Billot, J. (2010) 'The imagined and the real: identifying the tensions for academic identity', Higher Education Research & Development, 29(6), pp. 709-721

Cavder, G. and Doe, S. (2012) ‘Learning through Writing: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Writing Assignments’, PS: Political Science & Politics, 45(2), pp. 298-306.

 

Concordia University (2015) The 2015 Academic Code of Conduct. Available at: http://www.concordia.ca/content/dam/concordia/offices/provost/docs/Academic-Code-Conduct-2015.pdf (Accessed: 02 December 2016)

Ding, A. (2015) What is required to teach EAP?. Available at: https://teachingeap.wordpress.com/2015/05/30/what-is-required-to-teach-eap/ (Accessed: 28 November 2016)

Hyland, K. (2002) ‘Options of identity in academic writing’, ELT Journal, 56(4), pp. 351-358.

Hyland, K. (2002a) 'Specificity revisited: how far should we go now?', English for Specific Purposes, 21(4), pp. 385-395.

 
Hyland, K. (2007) 'Genre pedagogy: Language, literacy and L2 writing instruction', Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), pp. 148-164

McDonough, J. (2005) ‘Perspectives on EAP: An Interview with Ken Hyland’, ELT Journal, 59(1), pp. 57-64.

Mahidol Univeristy International College (no date) Academic Dishonesty. Available at: http://www.muic.mahidol.ac.th/eng/?page_id=15283 (Accessed: 18 December 2016)

 

Martinez, K. (2008) ‘Academic induction for teacher educators’, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 36(1), pp. 35-51.

Venezia, J. and Jaeger, L. (2013) 'Transitions from High School to College', Future of Childre, 23(1), pp. 117-1365

Zerubavel, E. (1995) 'The Rigid, the Fuzzy, and the Flexible: Notes on Mental Sculpting of Academic Identity', Social Research, 62(4), pp. 1093-1106.

 

-To promote the value of community by having students work together to improve their writing
-To encourage peer collaboration

-To develop basic skills of identifying strengths and weaknesses in writing according to previously-learned criteria

-To reinforce introductory composition skills, primarily paragraph structure

 

The target group comprises Thai students in their first year of English language undergraduate programs with varying language skills, the mean being roughly equivalent to CEF B2. Additionally, the students come from various disciplines, so the exercises do not require the negotiation or use of disciplinary knowledge or discourse features.
 

Eventually I want this activity to include a more comprehensive rubric for the writing assignment, so that students can learn to use rubric as a tool in planning and revising their work. The Cavder and Doe critical thinking assignment (2012) will be a strong influence; I also like their inclusion of a postscript element as a way for students to reflect on the writing process. I’d like to develop a similar exercise, albeit at a more appropriate level for my students. Further research into peer collaboration (see Hyland 2007 p158) will also be helpful in refining this assignment and making the collaborative component more meaningful.

 

So who makes the more effective EAP practitioner—the teacher or the academic? Having witnessed the debate on a BALEAP forum, Ding encapsulates the argument neatly: 

 

"At its centre, the debate seems to draw on a basic dichotomy/distinction between skills and knowledge; is it more important to have a firm set of (CELTA/DELTA inspired) teaching skills in one’s repertoire, to be able to go into the classroom and deliver well-staged, neatly executed lessons, or does EAP require MA holders and ‘academics’ (those in possession of ‘paper qualifications’) who, even if lacking in teaching skills and experience, may nonetheless have a much better understanding of academic literacies and the university context, and perhaps also a more questioning, critical disposition, such as we hope to foster in our students?" (2015)

 

There is a political aspect to this debate. Hyland (2002a) considers changes to language programs based on financial concerns to "weaken our academic role, and threaten our professionalism" (p387). At the same time, concerns over academic roles are not limited to language teachers; Billot (2010) shows that all academic identities change over time, noting that "the role of the academic is both one of change and compromise" (p712). Thus it may be helpful to view the debate on EAP practitioner identity within the larger context of shifting identities across the disciplines.

 

Hyland (2002) notes that creating an academic identity can be difficult for a variety of reasons (p352). Language teachers thus face a considerable challenge in determining how best to help students achieve their identities. Conversely, L2 learners may have one advantage in the creation of identity: Zerubavel (1995) contends that "multilinguals" have a more flexible approach to cognition than "monolinguals" , and that the development of identity requires such flexibility (pp1099-1100).

 

Students plagiarize for many reasons, but the most frequent response I hear is, “but I can copy in my other courses!” Although this seems unlikely, it is true to an extent. Many secondary level courses in Thailand include a large amount of copying text from print or online sources into a student’s notebook, ostensibly as a form of ‘note-taking’. This makes it difficult for students to understand the concept of academic integrity and the severity of academic offenses at university. To help them understand, I use Concordia University's Code of Conduct (2015), which outlines academic offenses and the procedures by which the university investigates them. I also direct them to the Mahidol University International College website for academic regulations, which shows the penalties for plagiarism. I've found that once students begin to understand the role of academic integrity in the academic community, they become interested in it and see it as something helpful rather than something to fear.