English for Academic Purposes

      EAP is taught generally within educational institutions to students requiring English in their studies.  The language taught may be based on particular disciplines at higher levels of education when the student is specializing (in study) or intends to specialize (pre-study) in a particular subject. 

       In cases such as an overseas student studying in university level, the learning of study skills (listening to lectures, taking notes, writing reports, reading textbooks) will probably form a major part of the student’s English course. Frequently in such a situation it is common to find the aims and methods of the English language department at variance with the requirements of science and technology departments, the former still concerned with drilling conversational English and manipulating structural patterns while the latter require swift and effective reading skills. 

        However, in  these situations, there is a need to see the role of English basically in terms of its providing accessibility to knowledge contained in textbooks, periodicals, and journals, reports, and abstracts (Mackay and Mountford, 1978:7). Further they will have to involve in presentation of new knowledge such as papers, university theses, longer reports, articles in scientific journals, and others.

English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) 

      EOP is taught in such a situation in which learners need to use English as part of their work or profession (Kennedy and Bolitho, 1984: 4). There will be differences in such courses depending on whether the learners are learning English before; during or after the time they are being trained in their job or profession. The content of an English program for someone actually engaged

for example, on a secretarial course - with its acquisition of practical skills and theoretical knowledge - is going to be different from a program for someone who is already a qualified secretary but now needs to operate in English.

For example, a waiter dealing with foreign clients might need to :

- understand and respond appropriately to requests and orders (Can we have a bottle of the house white?)

- ask about requirements (Would you like coffee?)

Professional disciplines: EAP or EOP?

division of ESP divides EAP and EOP according to discipline or professional

area in the following way 

1  )      EAP involvesEnglish for (Academic) Science and Technology

(EST), English for (Academic) Medical Purposes (EMP), English for (Academic) Legal

Purposes (ELP), and English for Management, Finance and Economics

2  )      EOP includes English for Professional Purposes (English for Medical Purposes, English for Business Purposes – EBP) and English for Vocational Purposes (Pre-vocational English and Vocational English)

·         in EAP, EST has been the main area, but EMP and ELP have always had their

place. Recently the academic study of business, finance, banking, economics has become

increasingly important especially Masters in Business Administration (MBA) courses;

·         EOP refers to English for professional purposes in administration, medicine, law and bussiness and vocatinal purposes for non-professionals in work (language of training for
specific trades or occupations) or pre-work situations (concerned with finding a job and
interview skills).

  the rapid growth in tertiary level courses on Business Management, Finance and Accounting, and Administration means that courses have been set up for these disciplines.

   What is problematic about these categories is that they seem to fall between two points:

 1.The focus on “common-core"  EAP.

 2. The concentration on the particular features of a specific discipline.

      When we discussed a more specialist branch of ESP, such as Medical English, it’s not always clear, whether we are talking about the needs of medical student (EAP) , or practicing doctors, or consultants in hospitals (EOP) each one of this groups needs awarness of and an ability to use differences genres.

       Medical students, for example, have to read textbooks and articles, and write essays ans short clinical reports. This are EAP needs. Parcticing doctors have diferent needs ; aswell as reading specalist article the may prepare papers and slide presentasions for conferences and, working in anenglish speaking-country, interact with passion in english. This are EOP needs smilarly, nurse has EAP needs while following the academic part of their course and EOP needs when on to ward.

        So the terms english for science and technology (EST), Englihs Medical Purposes (EMP), english for legal purposes (ELP), and all others may be litle more than usual umberlla terms derived from teaching situations and the writing of teaching materials. There is, though, some valuable reaserch related to how profesionals in this area communicate ; 

 

Medical english for academic purposes is often conflated with the english for science and technology. Malkon, for example, discussing ten ussage in EST uses 20 experimental reports from jurnapn medical pediatri and makes the (ustated) assumption than findings apply to the whole of  EST. pettinari refersto medical english as one time of EST, was suggest that the influence on this course on social sructure and cultural traditiond greatter than the other typesof ESP.