BALEAP PIM/IATEFL ESP SIG

A key aspect of computer science is concerned with trying to solve real world problems by a process of abstraction and representation. Typically relevant features of the real world problem are first represented in natural language and then in a sequence of increasingly formal methods of representation in order to implement the solution to the problem on a computer. When a software system is developed, this process generates certain forms of written documentation, many in natural language (as opposed to a formal language). Computer science undergraduate courses usually seek to teach the process of software development and, to a greater or lesser extent, the communication skills needed. Computer scientists need to define and clarify the (real world) problem to be solved, and develop, document, test and evaluate the (software) solution. At various stages, they may need to explain the process and the product both to fellow computer professionals and also to software users.

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The paper will present the rationale, methodology, and results of an investigation into the occurrence in a sub-corpus of the BNC of the lexical phrase "it is/has been (often) asserted/believed/noted that X." The study will examine the formal and functional variation of this lexical phrase as it is used by writers in different academic disciplines. In particular it will seek to describe the relationship between the syntagmatic and paradigmatic variation of a lexical phrase and its discourse signalling and organising functions, and to what extent this relationship varies in texts in different academic disciplines.

References

Cowie, A. P. (1992) 'Multiword Lexical Units and Communicative Language Teaching.' in Anaud, P. J. L., Bejoint, H. (eds) Vocabulary and Applied Linguistics. London: Macmillan.

Lewis, M. (1993) The Lexical Approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications.

Lewis, M. (1997) Implementing the Lexical Approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications.

Nattinger, J. R. and DeCarrico, J. (1992) Lexical Phrases and Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP.

Willis, D. (1995) 'Review of Lexical Phrases and Language Teaching.' ELTJ 49/1 pp87-90

In the search for phrases, we intuitively focus on what we feel will be useful. It tends to be language of the kind used to carry subject content. What do we call it? Should we use terms like "metadiscourse" "sub-technical"? Do language items in these categories constitute GAD? A number of examples are given in an attempt to answer these questions.

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This paper examines how well different approaches to descriptions of text can serve the needs of teachers of English for Academic Purposes, using descriptions of law reports as an illustration. The paper has four sections. The first section of the paper provides some information about law reports and the difficulties that may face students who have to read such texts and teachers who have to prepare their students to read such texts. The second section looks at one kind of text description, which I would term internal, drawing on a small corpus based piece of research I carried out. The third section looks at an external description, again drawing on my own research, and the final section attempts to draw some conclusions.

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Individual and small group tutoring has become an integral part of English for special purposes now that English provides access to university, business and medicine. But how exactly can learner-centred ESP tutoring improve the communicative competence of learners and how does it differ from classroom teaching? As international students at the Centre for English Language Education receive individual weekly tutoring to address their academic needs, this topic is especially relevant. This practical session will explore the benefits and pitfalls of tutoring through comments gathered from an open-ended questionnaire delivered to a small sample of teachers. It will include a case study of a Chinese learner and general examples from Asia, Canada and Britain. Contributions from cooperative and task-based learning will provide suggestions for more effective individual and small group tutoring.

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Some 15 years after the EGAP/ ESAP distinction was first coined (SELMOUS Conference on "Academic Writing: Process and Product", University of Reading, 1985) there is still some debate as to the relative value of these two approaches, though there is perhaps now more of a recognition that we need both. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss how EGAP and ESAP fit together and how they both fit into a general framework of EAP and ESP, recognising that there is inevitably some overlap between categories. We shall illustrate the difficulties in establishing a fixed boundary between EGAP and ESAP by taking examples from different disciplines. Many EAP practitioners are quite confident of the value of what they are doing with a class at any particular moment, but feel unsure of how it fits in the overall scheme of things. Because of this uncertainty, there is sometimes limited understanding or even some intolerance of what is being achieved by other approaches. Even if all roads lead to Rome, it can sometimes be useful to consult a map, and our profession has been characterised by a lack of adequate maps. This presentation will therefore sketch out a first draft of a map through some of the uncharted territories of ESP, which it is hoped will be improved upon in the course of discussion.

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Methodology and the EGAP/ESAP context: methodology in EGAP/ESAP should consider the balance of cognitive and affective factors. This is a real issue in EAP with wide ranging implications for learner training, pedagogical styles, materials and course design. This paper will discuss those implications and raise some issues about practice and emphasis in the EAP classroom. There will be some teaching/learning resources to consider and the opportunity to engage in open discussion.

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The presenter works in a particular academic setting, the Political Science Faculty of a large Italian university. His on-going research has revealed some interesting data on the students' needs and expectations, especially as regards their success (or lack of success) in certain key language learning areas. This will be appraised in the wider framework of ESP in an academic context.

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A common situation encountered by tutors in English for AaAcademiccedmic Purposes is that of assisting postgraduate students in the construction of specialised discourse with which they themselves may be unfamiliar. One particular instance of this is the proof-reading of extracts from Ph.D. theses in business research. With reference to specific examples of business English at doctoral level, this paper explores the process of how to make the writing more acceptable to its discourse community. Reference will be made to the following aspects which seem to suggest that the business Ph.D. has a particular style of expression associated with it:

a) use of informal lexis and style;

b) use of idiosyncratic syntactical patterns.

The paper seeks to set initial findings resulting from stylistic analysis against the views of academic writing articulated by doctoral students themselves, and (if possible) tutors in the business school.

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When participants in a classroom-based ESP course have a range of different needs, teachers are faced with the problem of how to balance the individual student's need for a specific focus in his own subject or professional area, and the teacher's need to find generic activities which involve all the students. When teaching a similar group by distance study, this problem remains. However, finding a solution to the problem, so that all stakeholders have their needs met, may in fact be easier.

This paper reports on our experience of developing an electronically-delivered distance course in writing for professional purposes. The participants are French-speaking researchers in the fields of microbiology, soil science and sociology, who are based in four different countries. We first present an analysis of the problems involved in developing such a course, and then describe the materials and the procedures that we have devised in order to accommodate the diverse needs of this group, while maintaining a coherent programme.

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