Universal Design for Learning: Its Application to English for Academic Purposes Classrooms in Canada

Abstract

In a time when students around the globe continue to pursue their higher studies in English-speaking countries, educators also continue to explore innovative teaching methods and approaches in order to support learning. Universal design for learning (UDL) is an innovative teaching framework that has recently drawn considerable attention among educators and researchers alike in Canada. A UDL framework helps educators, including English-for-academic-purposes (EAP) and English-as-an-additional-language (EAL) instructors, consider learner variability, motivate and engage learners in in multiple ways, provide instructional resources and materials in various forms, and offer learners opportunities to demonstrate learning in alternate pathways. This article presents three core UDL principles: multiple means of engagement, multiple means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression and establishes connections to teaching EAP. The purpose is to interpret these three UDL principles and respective guidelines in EAP contexts and discuss how these principles and guidelines can be applied to EAP classrooms in order to support language learning in Canada.