Academic English
Academic English refers to the formal, precise, and structured style of English used in educational and scholarly settings. It encompasses the language and writing conventions necessary for academic success, including clarity, coherence, and adherence to academic standards. Proficiency in academic English is essential for effective communication and the production of scholarly work in various academic disciplines.
5 Key excerpts on "Academic English"
eBook - ePub- Neil Mercer, Joan Swann, Barbara Mayor, Neil Mercer, Joan Swann, Barbara Mayor(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...7 Academic writing in English Ann Hewings, Theresa Lillis and Barbara Mayor 7.1 Introdution In this chapter we look at English as an academic language as it is used by lecturers, students and researchers in higher education in many parts of the world. Our main focus will be on academic writing, rather than speech, since this has been more extensively studied. The main questions that we address are: What is ‘academic’ English and how is its nature related to its functions? How does academic writing vary across disciplines? To what extent does academic writing vary across cultures and education systems across the world? How do students acquire academic literacy, and what does it mean to them to write in an ‘academic’ way? 7.2 English in the academic world The use of English as an international academic language, among researchers as well as in teaching activities, has increased dramatically in recent years. In many parts of the former British Empire – in many African countries, India and Singapore, for instance – English has long been established as a medium of university education. Although in postcolonial times there have been some powerful political campaigns to encourage the greater use of other languages in academic settings (such as the pro-Mandarin campaign in Singapore in the 1980s, described in Pennycook, 1994b), many such countries continue to use English in their higher education systems. In Malaysia, the language of tertiary education has continued to be highly contested, with the teaching of some disciplines having moved from English to Malay and back again within the space of a decade. Such a trend is not limited to former colonial territories, however...
eBook - ePubThe Literacy Gaps
Bridge-Building Strategies for English Language Learners and Standard English Learners
- Ivannia Soto, June Hetzel(Authors)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- Corwin(Publisher)
...For ELLs, another language is often spoken at home and, often, the only English they hear is in school. The same is true of SELs who hear a variation of English at home rather than Standard English or Academic English. For both groups, then, it is essential that Academic English be explicitly taught and modeled throughout the school day. Both of these groups must also have ample opportunities to practice Academic English within a school day. Kinsella (2007) asserts that the essential components of Academic English include vocabulary, syntax, grammar, and register (see Figure 5.6). Each of these components will be discussed at length in subsequent chapters, but Figure 5.7 includes a brief definition of each term. Figure 5.6 What Is Academic English? SOURCE: Kinsella, 2007. Figure 5.7 Definitions From Public Broadcasting Company http://www.pbs.org/speak/about/guide/#Grammar (retrieval date 7/18/09) SOURCE: PBS, 2005. SELs also often come to school with a rich oral and storytelling tradition. Although narrative discourse patterns differ from those used at home, they can be used as segues to explicit teaching of the academic register, as well as the discourse patterns of school and the workplace. Language assets such as storytelling must be viewed as foundational and acknowledged where there may be gaps in early literacy experiences, instead of assuming that SELs do not come to school with their own foundational linguistic and narrative discourse pattern richness. Addressing students in this manner, and acknowledging their own rich linguistic histories, will go a long way when teaching students who speak non-standard variations of English. One way to do this is by affirming students regarding their rich language histories...
- J. Read(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Palgrave Macmillan(Publisher)
...Students in a particular class might have to engage with a variety of academic subjects in their degree studies and, before being admitted, usually needed to prepare for a proficiency test like IELTS or TOEFL, both of which (as we have seen) are based on a general construct of academic language proficiency. Eldridge also pointed to resourcing issues and the demands on teachers in trying to address essentially individual needs in the area of academic literacies. In replying, Hyland (2008) acknowledged that the design of EAP programmes had to take account of local circumstances and resources, but he reiterated the view that the teaching should be tailored to ‘discipline-specific communicative contexts and events’ as much as possible. Corson and the ‘Graeco-Latin’ legacy A different perspective on academic vocabulary – one that is particularly relevant to students from non-traditional educational and cultural backgrounds – is found in the work of David Corson (1995, 1997). He pointed out that historically the culture of literacy in English was strongly influenced by classical studies, as manifested in modern English by the huge proportion of words borrowed from Greek and Latin, either directly or through French. These words have become the indispensable means of expressing the meaning systems associated with scholarly thought and academic disciplines in English, and are quite distinct from the high-frequency Anglo-Saxon words in everyday use. Corson sums up his argument as follows: ‘control of the Graeco-Latin academic vocabulary of English is essential to academic success; yet, many learners from some socio-cultural backgrounds do not get ready access to this vocabulary outside school, making its use inside schools doubly difficult’ (1995, p. 671). The empirical evidence for Corson’s position came from studies he conducted with secondary school students in England and Australia, using two diagnostic instruments (Corson, 1995, chapter 5)...
eBook - ePubTeaching Writing for Academic Purposes to Multilingual Students
Instructional Approaches
- John Bitchener, Neomy Storch, Rosemary Wette, John Bitchener, Neomy Storch, Rosemary Wette(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...The treatment of error is in essence reactive : it addresses what students can (or cannot) already produce accurately in their L2 writing. However, even if L2 writers can progress to the point of producing texts that are close to error-free (or at least devoid of serious errors that impede reader comprehension), studies have shown that texts of L2 writers may be lexically and syntactically underdeveloped (too simple) compared to the writing of their L1 peers in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) contexts, often unfairly portraying them to academic readers as lacking in sophistication or strong thinking skills (see, e.g., Hinkel, 2002; Hyland, 2002; Silva, 1993). What is needed, therefore, in addition to helping L2 writers develop strategies to cope with error, is a proactive approach to helping students acquire complex language suitable for writing for academic and professional purposes. Such advanced linguistic competence should help them meet the expectations of varying audiences (see Paltridge, this volume) and appropriately write in different genres and registers to fulfill their own rhetorical and communicative goals. This chapter focuses on the what and the how of academic language development for L2 writers in EAP courses. Building on insights from research on academic genres and findings from corpus linguistics, it discusses principles that teachers can use to select lexical and syntactic structures on which to focus with their students. It further examines ways that teachers can effectively teach those structures, going beyond lists or decontextualized formal grammar lessons to present academic language for both receptive and productive purposes...
eBook - ePubA Guided Reader for Secondary English
Pedagogy and practice
- David Stevens, David Stevens(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...7 Linguistic and cultural contexts The essence of language study is, predictably enough, language itself – but this is where the controversy starts. Previous chapters have already served to illustrate this point from a range of perspectives, and in Chapter 7 we look with sharper focus at some views of language in education. The dynamic relationship between such differing (but also in many instances complementary) standpoints should emerge clearly, as should an enhanced appreciation of the practical teaching and learning possibilities of the English classroom. Part 1: The workings of language Sources 1.1 Allen, D. (1987) English, Whose English ? Sheffield: NAAE. 1.2 Mittins, B. (1988) English: Not the Naming of Parts. Sheffield: NATE. 1.3 Myhill, D. (2011) Living Language, Live Debates: Grammar and Standard English, in J. Davison, C. Daly and J. Moss (eds) Debates in English Teaching. London: Routledge. 1.4 Perera, K. (1987) Understanding Language. Sheffield: NAAE. Introduction At a time of huge and long-reaching changes in the English curriculum and the practices of its teaching – the mid- to late-1980s – commentators such as David Allen, Bill Mittins and Katharine Perera went to some lengths in their appeal for sanity in curricular and pedagogical approaches to native language teaching. Today’s English curriculum bears the scars, some more healed than others, from this embattled time – which is why I have included the extracts here. In the face of conservative appeals for legislation to force the ‘education establishment’ to teach traditional values, including a narrow and exclusive vision of grammar and Standard English (the subjects English and history were, arguably, the most contentious and controversial in this context), linguists and teachers called for rather different approaches...
