... has been studying English since first grade at primary school. Although she has been studying English in a target language removed context, the school, especially the English department, has created an English intensive learning environment as part of the schoolÕs CLIL approach. In addition to English lessons, 8 hours a week, and core subjects delivered in English, Science, Maths, ITC, she had the opportunities to attend the school trips to abroad, where she used her English language skills for real communication in authentic contexts. Her family trips to various countries with her advanced level of English speaker parent also have been a valuable part of her English learning background. English level From the IELTS exam she took in December: band 7.0 Writing: 6.5 / Reading: 7.0 / Listening: 7.0 / Speaking: 7.5 From the diagnostic assessment IELTS exam: band 7.0 Writing: 6.0 / Reading: 6.5 / Listening: 7.0 / Speaking: 7.5 According to publishes IELTS band descriptors, she is a Ôgood userÕ who has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. She generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning. (http://www.ielts.org/institutions/test_format_and_results/ielts_band_scores.aspx ) Learning style Pragmatist, who approaches studying with logic and objectivity and likes to think things through carefully. One possible disadvantage of this learning style that she may have the tendency to be too much of a perfectionist. Visual learner, who prefer receiving information in visual formats. Self directed English study In addition to her school studies, she takes part at the school theatre. They are preparing a play in English. She spends 5 hours a week studying for her part and 4 hours a week for rehearsal. She also watches TV shows in English and reads fiction books in English, which overall take 20 hours a week. Motivation She has both intrinsic and integrative, instrumental motivation for studying English. Her intrinsic motivation results from the fact that she wants to study in the UK and learn more about the culture and life there. On the other hand, her instrumental motivation results from her parents who encourage her to study Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course %& abroad, and from the scholarship she has been awarded, which requires her to meet the university acceptance criteria including her language level. Self perceived needs A..... believes that she needs language support as she sometimes has difficulties with her language skills. She believes that especially reading and writing skills are of high importance at her studies. She thinks that she needs support in her writing particularly in revising and editing her own writing, and in reading particularly in terms of locating specific information given in texts. Advanced documentatio n According to her school records, A..... is in top-10 of her grade. She has ÔexcellentÕ English language skills. According to her English subject teacher this year, she has Ôexcellent speaking and listening skills. Her teacher states that A..... will need to adapt to reading and writing academic texts as at school this particular area is not addressed enough. Strengths and weaknesses according to diagnostic test results and need analysis results Strengths: ¥ She is a fluent speaker with small inaccuracies, and she can easily manage to get the meaning across using circumlocution where necessary ¥ She can listen to and understand accurately long and complex speeches. Weaknesses: ¥ Lack of awareness of academic style and register ¥ Lack of organisation of ideas, especially at paragraph level ¥ Misuse of cohesive devises ¥ Poor editing and revising skills ¥ Reading is slow and laboured ¥ Inability to select information from a text discerningly to support a point they want to make B.....Õs Learner Profile Name: B..... Gender/Age: Male / 18 Nationality/L1: Turkish/Turkish Country of residence Turkey Educational History: B..... started his education in a small city, Kars, and graduated from government primary and secondary schools in the same city. When his parents moved to Ankara, he was offered a place by his current private high school as he had exceptionally high marks from Grade 8 National exams. He is particularly successful at science and maths. Language Learning Background: B..... started studying English in secondary school where they had 2 hours weekly English classes only. English only became an important subject to study when his started his new school in Ankara, which has a special focus on English as they follow a CLIL approach. He is particularly successful at Science and Maths, which are delivered in English. He has been studying English in a language-removed context and he hardly needed to use English out of school environment. English level From the IELTS exam she took in December: band 7.0 Writing: 6.5 / Reading: 7.0 / Listening: 7.5 / Speaking: 6.5 From the diagnostic assessment IELTS exam: band 7.0 Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course %' Writing: 6.0 / Reading: 7.0 / Listening: 7.5 / Speaking: 6.5 According to publishes IELTS band descriptors, he is a Ôgood userÕ who has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. She generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning. (http://www.ielts.org/institutions/test_format_and_results/ielts_band_scores.aspx ) Learning style Reflector, who is thoughtful and analytical student whilst also being a good listener. They enjoy observing others and will listen to their views before offering their own. One drawback of this learning style is that he may be likely to procrastinate and to keep a low profile. Visual learner, who prefer receiving information in visual formats. Self directed English study Video games are the only activity that requires him to use his English skills, mainly reading and listening. He does not have any other extra curricular activity that can help him improve his English further. Motivation B..... clearly states that the only reason that he needs English is to pass his classes, and more recently the scholarship that requires him to meet the language level in order to study in the UK. Therefore he has strong instrumental motivation for studying English. Self perceived needs B..... believes that he needs language support as he states that he sometimes has difficulties with writing, reading and listening, and has often difficulty with speaking. Further to this, he wants to improve his skills to edit his own work, and wants to be better able to guess the meaning of unknown words in written texts. Finally, he especially like to improve his speaking in small groups. Advanced documentatio n According to his school records, he is an ÔexcellentÕ learner and he has ÔexceptionalÕ talent in science and maths. However, according to remarks of his maths and science teachers, he prefers explanations in Turkish when new topics are introduced, and according to his English teacher, although he gets high marks from the exams, he is not ÔreallyÕ interested in English lessons, and he mostly avoids participating in speaking activities. Strengths and weaknesses according to diagnostic test results and need analysis results Strengths: ¥ He is able to pick out key pieces of information in long and complex spoken texts well. ¥ He is an efficient reader who can deal with long and complicated texts well in terms of comprehension and locating specific information. Weaknesses: ¥ Lack of awareness of academic style and register ¥ Lack of organisation of ideas, especially at paragraph level ¥ Misuse of cohesive devises ¥ Poor editing and revising skills ¥ Speaking lacks accuracy, and fluency Akincioglu / EAP: An EGAP Course %( Appendix 3: Completed Samples of the Needs Analysis Instruments Appendix 4: Completed Diagnostic Test Appendix 5: Samples of Assessment and Evaluation Tools Appendix 6: Samples of Course Materials