Conceptualizing a new English for General Academic Purposes Course

Abstract

The Centre for Applied English Studies (formally The English Centre) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has taught compulsory credit-bearing ESP and EAP courses for over 18 years. The centre has always seen its mission to provide language support which is directly related to a student's chosen discipline. Students' learning is largely focused on improving the writing and speaking skills relevant to their specific discipline. In 2012, it is hypothesized that first-year students' language skills will be weaker because of the new 3+3+4 structure. As a result, in their first year of the new 4-year curriculum, HKU students will take an additional English course. This will be an English for General Academic Purposes course, where students from a range of disciplines will be in the one class. This poses a series of challenges for course developers. These include: • identifying cross-disciplinary language skills which can and should be taught as a stepping stone to an ESP course • helping students transition from secondary school to an English-medium university learning environment • supporting students through the Common Core curriculum. This paper will discuss these challenges and outline possible solutions.