Review of English for Academic Purposes: Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future by Douglas E Bell

Abstract

English For Academic Purposes: Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future (2024) is a history of the development of EAP as an academic discipline, situated within the framework of university education and which is focused on the growth of EAP in Britain. The author, Douglas Bell has been a well-known, experienced practitioner in the field of EAP for many years and is therefore well-placed to offer such a history. The book explains how EAP slowly became distinct from ESP (a subject seldom examined) and then explores in detail the various reasons for current models of EAP practice. It does this by drawing primarily upon qualitative research in the shape of interviews with notable British EAP practitioners who are part of the history of the discipline. As the title suggests, the author hopes that by allowing EAP practitioners to reflect on the history of their discipline they can more usefully consider the context for subsequent advances and the book concludes with an exploration of currents trends within EAP.

Keywords

• English For Academic Purposes
• teacher practitioner
• interviews

References

1. Bell, D. E. (2016). Practitioners, pedagogies and professionalism in EAP. The development of a contested field. [PhD thesis. University of Nottingham]. https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/38570/
2. Bell, D. E. (2024). English for Academic Purposes: Perspectives on the Past, Present and Future, Multilingual Matters.
3. Engler, B. (2000). Writing the European History of English. In B. Engler & R. Haas (Eds.) European English Studies: Contributions towards the History of a Discipline. Vol 1. (pp 1-12). The English Association, for ESSE.
4. Engler, B. & Haas, R. (Eds.) (2000) European English Studies: Contributions towards the History of a Discipline. Vol. I. The English Association, for ESSE.
5. Ganobcsik-Williams, L. (2006). General introduction: responding to the call for academic writing theory and pedagogy, In: L. Ganobcsik-Williams (Ed), Teaching Academic Writing in UK Higher Education: Theories, Practices and Models. (pp. xxi-xxvi) Palgrave Macmillan.
6. Grosse, C. U., Voght, G. M. (1991) The Evolution of Languages for Specific Purposes in the United States. The Modern Language Journal. 75 2), 181-195. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1991.tb05349.x
7. Haas, R & Engler, B. (Eds.) (2008) European English Studies: Contributions towards the History of a Discipline. Vol. II. The English Association, for ESSE.
8. Hill, P., Tinker, A., & Catterall, S. (2010). From Deficiency to Development: the evolution of academic skills provision at one UK university. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (2). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i2.54

9. Jiang, F.K. (2019) Corpora and EAP Studies. Beijing Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Kaivanpanah, S., Alavi, S.M., Bruce, I. & Hejazi, S.Y. (2021). EAP in the expanding circle: Exploring the knowledge base, practices, and challenges of Iranian EAP practitioners. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 50, 100971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2021.100971 Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press. Wallace, M. J. (1980) Study Skills in English. Cambridge University Press