ABSTRACT
English for academic purposes (EAP) is an approach to language education based on a close identification of the specific language features, discourse practices, and communicative skills of target academic groups, and which recognizes the particular subject-matter needs and expertise of learners (Hyland 2006). It thus develops research-based pedagogies with the aim of assisting learners’ study or research in English. Although recent work has begun to look at the ways language relates to local disciplinary and institutional contexts and practices, EAP is typically understood as a text-oriented approach which explores the composition and structure of written and spoken discourse so that these can be made explicit to students. It therefore fits into the broader conception of English studies through the emphasis it gives to the analysis and description of the lexico-grammatical and rhetorical patterning of specialist spoken and written texts. This chapter will elaborate these comments, looking at some of the key ideas, influences, and future directions in the field (see also Chapters 24 and 25).
