Principled Benefits: Student Perceptions of Teacher-Developed English for Academic Purposes Materials

Abstract

While there are a wide range of English for academic purposes (EAP) programs and plentiful teaching materials published for the EAP classroom, teachers still are faced with the task of developing their own materials as well as adapting materials created by others. Limited research has been carried out on the development and use of EAP materials, particularly in the Canadian context. This study was carried out to investigate student perceptions related to a set of EAP listening and speaking materials developed according to a set of principles grounded in research and theory related to how additional languages are taught and learned. EAP students used the materials as part of their regular classroom activities, and were then invited to take part in an online questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The data were coded and the codes gathered into themes related to students’ perceptions of the materials. The results point to improved listening skills, autonomy, interactions, speaking skills, motivation, video learning, cognitive skills, and relevance as key themes related to principle-informed and teacher-developed EAP materials. These themes underscore the importance of principles in materials development and provide a basis for future research related to writing materials for EAP students.