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International students for whom English is an additional language (EAL) commonly undertake preparatory classes in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), delivered in language institutes which exist as independent commercial colleges on the margins of the university. EAP has been criticized for taking a purely pragmatic approach of ‘skilling up’ students rather than taking a critical, ‘literacies’ approach appropriate to the rapidly globalising, ‘liquid’ contexts of the twenty-first century (Doherty & Singh, 2005; Lea & Street, 2006; Luke, 2002b). In this thesis, I explore the ways in which EAP reading pedagogies in Australian universities are responding to this call for a more critical approach, asking the question: Do learning environments in EAP support the development of critical reading practices, and if so, how? In seeking answers to this question, I used an ethnographic-ecological methodology (van Lier, 2004b) to gain an understanding of reading pedagogy in three EAP learning environments. The study inevitably generated vast amounts of ‘messy’ data, including transcriptions of classes, observation notes, interviews and examples of students’ written work. Using Christie’s tools of Classroom Discourse Analysis (Christie, 2002) in combination with Engeström’s third generation Activity Theory (Engeström, 1999; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006) it was possible to generate a holistic analysis of the interaction between the multiple, intersecting elements of each environment. I argue that more attention needs to be paid to ‘critical engagement’ in EAP pedagogy. The data suggest that conditions for such a pedagogy entail a negotiation of goals; texts and tasks which present high challenge as well as high support (Hammond & Gibbons, 2005); and a positive and productive classroom community (Dörnyei & Murphey, 2003). The study challenges teachers to see their role not as ‘arbiters of meaning’, mediating texts FOR students, but as setting up learning environments which scaffold students’ direct engagement and dialogue WITH texts, so that they themselves can experience legitimate participation in constructing meaning, and develop an emerging identity as critical readers. Finally, I argue that the constraints of EAP in its marginalised position on the periphery of increasingly commercialised universities militate against the possibility of a richly critical, postcritical pedagogy. EAP can, however, begin to sow the seeds of critical reading practices, orienting students towards an active, dialogic engagement with the texts they will meet in the coming years at university.

International students for whom English is an additional language (EAL) commonly undertake preparatory classes in English for Academic Purposes (EAP), delivered in language institutes which exist as independent commercial colleges on the margins of the university. EAP has been criticized for taking a purely pragmatic approach of ‘skilling up’ students rather than taking a critical, ‘literacies’ approach appropriate to the rapidly globalising, ‘liquid’ contexts of the twenty-first century (Doherty & Singh, 2005; Lea & Street, 2006; Luke, 2002b). In this thesis, I explore the ways in which EAP reading pedagogies in Australian universities are responding to this call for a more critical approach, asking the question: Do learning environments in EAP support the development of critical reading practices, and if so, how? In seeking answers to this question, I used an ethnographic-ecological methodology (van Lier, 2004b) to gain an understanding of reading pedagogy in three EAP learning environments. The study inevitably generated vast amounts of ‘messy’ data, including transcriptions of classes, observation notes, interviews and examples of students’ written work. Using Christie’s tools of Classroom Discourse Analysis (Christie, 2002) in combination with Engeström’s third generation Activity Theory (Engeström, 1999; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006) it was possible to generate a holistic analysis of the interaction between the multiple, intersecting elements of each environment. I argue that more attention needs to be paid to ‘critical engagement’ in EAP pedagogy. The data suggest that conditions for such a pedagogy entail a negotiation of goals; texts and tasks which present high challenge as well as high support (Hammond & Gibbons, 2005); and a positive and productive classroom community (Dörnyei & Murphey, 2003). The study challenges teachers to see their role not as ‘arbiters of meaning’, mediating texts FOR students, but as setting up learning environments which scaffold students’ direct engagement and dialogue WITH texts, so that they themselves can experience legitimate participation in constructing meaning, and develop an emerging identity as critical readers. Finally, I argue that the constraints of EAP in its marginalised position on the periphery of increasingly commercialised universities militate against the possibility of a richly critical, postcritical pedagogy. EAP can, however, begin to sow the seeds of critical reading practices, orienting students towards an active, dialogic engagement with the texts they will meet in the coming years at university.

Two surveys were conducted at the University of Canberra in 1992 to seek the views of faculty on issues regarding academic writing. The first survey sought to ascertain what criteria faculty employ when marking student writing. It asked faculty to indicate the importance of certain key features in the writing of university students. These key features were: Content, Argument, Style, Organisation, Communicative Ability, Vocabulary, Use of Literature and Punctuation. Faculty were requested to rank the importance of aspects of each of the nine key features. The second survey asked faculty to assess an actual assignment written by an overseas student, using the structure of the nine key features of writing as above. Faculty were invited to indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the assignment which they were assessing. The aim of the surveys was to better inform teachers of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes, who prepare overseas students for study at university. EAP teachers need to know the expectations of faculty, in order to give overseas students a realistic view of what faculty expect from their assignments and the kinds of. weaknesses which faculty find in overseas students' writing. The survey found that content-related features such as Content, Argument, Organisation and Communicative Ability were considered more important than form features such as Punctuation, Grammar, Style and Vocabulary. Use of Literature was found to be a very important feature in some faculties but not in all. Surprisingly, Style was the feature which evoked the greatest variety of responses from faculty; however, in general faculty agreed that Style had to be appropriate to the topic or task, rather than there being a set format for academic writing. From a factor analysis of data, four underlying principles for academic writing were derived. These principles were: relevance, appropriacy, accuracy and clarity. Thus, academic writing, according to the faculty surveyed, should be: 1) relevant to the topic and to the internal argument of the assigment; 2) appropriate in the style, tone and use of literature; 3) accurate in its vocabulary, grammar and referencing system. 4) clear in its argument and organisation of ideas. For the most part, faculty responded favourably to the overseas student assignments, which were assessed in the second questionnaire. Faculty indicated that the main weakness in overseas student writing was in their argument. The surveys also found differences between different Faculties in the importance they place on these key features. It was postulated that the Science Faculties (Applied Science, Environmental Design and Information Science and Engineering) would be fairly similar in their views on writing, as would the Humanities Faculties (Communication, Education and Management). This was found to be only partly true. The views of Information Science and Engineering faculty were found to be more similar in many of their attitudes to the views of the Humanities faculty. However, in some ways, their views were unique and unlike any other Faculty. In particular. Information Science and Engineering faculty place little emphasis on writing as a method of assessment and, perhaps as a consequence, even less on the use of literature in writing From the survey, it also appeared that, in general, faculty make some allowances for the fact that overseas students are L2 speakers. They tend to overlook mechanical errors so long as the content is acceptable.

Writing is one of the four macro language skills which a student of language should master. However it remains the one receiving the least attention so far in Vietnamese teaching of English. Senior students of English at a college or university are required to demonstrate in writing that they have mastered their studies; therefore, writing plays an important role in their academic success. It is noted that "learning to write fluently and expressively is the most difficult of the macroskills for all language users regardless of whether the language in question is a first, second or foreign language" (Nunan: 1989:35). Therefore, writing English, especially for academic purposes , remains difficult for Vietnamese students. Obviously, such writing, as a study skill, affects the learning process, hence, the effectiveness of the training. Writing ability in general, and EAP writing in particular, need attention right from the teacher training stage, and then at the teaching stage at schools. This study reviews the theory of writing and the teaching of writing, with strong emphasis on the writing process to identify the point where a teacher of writing should intervene to yield the optimum effect - to develop students' writing ability by developing their awareness of the strategies which can be applied to writing for academic purposes, including strategies in analysis of their own writing as both process and product. The study examines the teaching of English, writing and academic writing in the Vietnamese perspective and identifies the problems in reference to the theoretical bases in an eclectic manner. A syllabus is suggested to cater for the needs of the target population.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There is general recognition regarding the importance of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses in assisting students acquire academic discourses appropriate to specific disciplines of study. However, undergraduate students in multilingual contexts, where English is a second or foreign language face challenges in managing the transition from secondary school into the university, where they are expected to appropriate as well as acclimate to new discourses of communication deemed to be essential for their survival in the academic world. Although studies show the importance of agency in language learning success, institutional demands have sometimes led to the adoption of teaching and assessment practices that ignore the learners’ English language learning history, background, experiences and needs, which impact on their sense of agency and voice in the EAP classroom and eventually their learning success.

In the past, the focus in language testing, teaching and research has largely been on careful reading while expeditious (quick, efficient and selective) reading has been largely ignored. However, some research suggests that careful reading ability alone is inadequate for students to meet the demands of undergraduate academic reading. In the main English for Academic Purposes (EAP), test instruments have been previously based on careful reading models which assume reading to be unicomponential. If this is not the case, the issue for language testing is whether the construct of academic reading can be validly measured by a focus on careful reading alone. The aims of this study were to investigate the types of academic reading required of firstyear undergraduates based on Urquhart and Weir's (1998) four-cell matrix of reading types which also forms an important part of Khalifa and Weir's (2009) reading model. Based on this, a valid academic reading test battery for undergraduate students was developed and used to examine the divisibility of the academic reading construct. The literature review on reading models suggested that current models were nearly all premised on careful reading and expeditious reading had in the main been ignored. The findings of a pilot and main questionnaire survey with undergraduates suggested that both careful and expeditious reading were important in accomplishing academic reading tasks at the undergraduate level. Accordingly, the empirical data generated by these surveys validated Urquhart and Weir's (2009) reading matrix and aspects of the reading model by Khalifa and Weir (2009). Based on this matrix and aspects of the model, a valid reading test was developed and administered to first-year undergraduate students. The performance of undergraduates across the different parts of the reading test confirmed that academic reading was a divisible construct. The findings of this study add to the literature on EAL academic reading by lending empirical support to a componential approach to the teaching and testing of reading. The componential model and the test design methodology employed should help test designers develop valid academic reading tests embracing both careful and expeditious reading types. The results from such tests might usefully inform pedagogical practice leading to more efficient reading practice at undergraduate level.

This thesis investigates the interaction of student learning approaches and course design at a tertiary institution in the United Arab Emirates. The students involved in the study were mostly male students attending an English for academic purposes program. This study employed a mixed methods design utilizing questionnaires and interviews. The students completed the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) to assess their learning orientation along the deep and surface approach dimensions. The questionnaire results on the deep and surface dimensions were inconclusive. However, the results of a factor analysis suggest a disposition among the students towards attainment of satisfaction from learning. The evidence from the interviews indicates that the students were highly disposed towards practical learning outcomes, especially when these were linked to career skills. Interview evidence also points to the role of social relations amongst the students and with teachers as important learning factors. Finally, the interview analysis suggests the importance of affective factors. The results of separate questionnaires administered to a small group of faculty and the students at large, along with the interview data, indicate that the English for academic purposes courses broadly supported deep learning approaches. However, contextual factors at the college led to a highly structured and outcome based approach to the course curricula. Although the courses may have been supportive of deep learning approaches for most of the students, the courses’ prescriptive and structured approach may not have been optimal for high achievers. The implications of the findings of this study for EAP courses in the Gulf context are discussed as well as their implications for learning theory.

This three-article dissertation explores the first year of a sheltered university bridge program (also commonly known as "pathway" programs-see Winkle, 2011) for ESL students at a large public university in the American southwest. "Sheltering" is the practice of offering "academic courses taught in the second language" where "native and non-native [...] students are not mixed in any one class" (Snow & Brinton, 1984, p. 8), a model commonly found in K-12 settings (Echevarria & Graves, 1998; Freeman, Freeman & Gonzalez, 1987; Weinhouse, 1986), though there are sheltered programs in university settings (see, for example, the University of Ottawa Program-Burger, Weinberg & Wesche, 2013). The labels "bridge" and "pathway" refer to pre-matriculation programs that "feature a hybrid of credit-bearing coursework and instruction in English language and academic skills" (Redden, 2010, para 1). Bridge and Pathway Program (BPP) curricula typically follow the adjunct model in which ESL courses are linked with mainstream, unsheltered university courses, with the ESL course providing support. The model in the current study follows the sheltered convention of ESL-only cohorts, but adds the adjunct convention of offering linked support. As international student interest in studying at U.S. universities has grown over recent decades (Open Doors Report, 2015), a subset of international students has emerged that may have lower-than-institutional-benchmark English proficiency for admission based on exams like the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam. BPPs primarily serve this subset of students by offering non-testing curricular paths (linked ESL/university courses) to full matriculation that focus on "achievement, as opposed to proficiency alone" (Dooey, 2010, p. 185). One can expect that BPPS will continue to proliferate given that they bring in previously inadmissible international enrollees to add to the now essential revenue stream that international students represent for universities (Andrade, 2006; Marshall, 2005; Redden, 2010; 2014). This dissertation adds to a growing body of recent research (e.g. Dooey, 2010; Fiocco, 2006; Redden, 2010; 2014, Winkle, 2011) about these models. Article 1 (Appendix A): The Past, Present, and Future of Combined ESL/University Study Programs: From Ad Hoc ESL Interventions to Bridge and Pathway Programs. This article is both a critical literature review and "state-of-the-field" piece (Canagarajah, 2006) that situates the evolution of postsecondary ESL support historically. It explores how postsecondary ESL has gone from an ad hoc, situational endeavor focused on remediating language deficiencies to a multifaceted field of program offerings replete with varying curricular models and dedicated faculty and recruiting structures, a field that has evolved into current BPPs. Article 2 (Appendix B): Exploring Dynamics and Dimensions in Two Linked Adjunct/Content Courses in a Sheltered University Pathway Program for ESL Students: A Case Study. This case study considers the nuances of a sheltered university pathway program for ESL students in its first year of existence. It follows the research framework of an Unlu and Wharton (2015) study using grounded theory analysis. By reconciling classroom observations in two university general education courses (Introduction to Anthropology and US History) and their linked EAP courses (EAP Bridge to Anthropology and EAP Bridge to American History) with participant interviews, I explore the dynamics between students, content instructors, and EAP support instructors. I form a theory about the pedagogy constituted by (and constitutive of) participant actions and beliefs in the observed classes, and argue that the current program may uphold uncritical, remedial predispositions vis-à -vis EAP, as well as content instruction and learning. Finally, I discuss future considerations for this, and other, linked course programs couched in EAP literature. Article 3 (Appendix C): Team-Teaching in a First-Year Composition Course for ESL Students: A Participant-Observational Reflexive Account of One Sheltered University Pathway Context. This case study takes place in a first-year composition course in a sheltered university pathway program for ESL students. It focuses on a specific and complex essay assignment: the Text-in-Context essay (TICE). I consider the assignment parameters, primary and secondary texts offered for completion, interviews with students and instructors, field notes, notes from tutoring sessions, written student reflections, the assignments themselves, and a reflexive narration of my research experience to describe the milieu of the TICE. The description suggests a community of practice (Wenger, 2002) in which a team-teaching approach helps to facilitate the completion of a complex analytical task, while also fostering the growth of the ESL students as academic writers.

<p>This dissertation investigates the linguistic features of engagement in spoken academic online and face-to-face instruction in mathematics on two platforms: Khan Academy and MIT OpenCourseWare. In particular, the study analyses involvement features (personal pronouns and deixis) and interactional features (response elicitors, direct hypothetical reported speech). Using corpus linguistics methodology and register analysis framework (Biber &Conrad, 2009), I investigated normed frequency of occurrence for these features and multi-word expressions which contain them to reveal patterns of use. Additionally, I investigated the function of these features in concordance lines to reveal their use to engage audience in the learning process. The findings of this study suggests that Khan Academy instruction in mathematics relies on using conversational and academic spoken features similar to those found in the MIT lecture corpus, including frequent use of personal pronouns (especially <i>we)</i>, and response elicitors (<i>right?)</i>. The format of online video instruction also elicits more use of spatial deixis to draw attention to the elements on the virtual board. The findings of this exploratory study add to the growing literature on language used for educational purposes in online environments, especially the online academic spoken discourse.</p>