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English-medium instruction (EMI) is taking hold within higher education in non-Anglophone settings, but there is insufficient research into the challenges students encounter when taking EMI courses online. This exploratory quantitative study conducted in Hong Kong examines the language and studying challenges faced by undergraduate students when in-person classes were suspended due to COVID-19. One hundred thirteen first- and second-year students completed a questionnaire, rating their perceived challenges in the areas of writing, speaking, reading, listening, and study skills. The results showed that they faced particular challenges with reading and study skills (especially self-motivation), as well as vocabulary range, which affected more than one skill. Corroborating existing research, students with less secondary school EMI experience reported greater challenges. As providing English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses is a primary way to support the language skills of students in EMI settings, we offer guidance to EAP practitioners who seek to help their students overcome the challenges identified in this article. As online technology continues to deliver content in tertiary education, EAP courses must be closely aligned with the language and study skills needs of students in digital EMI environments.

For rubber-like materials, there are three popular methods of equibiaxial tension available: inflation tension, equibiaxial planar tension, and radial tension. However, no studies have addressed the accuracy and comparability of these tests. In this work, we model the tension tests for a hyperelastic electroactive polymer (EAP) membrane material using finite element method (FEM) and investigate their experimental accuracy. This study also analyzes the impact of apparatus structure parameters and specimen dimensions on experimental performances. Additionally, a tensile efficiency is proposed to assess non-uniform deformation in equibiaxial planar tension and radial tension tests. The sample points for calculating deformation in inflation tensions should be taken near the top of the inflated balloon to obtain a more accurate characteristic curve; the deformation simulation range will be constrained by the material model and its parameters within a specific limit (λ ≈ 1.9); if the inflation hole size is halved, the required air pressure must be doubled to maintain equivalent stress and strain values, resulting in a reduction in half in inflation height and decreased accuracy. The equibiaxial planar tension test can enhance uniform deformation and reduce stress errors to as low as 2.1% (at λ = 4) with single-corner-point tension. For circular diaphragm specimens in radial tension tests, increasing the number of cuts and using larger punched holes results in more uniform deformation and less stress error, with a minimum value of 3.83% achieved for a specimen with 24 cuts and a 5 mm punched hole. In terms of tensile efficiency, increasing the number of tensile points in the equibiaxial planar tension test can improve it; under radial tension, increasing the number of cuts and decreasing the diameter of the punched hole on the specimen has a hedging effect. The findings of this study are valuable for accurately evaluating various equibiaxial tension methods and analyzing their precision, as well as providing sound guidance for the effective design of testing apparatus and test plans.

In this study the author will present how Human Intelligence (HI – nous), in co-operation with Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Internet can communicate his/her knowledge and interdisciplinary research to an international context (i.e., Erasmus exchange programs and/or international conferences). Having over a twenty-year experience of teaching ESP/EAP at a non-English University and over a twenty-five-year experience of editing research papers in English, the writer will present how a nous/student/researcher and an academic can use to his/her advantage IT tools, such as electronic dictionaries and forums. Finally, the author of this study will propose: (a) a couple of methods, which can be applied through AI (i.e., Google or any other search engines) so that the non-English nous/student/researcher/academic (a nous) will be certain that s/he communicates "correctly" and "appropriately" his/her research in an international context whose primary language of communication is English; and (b) a specific bilingual (or multilingual) knowledge management tool (i.e. an electronic TDB: Terminological Data Bank).

This study aimed to evaluate an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) textbook by examining English as a Foreign Language (EFL) graduate students’ beliefs about the textbook through metaphor analysis in a Chinese University setting. This is mainly a descriptive research in nature, and a qualitative research method was employed, supplemented by a quantitative method. The participants of the study are a total of 147 first-year EFL graduate students from a public university in the city of Beijing, China. This evaluation revealed that the EAP textbook provided joy, security, grit, and curiosity for theses students, and at the same time, it was reported as old-fashioned, exam-oriented and teacher-directed. It would be more appropriate with some modifications and also with some additional materials to meet the needs of the EFL graduate students, and some possible implications for teachers and researchers were also suggested in the study.

This paper discovers the role of learner’s needs analysis in English for academic purposes courses in higher education before designing any language curriculum. The research is essential as it can be used to support students to be aware of their motivation to learn and a basis for teachers in helping students improve their learning motivation. Students have either instrumental or integrative or both motivational orientations while studying EAP courses (locally called communicative English skills) for their present and target situation needs. Therefore, 308 first-year students (using systematic sampling) and 41 instructors (using census technique) from the Social Sciences and Humanities College in Wachemo University, Ethiopia, participated in the study. A mixed-methods research design was used to collect the data. Survey questionnaire and interview instruments were employed for data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The findings revealed that the students have instrumental and integrative orientations for learning English. However, instrumental motivation surpassed integrative motivation because most of the study participants thought that the students predominantly need English for practical reasons in the context of the present study than integrative orientations to pursue their academic courses at the university level. When the participants were asked about the students’ reasons for learning English, they indicated many aspects related to instrumental and integrative motivation. For reasons related to instrumental motivation, students learn English because it is helpful in getting a good job in the future, studying or working abroad, and passing a test (an exam), while the students who are integratively motivated learn English because they like the language and the culture. Consequently, through thorough needs analysis, course designers and practitioners should identify learners’ reasons for learning the EAP course before implementing the material in the EFL classroom.

See article on pages 456–463 in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This programme evaluation study examined the changes in writing motivation, self-regulation and integrated writing task scores of international students over the course of a pre-sessional course on English for academic purposes (EAP). In addition, the study also investigated the relationship between writing task motivation, self-regulation, and essay scores at the beginning and end of the course. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was utilized. Participants' (n = 64) motivation and self-regulation were assessed at the beginning and the end of the month-long course using self-report questionnaires. Furthermore, participants completed an integrated writing task in the first and final weeks of the course. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed motivation and self-regulatory strategy use to remain stable over time, except for self-efficacy measures which increased significantly. In addition, scores on the integrated writing task increased significantly. Spearman's rank correlation analysis confirmed the strong inter-relationship between self-efficacy and self-regulation. At the end of the course, mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and utility value were found to be significantly correlated to essay scores. Further results and implications for foundation course developers will be covered in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on peer review considered it as a strategy of improving students' writing (Baker, 2016; Hu, 2005). To investigate its effectiveness, this research has established a small corpus based on the data from the 22 students' writing drafts and their corresponding written comments of 13,9261 words in total on the Peerceptiv National Writing and Feedback Contest (PNWFC). Then, Python was utilized as a tool to calculate the difference between four dimensions including accuracy, helpfulness, reviewing and writing. According to the quantitative analysis, it showed that students could hardly benefit from peer feedback. After that, three online structured interviews were arranged to further explore the development of English as a Second Language (L2) students' discourse competence development. Given the consequence of qualitative data, students could revise their grammatical errors and language inaccuracies through peer review. They might implicitly develop their ability to think critically, which is the core of the formation of discoursal awareness in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course. More importantly, receivers could know of their weaknesses, and also perceive the accuracy and fairness of their discourses. Finally, essential implications might be helpful for teachers to carry out peer review and writing tasks in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In both face-to-face and online settings, attention to language during interpersonal interaction is essential for students' academic English development in English-medium instruction (EMI) classes. This article reports on a study of attention to language spontaneously arising in two different online EMI classes (world history and mathematics) in high schools in Korea. The frequency and nature of language-related episodes (LREs), any instances where teachers and students talk about the language they use, identified in the transcripts of class recording and synchronous text-based chat were analysed. Transcribed interview recordings were also analysed to explore the challenges for the EMI teachers in dealing with language issues during their online classes. Findings indicated the frequent occurrence of LREs during interpersonal interaction in both online classes. The majority of the LREs were initiated by the teachers, and students, too, initiated some LREs. Different patterns were found in the interactional type and linguistic categories of LREs between the different disciplines. Synchronous text-based chat appeared to facilitate students to proactively initiate LREs, mainly to attend to vocabulary and grammar. Findings also revealed that both EMI teachers had more challenges helping students with language in the online context than in the F2F context. • Content teachers' spontaneous linguistic support in online EMI classes was examined. • The nature of LREs in interpersonal interaction including text chat was analysed. • LREs in two different classes (history and mathematics) were compared. • Linguistic challenges for EMI teachers in remote teaching settings were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines in an analytical order the problems and perspectives of foreign language learning in an academic environment with a focus on economic and business majors. Fundamental categories in the field of applied linguistics in the field of foreign language learning and in particular English in higher education are discussed in general theoretical terms. Concepts such as English for specific purposes, English for academic purposes in the light of business discourse and business English are reviewed. The research also examines some innovative approaches in modern foreign language training, as well as the technological means that would facilitate the learning process. A brief analysis of the main problems of foreign language education in Bulgarian universities is also presented, with recommendations for overcoming some of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a time when students around the globe continue to pursue their higher studies in English-speaking countries, educators also continue to explore innovative teaching methods and approaches in order to support learning. Universal design for learning (UDL) is an innovative teaching framework that has recently drawn considerable attention among educators and researchers alike in Canada. A UDL framework helps educators, including English-for-academic-purposes (EAP) and English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) instructors, consider learner variability, motivate and engage learners in in multiple ways, provide instructional resources and materials in various forms, and offer learners opportunities to demonstrate learning in alternate pathways. This article presents three core UDL principles: multiple means of engagement, multiple means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression and establishes connections to teaching EAP. The purpose is to interpret these three UDL principles and respective guidelines in EAP contexts and discuss how these principles and guidelines can be applied to EAP classrooms in order to support language learning in Canada.

This study aims at a rediscovery of the extent to which a Data Driven Learning (DDL)-based intervention could become instrumental in facilitating grammar instruction with a specific focus on EAP and learner autonomy in a preparatory program mostly by Turkish-L1 learners. It provides a context-restricted longitudinal depiction of the effectiveness of a DDL-based grammar instruction endorsed by teacher mentorship across groups asynchronously, thus re-testing the limits of DDL-oriented corpus pedagogy in contexts where a control group is not available. To this end, a corpus was compiled out of the existing reading and listening materials in use ad hoc the Alternative Corpus of Academic Texts (ACAT), and a total of 19 grammar lessons covering topics in the curriculum of the second level of the grammar course were developed using the ACAT. Blind pre and post-test procedures were administered with all four experimental groups independent of each other to gradually build up an understanding of the governing pattern of learner achievement through DDL and corpus-based teacher-prepared materials. The analysis demonstrated a rise in student achievement across all groups despite the lack of a teacher disseminating knowledge to students in class in the traditional sense, thus showing that a sense of autonomy could be gained through DDL-enhanced teaching. With the design being unorthodox, this study shows that the triple powers of DDL, self-discovery, occasional teacher supervision, and corpus-based teaching materials, could help learners survive autonomously no matter how hectic the curriculum run at an institution is. Further research is needed to deepen this insight so that this sort of DDL practice could be implemented at the institutional level

The interdecadal change of the summer (July–August) rainfall over North China (SRNC) is of great concern to the climate research community. Based on the sliding correlation and interdecadal difference analysis, the interdecadal change of SRNC was studied. Results show a significantly wetter period of SRNC since the mid-2000s, which was associated with strengthening negative relationship between SRNC and PDO. PDO affected the SRNC through the jet stream in the upper-level and the East Asia–Pacific (EAP) teleconnection pattern. In the negative phase of the PDO since the mid-2000s, the contractive upper-level jet stream in the west of North China resulted in the abnormal updraft over the southern region of North China. Meanwhile, the positive phase of the EAP teleconnection pattern brought warm and wet southeast flow entering North China from its eastern boundary, both bringing more rainfall in North China. The abnormal water vapor transport from the western Pacific was very different from that accompanying the East Asian summer monsoon.

In recent years, plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) gel has attracted increasing attention in soft robotics. However, there is scarce research on the deformation mechanism and modeling of PVC gel actuators. In this study, to investigate the deformation mechanism of fiber-constrained planar PVC gel actuators, we propose a complex nonlinear model based on traditional thermodynamic electroactive polymer (EAP) multi-field coupling theory. The proposed model can reveal the dielectric breakdown strength of PVC gels and predict the deformation of planar PVC gel actuators with varying levels of pre-stretching. The theoretical results were in good agreement with the experimental results, indicating the feasibility of the proposed model.

The current study explored the effects of using digital flashcards (DFs) and mobile devices on learning academic vocabulary. The participants were 86 university students majoring in Psychology in two experimental conditions and one control group. A list of 361 core academic words frequently used in Psychology was taught to the participants using different materials, and the learning outcomes were compared across the three groups. Accordingly, the participants in the experimental group 1 (N = 31) used a DF application (i.e., NAWL builder), participants in the experimental group 2 (N = 30) used traditional materials (i.e., paper flashcards), and those in the control group were given a list of target words with their definitions. Receptive knowledge of the target words was tested before and after the treatment, and the learning outcomes were compared across the groups using one-way between-groups ANOVA. The findings of the study indicated that using DFs enhanced students' engagement with learning their discipline-specific academic vocabulary and that experimental group 1 outperformed those participants in other learning conditions. The findings add to the existing literature on mobile-assisted vocabulary learning and provide empirical support for the effectiveness of such platforms for learning academic vocabulary. The implications of the study were discussed in terms of the affordances provided by DFs on mobile devices and corpus-based word lists for informing vocabulary learning components in teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at a rediscovery of the extent to which a Data Driven Learning (DDL)-based intervention could become instrumental in facilitating grammar instruction with a specific focus on English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and learner autonomy in a preparatory program comprised mostly of Turkish-L1 learners. It provides a context-restricted longitudinal depiction of the effectiveness of a DDL-based grammar instruction endorsed by teacher mentorship across groups asynchronously, thus re-testing the limits of DDL-oriented corpus pedagogy in contexts where a control group is not available. To this end, a corpus was compiled out of the existing reading and listening materials in use ad hoc as the Alternative Corpus of Academic Texts (ACAT), and a total of 19 grammar lessons covering topics in the curriculum of the second level of the grammar course were developed using the ACAT. Blind preand post-test procedures were administered with all four experimental groups independent of each other to gradually build up an understanding of the governing pattern of learner achievement through DDL and corpus-based teacher-prepared materials. The analysis demonstrated a rise in student achievement across all groups despite the lack of a teacher disseminating knowledge to students DDL-enhanced teaching. With the design being unorthodox, this study shows that the triple powers of DDL, self-discovery, occasional teacher supervision, in class in the traditional sense, thus showing that a sense of autonomy could be fostered through and corpus-based teaching materials, could help learners survive autonomously no matter how hectic the curriculum run at an institution is. Further research is needed to deepen this insight so that this sort of DDL practice could be implemented at an institutional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengimplementasi sistem informasi E-Document pada Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dengan merancang sebuah aplikasi. Dan menganalisa kekurangan-kekurangan sebagai penghambat kemajauan dari perusahaan Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dan melakukan pengujian pada suatu program dan menyelesaikan desain yang sudah disetujui. Hal ini dikarenakan strategi manajemen perusahaan Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dalam pengelolaan penyebaran dokumen masih manual dan pengambilan keputusan pada perusahaan dapat dipermudah. Dalam penelitian ini penulis melakukan studi kasus menggunakan metode EAP karena dianggap dapat menyelaaskan bisnis yang ada dan Teknologi yang sudah berjalan sebelumnya. Metode ini dapat mengidentifikasi mulai proses bisnis sampai ke perencanaan implementasi sitem informasi yang akan dibuat. Berdasarkan analisa mulai dari aktifitas utama sampai aktifitas pendukung maka diperoleh portofolio aplikasi sistem informasi pada Dinas Pekerjaan Umum Kota Semarang yang diantaranya adalah Sistem Informasi Pelayanan Publik, Sistem Informasi E-Document, Sistem Informasi Gudang, Sistem Informasi Keuangan, dan Sistem Informasi Kepegawaian, dimana dalam perencanaan aplikasi tersebut, hasil proses bisnis Dinas Pekerjaan Umum Kota Semarang dapat berjalan lebih efektif. Dengan Enterprise Architecture Planning (EAP) dapat dijadikan metode untuk mencapai sasaran bisnis Dinas Pekerjaan Umum Kota Semarang, selain itu keuntungan EAP adalah untuk mendukung pengambilan keputusan dan perencanaan yang baik. Walaupun penelitian dapat menghasilkan Sistem Infomasi yang mendukung cukup baik, namun masih perlu dilakukan peningkatan seperti upgrade Sistem oleh perusahaan agar dapat bersaing dengan manajemen perusahaan lain yang selalu mampu mengikuti kemajuan Teknologi.

The GKJ Synod is one of the Church Foundations located in Salatiga which is an institution that focuses on the field of information data center and media services for the GKJ Synod. The Salatiga GKJ Synod currently has a system but still has problems with Information System problems that have not been implemented optimally, so there are often obstacles when doing work. Because it does not run quickly and well, therefore an Information System Strategic Planning is needed, this research aims to be able to help the business processes contained in the GKJ Synod implement information systems in the organization to run well. The purpose of this research is to propose and plan using the method Enterprise Architecture Planning. Enterprise Architecture Planning (EAP) is the process of defining the architecture in the use of information systems to support the architecture implementation plan. By using the approach, the Enterprise Architecture Planning (EAP)method can help the GKJ Salatiga synod to plan data quality oriented to business needs in order to achieve and support business goals for agencies and organizations, besides that, the advantages of using Enterprise Architecture Planning are a supporting method for making decisions and good planning for an organization.

The effective use of reporting verbs is an important part of establishing credibility in source-based writing. Although comparative studies of academic writing have shown that the reporting verbs used by novice and expert writers differ by discipline, fewer studies have examined whether such differences exist in English for academic purposes (EAP) writing, which often focuses on generic essay types as opposed to discipline-specific academic genres. Using a corpus of 1027 texts written by EAP students at an English-medium Canadian University, this study explored whether additional language (L2) writers’ reporting verb choices differed in cause-and-effect and argumentative essays. Adopting semantic classifications from previous research, the occurrence of 34 reporting verbs across four semantic categories (argue, think, find, show) in the two essay types were compared. Results indicated that EAP students relied on a limited number of reporting verbs regardless of essay type. In contrast to disciplinary writing, find verbs occurred infrequently while argue verbs were most frequent. Pedagogical implications are discussed in terms of the relationship between essay type and L2 writers’ use of reporting verbs.

• This study proportionally describes university students' mode and register use. • The study combines diary and survey methods in a novel methodology. • Results indicate that American university students used English 90.1 % of the time. • Students spend the most time on listening and least on speaking. • Students observed in this study engaged in 37 distinct registers. The extent to which university students read, write, speak, and listen in a range of registers is not completely understood, but such descriptions could lead to better designed curriculum for English learners. The purpose of this study is to estimate the proportions of time American university students spend reading, writing, speaking, and listening in various registers. The present study combines diary and survey techniques to describe the language use behavior for 53 university students. The results indicated that nearly half of university student language use time is spent listening (49.5 %), followed by reading (20.7 %), writing (18.2 %), and speaking (11.6 %). Students also engaged in 37 distinct registers, with face-to-face conversations (12.32 %), homework problems (10.70 %), and lyrical music listening (10.46 %) being the most frequent. This description of university student language use could be useful for ESL curriculum design and shows that proportional descriptions of language use are more feasible than previously asserted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explored the effects of using digital flashcards (DFs) and mobile devices on learning academic vocabulary. The participants were 86 university students majoring in Psychology in two experimental conditions and one control group. A list of 361 core academic words frequently used in Psychology was taught to the participants using different materials, and the learning outcomes were compared across the three groups. Accordingly, the participants in the experimental group 1 (N = 31) used a DF application (i.e., NAWL builder), participants in the experimental group 2 (N = 30) used traditional materials (i.e., paper flashcards), and those in the control group were given a list of target words with their definitions. Receptive knowledge of the target words was tested before and after the treatment, and the learning outcomes were compared across the groups using one-way between-groups ANOVA. The findings of the study indicated that using DFs enhanced students’ engagement with learning their discipline-specific academic vocabulary and that experimental group 1 outperformed those participants in other learning conditions. The findings add to the existing literature on mobile-assisted vocabulary learning and provide empirical support for the effectiveness of such platforms for learning academic vocabulary. The implications of the study were discussed in terms of the affordances provided by DFs on mobile devices and corpus-based word lists for informing vocabulary learning components in teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP).

One of the objectives of examining culture vis-à-vis additional language (L2) writing is to conceptualize an effective L2 writing pedagogy (Matsuda & Atkinson, 2008). Kaplan’s (1966) analysis of English as an additional language (EAL) texts was a pioneering endeavour in this regard, although due to ensuing controversy surrounding his claims, the desired goals of his effort were never achieved, leaving a gap in culture studies of L2 writing (Abasi, 2012; Belcher, 2014). This article reports on an investigation of student views on what instructors can do to help overcome cultural challenges L2 writers encounter in an English for academic purposes (EAP) context. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys, this qualitative case study examined 27 students at a Canadian university. Data analysis yielded six categories of instructor support: (a) providing explicit feedback on writing; (b) providing English text structures; (c) using exemplars; (d) creating opportunities for in-class writing and reviews; (e) explaining cultural differences between first language (L1) and L2 writing; and (f) providing more writing practice. The findings underline the importance of instructors’ roles in unpacking various cultural underpinnings in L2 writing. Also, they support the (re)conceptualization of L2 writing pedagogy that integrates empirical evidence into instruction. The implications for L2 writing instruction are discussed.

Undergraduates are often advised to expand their discipline-specific vocabulary in order to cope with the rigor of reading and writing academic texts. For the students studying in English-medium settings, it is in their interest to acquire vocabulary in their disciplines as this is vital to academic success. While students recognize the importance of discipline-specific vocabulary acquisition, they are typically unable to do so due to their heavy work on learning and assessment tasks. With the advent of mobile technology, one way to address this problem is to create vocabulary apps. To meet this need, this paper presents a gamified, discipline-specific vocabulary learning app Books vs Brains@PolyU. It was developed to help busy undergraduates to build a repertoire of the vocabulary across seven disciplines. We explored students’ perceptions and evaluation of this tool via interviews with sixteen student participants of the project. The results show that students found the tool useful and motivating, indicating the effectiveness of the app in helping busy undergraduates to build and expand their knowledge of discipline-specific vocabulary.

Universities in Indonesia already have academic information systems. This university in developing its academic information system is carried out individually according to conditions and needs. Currently there are no guidelines in providing direction for the planning, development, implementation and service of academic information systems based on information and communication technology in universities. In addition to this, it is based on the planning and development of an academic information system which is what will be planned and developed and how its development guidelines are not yet available. The purpose of this study is to provide guidance in building academic information systems at private universities that can be applied in South Sumatra Province. This goal needs to be done because in general the academic information system business processes and services as well as the need for information in each university have in common namely the acceptance of new students, academic management and academic release. The result of the research is an academic information system architecture as a guideline in planning the development of an academic information system according to the conditions of private universities in South Sumatra Province. This study uses the EAP method with the steps of activities including planning initiation, business modeling and survey of current institutions, systems and technologies, data architecture and application architecture. The results of this study are a guide in building a system in the form of an academic information system architecture that can be applied to private universities in Indonesia especially South Sumatra Province.This study uses the EAP / Enterprise Architecture Planning method with activity steps including planning initiation, business modeling and institutional surveys, current systems and technology, data architecture and application architecture.

This study aimed to explore perceptions about two vocabulary instruction programs as reported from a cohort of 37 English for academic purposes (EAP) students enrolled in an academic speaking course in an English medium (EMI) university. While one group received concordance-based instruction of formulaic expressions (FE) for 10 hours, one group received a similar instruction of single academic vocabulary (AV). Participants were interviewed after pedagogical intervention was finalized. Semi-structured interviews with each participant were audio-recorded and later transcribed verbatim for qualitative thematic analysis. Findings showed that both groups perceived vocabulary intervention they received to be useful for their academic needs and for enhancing their awareness about contextual use of academic vocabulary and formulaic expressions. As a third theme, the FE group emphasized the contribution of learning FE to their confident performance in L2 whereas the AV group differently reported that they enjoyed systematicity of AV instruction. Pedagogical implications of findings were discussed.

Teacher-student group conferences (TSGCs) integrate the advantages of peer response with those of individual writing conferences, allowing teachers to comment on learners' drafts while students apprentice into the peer reviewer role by observing the teacher's model. Although several scholars have advocated for TSGCs as a pedagogical practice, TSGCs have received little empirical attention. This study exemplifies how I used TSGCs as an intervention in my graduate-level EAP writing class. Using data from pre/post course surveys, post-TSGC feedback forms, post-course interviews, and final course evaluations, I report on students' perceptions of the TSGCs, including their perceived advantages and disadvantages. Overall, students appreciated the diverse perspectives TSGCs provided and the learning opportunities available when reviewing peers' drafts, receiving feedback, and listening to my comments. Although students' lack of disciplinary knowledge was occasionally problematic, they still saw the utility of TSGCs. Students also outlined strategies they developed for giving feedback if their peers' papers were difficult to understand. Disadvantages identified included difficulties from mixed proficiency levels, time and format limitations, disciplinary distance, quality of peer comments, and cultural differences. I conclude with suggestions for addressing these disadvantages, focusing specifically on important considerations when using TSGCs with graduate students from diverse backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of student engagement in language learning have burgeoned in the last three decades. However, its dynamic trajectory and the attendant mediating factors leading to various outcomes in project-based language learning (PBLL) have been underexplored. PBLL emphasizes social communication and engagement as students complete complex tasks over an extended period of time, making it distinct from traditional teacher-centered instruction. With this focus in mind, our study draws on Complexity of Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) to examine the longitudinal development of emotional and social engagement among Chinese EFL students in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing course, and to explore factors accounting for possible changes in those two types of engagement. Using three sets of questionnaires to track student engagement over the course of a learning project, we found an overall increase of emotional and social engagement during students' learning process, despite a slight dip at the midway point. A follow-up interview showed that engagement changes were mainly driven by peer influence, task completion in PBLL, leadership, and preference for PBLL. These findings provide insight into the dynamics of student engagement in PBLL settings in China and have implications for EAP writing pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study explores teacher and student perceptions to verify consequential validity and the potential washback effect of a locally developed university-level English language proficiency test which consists of reading and listening-to-writing assessment tasks. The integrated language proficiency test is used upon completion of the English language preparatory program in the Turkish context to determine learners' access to further English medium academic courses in their departments. To examine whether this source-based proficiency test has achieved its intended outcomes, 39 freshman students and 19 university instructors, who offered courses in various departments, were surveyed through questionnaires. Interviews were conducted with the instructors to gauge their perspectives about the validity of the integrated proficiency test-based decisions (whether students pass or fail) over time in terms of the language competency and academic skills of their learners. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis also revealed evidence both for positive and negative issues concerning the consequential validity of the test. Findings may help educators to reach a better understanding of the construct of integrated language assessment tasks in EAP contexts and the consequences of their use in achieving the intended and unintended curricular goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the quantitative and qualitative impacts of shifting the narrative point of view on the representation of critical thinking (CT) in Iranian EAP learners’ written narratives. Sixty (30 women and 30 men) students of psychology who were selected based on convenience sampling were randomly divided into two equal experimental groups of the first-person group (FPG) and third-person summary group (TPSG). The researchers initially administered Watson-Glaser critical thinking appraisal-form A questionnaire (Watson & Glaser, 1980). The independent samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference between the CT of the groups. Then the participants were given the short story of Butterflies (Grace, 1987). The TPSG participants inscribed their reflections on the story in narratives from the third-person perspective, whereas the FPG participants shifted the point of view and wrote first-person stories. The content analysis of the first- and third-person data based on Hatton and Smith’s (1995) taxonomy of writing types illustrated a statistically significant difference between the length and the number of descriptive writing and dialogical reflection clauses in first-person stories versus the number of the same clauses in third-person narratives. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups’ mean ranks of descriptive reflection and critical reflection clauses. The dialogicality principle of both first- and third-person storylines was shown to be more descriptive, less descriptive reflective, less and less dialogic reflective, and still less critical reflective. The qualitative analysis confirmed that the writings demonstrated a heteroglossia of different writing types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges encountered by non-native English-speaking students in writing cohesive essays have been canvassed in scholarly research. However, cohesion problems in essays written by international English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learners in the New Zealand context do not appear to be addressed adequately. This may pose a challenge for educators when trying to unpack the issues these learners encounter in written discourse and how best to address such issues. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate grammatical cohesion in EAP learners' argumentative essays. The main instrument for this study was a sample of 37 argumentative essays written by international EAP learners at a tertiary institution in New Zealand. The study utilized AntConc software for analyzing instances of reference and conjunctions in the data. Frequencies of ellipsis and substitution were analyzed manually. The findings show that learners employed a variety of grammatical cohesive devices in their writing. The learners prominently used references and conjunctions. However, limited use of substitution and ellipsis was obvious in the essays, which seems to suggest that learners need further training on grammatical cohesive devices and how to employ them in written discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some linguistic features are proscribed in academic writing as they are considered too informal. However, from a descriptive perspective, the extent to which academic writers follow popular proscriptions is an empirical question. Although previous studies present important findings about the frequency of proscribed informality features in academic writing, they do not explore how many academic writers use these features because frequencies were typically not calculated per text (i.e., per article). Additionally, previous research may have included quotes in frequency counts. These methodological limitations are addressed in the current study, which examines (a) whether proscribed informality features are commonly used by a wide range of academic writers, (b) whether disciplines differ in their use of these features, and (c) whether the use of these features has changed over time. The findings show that academic writers tend to avoid many of the proscribed informality features, but some features such as initial conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs, first-person pronouns, and unattended references have higher frequency rates, which corroborates the findings of previous research. Unlike previous research, the current study shows that these high frequencies come from a few academic authors as most authors either use these features minimally or completely avoid them. • Proscribed informality features are either minimally used or completely avoided. • Previously lauded principles of writing may lose effectiveness over time. • Sciences and social sciences are becoming more accepting of informality features. • From 1965 to 2005, the use of first person pronouns increased the most. • Frequency counts are more accurate when quoted material in texts is accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the integration of social justice-oriented content into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction at a four-year university on the East coast of the United States. In the context of an Academic Writing course taught to emergent bilingual (EB) students, this article identifies the challenges and prospects of utilizing material that addresses past and present racial inequities in the United States— particularly when it comes to equipping EBs with essential background knowledge to engage in meaningful dialogues and critical writing about social issues that are entrenched in white supremacist and settler colonialist histories. It makes suggestions for TESOL educators who seek to adopt more equitable and inclusive teaching practices by leaning into rather than away from challenging classroom conversations with EB students and embracing the intersecting challenges and opportunities for new learning that may arise. • Social justice-oriented materials teach both language and content in EAP settings. • Language learners are emergent bilinguals (EB); revised terminology is explained. • EB students identified connections between present and past injustices. • EB students adopted activist stances in class and participated in community events. • Social justice-oriented curricula can serve efforts to decolonize TESOL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the breadth of integrated writing assessment research, few studies have examined student perceptions of classroom-based integrated writing tasks or the instructional value of analytic rubrics. Adopting a case study methodology, this exploratory research investigated three L2 learners' conceptualizations of integrated writing assessment and their use of an analytic rubric for self-assessment in an EAP writing course. Data sources included integrated writing samples that were evaluated by the students and their instructor, a writing self-efficacy questionnaire, individual retrospective interviews, and course materials such as syllabi, and task instructions. Qualitative analysis revealed themes related to three aspects of classroom-based integrated writing assessment: task requirements, task conditions, and instructor feedback. The themes were discussed in terms of students' test taking strategies and the use of available support systems in EAP contexts. In addition, findings indicated an overlap between students' self-assessment and instructor evaluation of their integrated essays, suggesting that students could use the evaluation criteria effectively. Implications for teaching and assessing integrated writing in EAP contexts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offering insights into varieties of English language, corpus compilation practices and corpus-based research have great potential to enhance the field of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Among different types of corpora, learner corpora seem particularly promising as they document different aspects of learner language that might otherwise go unnoticed. Acknowledgement of potential contribution of learner corpora to EAP has led up to scientific efforts to compile learner corpora for academic purposes. This paper is the description of such an effort. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to highlight the possible contributions of language corpora to EAP; and second, to introduce the Turkish subcomponent of the Corpus of Academic Learner English (CALE-TR), as a new English for Academic Purposes corpus, currently being compiled for the investigation of learner academic writing.