Contextualizing English for Academic Purposes in Higher Education: Politics, Policies and Practices

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Description

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.

Reviews

This excellent collection offers a vibrant and innovative take on the institutional challenges, pedagogic approaches, and structures of provision for EAP. It draws on expertise in applied linguistics, EAP scholarship, and operational management, as well as reflection on practitioner experience, including precarity. It deserves a wide readership in contemporary international higher education * Joan Turner, Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK *
This first-rate volume is an important and timely contribution to furthering the dialogues, debates, and research in addressing the pedagogical practices, institutional and ideological policies, and historical and political nature of English for Academic Purposes in higher education contexts worldwide. * Christian W. Chun, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA *

Author Bio

Ian Bruce is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Bee Bond is Associate Professor of EAP at the University of Leeds, UK.