Practitioner Agency and Identity in English for Academic Purposes - (New Perspectives for English for Academic Purposes) (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This volume provides insights into EAP practitioners' identity and agency in varied contexts and field positions.

Each chapter delves into a theoretical perspective (Bourdieu's field theory, Post-humanism, Legitimation Code Theory, Symbolic Interactionism..), and a variety of methodologies, enabling different questions to be explored. Each chapter is also a window into the everyday life of practitioners as they navigate their professional lives, and the specificities of their EAP contexts, the politics and struggles over power, domination, legitimacy, status, ambition and recognition. The authors' concerns and strategies vary and show that the weight of powerful structures and collective habitus is difficult - but not impossible- to resist.

From a socio-analysis of EAP and its narratives of origins, to a discussion on Ethics in EAP and a critique of the Global South label, the reader will explore contributions from Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, the UK, and Zimbabwe.

The chapters reveal a field which is made up of a constellation of worlds, each with its own logic but importantly, a field with no centre. The studies in the chapters are likely to intrigue, inspire, but also disrupt some readers' expectations and challenge their assumptions about the field and its practitioners.

Review Quotes

For any EAP practitioner who has felt marginalized or unseen, this rich collection shows that you are not alone and offers a vocabulary and discourse to begin to articulate the value and agency practitioners hold. Giving space to a refreshing array of voices from around the world, Practitioner Agency and Identity in EAP provides glimpses into researchers grappling with what it means to practice EAP, the ethics of our research, and our positions within the university.

It seems ironic that, while an EAP teaching centre is an indispensable part of a university worth its salt, there is "a growing existential unease" (as Alex Ding puts it) among EAP practitioners regarding their status. The value of this book thus lies in its purpose to give EAP practitioners the identity, agency, and recognition that they rightfully deserve.

Provides an illuminating and insightful series of windows on the identity of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) practitioner in a range of cultural contexts across the world. Each chapter combines theoretical underpinnings with practical applications, and implements suggestions and recommendations for how EAP teachers' roles can be taken forward. In a globalised world where EAP practice plays an increasingly important role, the reader will come face to face with the challenges and possibilities facing those who are supporting academic language development within Higher Education frameworks.

About the Author

Alex Ding is Associate Professor of English for Academic Purposes and Director of Scholarship at the University of Leeds, UK.

Laetitia Monbec is Senior Lecturer in the Centre for English Language and Communication at the National University of Singapore, Singapore.