When I first started teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP), I was unfamiliar with any resources, websites or activities. My first year of teaching EAP involved being supported and shadowed by others. After a period of time, I found myself becoming more and more comfortable teaching and planning EAP tasks and lessons. In this post/video, I will share a variety of websites which could aid potential or current EAP teachers access resources and information which will help them prepare and plan lessons for their students.

When considering potential material or planning your EAP lessons, it is important to consider the role of the EAP teacher. It took a while for me to learn that the role of the EAP teacher is essentially there as a facilitator: to guide students towards best or expected academic practice (depending upon their department or specialism), develop the necessary study skills in preparation for their courses (especially during pre-sessional courses), or to provide students with the skills to tackle reading for their courses. The recommended websites below are those that I have accessed and suggested students to access for self-study, and I hope this helps you.

1. UEfAP: Using English for Academic Purposes

UEfAP was the first website that I came across when I was looking for resources when being interviewed for a pre-sessional position in 2019 – I had to find grammar related material associated with English academic writing. What I have discovered is this is a great resource for EAP teachers who wish to learn more about the grammar of EAP. There are also other aspects associated with the different skills related to English for Academic Purposes (presentations, listening, reading as well as a writing).

Each main skill is then broken down into other sub-skills. For example, if you were to click on the heading of “Reading”, a menu will drop down and you can then select other skills associated with reading such as ‘Reading Efficiently’, ‘Reading Strategies’ or ‘Reading Critically’. This will guides visitors to this website choose the specific aspect of reading that they wish to focus on with their lessons. If one teacher were to choose ‘Reading Strategies’ as a topic, they could then develop a lesson related to this topic as the website offers a breakdown of varying tasks which could be incorporated into planning a lesson: Before reading, Reading, Vocabulary, etc.

There is so much invaluable information available on this website that it will take a while to navigate. However, once familiar with the website, you will be able source specific information for possible lessons or for students to access for self-study.

2. Academic Keyword List

Another aspect of teaching EAP is for tutors to introduce common vocabulary and phrases associated with academic English. One way to allow learners to view possible vocabulary related to academic English is via an Academic Keyword List and this is one such website. The word list organises keywords into common English academic nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, as well as other phrases or expressions. Essentially, EAP teachers could create materials based around the keyword list such as gap-fill exercises, rewriting tasks, or connecting informal language with more appropriate academic language.

3. Academic Word List (AWL)

A similar website, much like the Academic Keyword List, is the Academic Word List (AWL). The AWL was created by Professor Avril Coxhead as part of her MA Thesis. The word list contains word families related to the most frequent academic words used in tertiary or higher education. Each word is then expanded upon. For example, if you look at the word ‘analyse’, there are other associated words from the same word family such as ‘analyser’, ‘analytic’ or ‘analytical’. This words will introduce students to related language which are common in academic settings and you could get students to think of common prefixes or suffixes related to academic language.

4. Academic English UK

The Academic English UK website was one of the most recent resources that was recommended to me recently. There are many resources available for free which can help EAP teachers or students. For example, you could look for material related to reading and you will find yourself accessing material which either is related to tests, skills or summative assessments. The majority of material is available on a subscription basis but there is enough on this website to help you get started planning your EAP lessons.

5. Academic Phrasebank

This was another website that I came across when I was planning my interview task in 2019. Academic Phrasebank introduced me to new considerations related to academic writing. The website organises expressions and phrases which are considered integral for academic writing. Browsers can view a range of topics related to writing as well as example phrases which could be incorporated by students. Language could be highlighted and shared to students when there is an area that requires a little more development, such as cautious language, distancing language or describing trends.

6. EAP Foundation

The final website that I discovered was one called ‘EAP Foundation’. This has been a hugely beneficial resource for allowing me to create lessons based around various topics. What I enjoy about EAP Foundation is the fact that many of the resources are easily accessible and topics or themes can be used to support lesson planning. The varying skills or systems which allow the learner or teacher can aid lesson aims. For example. if I wish to develop learner awareness of appropriate functions within a seminar setting, then, after guiding towards the relevant page, the reader will be guided towards appropriate recommendations.

These are the six websites that I would recommend budding EAP teachers who wish to learn more about the requirements of the role or for students who wish to develop their self-study skills.

What EAP websites would you recommend for others? Do you think there are any websites which will aid those that are seeking to becoming EAP teachers? Share your thoughts in the comments and don’t forget to show your support by Liking and Subscribing to my YouTube Channel.