Academic English

English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

Academic English is a specialized field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), in this case known as EAP. It is specific in the sense that it has a distinctive range of language in its everyday use when compared to general English. Also, it is important for several and particular professional reasons such as the university context itself, where students, professors, and researchers are in cooperation; in international programs, be it as an exchange undergraduate student, a visiting graduate student (exchange or sandwich doctorate) or a researcher (postdoctoral studies, visiting scholar); writing research articles, essays, and lectures; presenting research ideas in conferences, which also includes making small talk; and when English is the Medium of Instruction (EMI), an increasingly important feature of academic English in countries where English is not the first language. In short, academic English classes are critical for those who plan to undertake their research and teaching beyond reading research articles in English.

Some numbers

about

80%

of all the journals indexed in the Scopus database were published in English as of 2011.

Source: “The Language of (Future) Scientific Communication“, Research Trends, Issue 31, Nov 2012.

the top

70

journals ranked at Scimago Journal Rank as of 2018 were published in English and are from the US or the UK.

Source: Scimago Journal and Country Rank (SJR) for 2018.

only about

5%

of Brazilians aged 16 or more stated that they had some knowledge of English as of 2013.

Source: Learning English in Brazil (2014), British Council and Data Popular Institute report.

Understanding your needs

When studying a language, it is usual to learn some skills with ease. On the other hand, different skills can prove to be very challenging. The most demanding ones are those called productive skills: writing and speaking. They are productive because you need to articulate what you know to write a text or talk, often in unplanned situations. Conversely, reading and listening are abilities that require your attention, but no production, thus being described as receptive skills. In the EAP, students usually have a very good command of reading because of their jobs as researchers. Listening is sometimes good as well. The major challenges reside in writing and speaking then.

Classes

Academic English classes are carefully planned based on your needs. Some students/researchers, for example, need to improve their academic writing since they wish to publish in English. This means that a greater focus is given to grammar, sentence and paragraph structures, punctuation, and style. A different approach, however, is necessary for those seeking to speak in English to attend conferences, apply for teaching or research positions abroad, or even teach in English at their institutions. In this case, other features such as pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and functional structures are important.

Whatever your needs are, my Academic English classes are structured around the following elements: at least two hours of lessons each week, preferably in different days; for each hour of class, there is about one extra hour for homework and review; use of an online platform to integrate materials, whiteboard resources, communication, and recording of classes for future access and study; and adoption of an internationally referenced EAP coursebook.