Pedagogical Tiers in an ESP Course for Early Childhood Education Students: A Qualitative Case Study

Abstract

One of the salient features of the pedagaogy for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is the preparation of L2 learners for effective verbal and written communication in their future discourse community. In Asian contexts, with the wide spectrum of research investigating ESP teaching and learning, there is, however, a paucity of literature on the development of academic literacy among students of early childhood education. Grounded in the context of Hong Kong, this ongoing project examines the instructional practices in an undergraduate ESP course for early childhood education students, with the focus on how their disciplinary literacy is constructed within this 12-week course. The data in this qualitative study were collected through classroom observations, a narrative-based interview with the instructor, and a focus-group interview with purposefully sampled students, as well as other course-related artefacts. The initial findings suggest that the dynamics of this course are manifested through the prism of three underlying yet interdependent tiers: interdisciplinary learning, teacher expertise and reflective enquiry. This study is expected to provide substantial insights into sustaining a robust ESP curriculum for students in the education-related discipline