This book uses an in-depth, phenomenological interview approach to explain the generational characteristics of today’s Chinese university youths and the critical dispositions they believe indispensable in acquiring English as an academic language in and outside school settings. By presenting the authentic voices of the recruited participants, the book clarifies how English for academic purposes (EAP), as an emerging global phenomenon and a research-informed practice, enables and empowers them for conscious self-transformation and critical awareness development through language study. The book also explores issues arising in the fields of general English language teaching as well as traditional and critical EAP, and discusses university English language learners’ learning needs and rights. The book further promotes a dynamic and transformative University EAP pedagogy of particularity, practicality, and possibility moving from the oppression of language education to its liberation, and the increasing critical consciousness among the present and future university youths in a time of great social changes.

This open access book provides anthropological insights into the arduous yet rewarding journeys involved in selected TESOL teachers’ pedagogical transition to teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at universities in Shanghai, the largest metropolitan area in China. Applying a unique combination of ethnography and phenomenology, the book offers innovative new perspectives on teacher education research. Drawing on the latest language education theory, it outlines a practitioner-friendly approach to EAP literacy. Teacher readers will especially benefit from the case studies presented here, which provide role models for teacher change in educational reform, as well as advice on their academic careers. In addition to addressing a timely and important research gap on EAP teachers in non-Western countries, the book is the ideal choice for readers interested in an update on English education in China.

This project is to develop a curriculum to teach English to Chinese students. The researcher conducted a needs assessment to find out learning style preferences and individual needs. The study revealed a strong preference for visual, kinesthetic and tactile learning. The needs analysis also revealed that students need to learn for acculturation and for language specific to academic studies in science and history.

The adoption of English as the language of study and scholarship is becoming increasingly common among universities across Asia. But does this adoption of the English language not also mean the adoption of Western approaches to scholarship and knowledge? This most timely and important book critically examines how EAP practitioners can negotiate between Western and Asian academic practices and approaches to knowledge and scholarship and is essential reading for anyone involved in international education. [Andy Kirkpatrick, Professor in Linguistics, Griffith University]

This book, likely the first of its kind in the English language, explores Chinese for specific and professional purposes (CSP) in terms of theorizing and developing practical applications for language teaching and learning. While research in language for specific purposes is thriving for languages such as English, there has been comparatively little such research conducted for Chinese. This volume attempts to fill the gap by bringing together practitioners from a broad international scholarly community, who share common interests yet diverse orientations. Seventeen papers are included, and address four broad thematic categories: (1) academic Chinese, (2) business Chinese, (3) Chinese for medicine and health care, and (4) Chinese for other broadly defined services and industries (diplomacy, tourism, wine-tasting, etc.). Representing the state of the art in CSP research, the book offers an indispensable guide for anyone interested in theoretical and practical issues in this area of applied Chinese language studies.

This book evaluates the origins of processes of change in language teaching in China, and the factors influencing their success. Examining diverse experiences and drawing on the perspectives of academics from the top institutions in the country, the authors analyse the complex interplay between global and local influences on language policies. Encouraging discussion of the significant education reforms that have taken place in China in recent years, this work will be of interest to students and scholars of language education, English as a Second Language and applied linguistics.