The Efficacy of Teaching Independent Study Skills Within English for Academic Purposes Programs

Abstract

While teaching students how to become independent learners offers great promise for their future academic success, research has yet to offer detailed insight into students’ evaluation of learning such strategies. The Study Skills for Independent Learning module was introduced as part of a Canadian university English for Academic Purposes (EAP) bridging program. The objective of the module was to help international students who had been conditionally accepted into their undergraduate programs acquire skills they could employ to become more independent learners during their undergraduate studies. The study set out to collect students’ perceptions of the module to better assess the efficacy of teaching independent study skills in an EAP context. Data were gathered from an analysis of the module’s overview and learning objectives, questionnaires from a group of students enrolled in the EAP program (n =7), and feedback from a retrospective focus group (n = 5) that consisted of students who had taken the module the previous year and had just completed the first semester of their undergraduate programs. Data were transcribed, coded, and organized into themes for analysis. Time management, reflective skills, and strategies for maintaining focus were identified as three transferable skills taught in the module.