Impacts of discipline-specific language instruction on the academic writing of civil engineering students

Authors

  • Wu Kam Yin The Centre for Language Education, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  • Sarah Carmichael Center for Language Education, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Keywords:

academic writing, English for academic purposes, discipline-specific language instruction, genre analysis, Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of discipline-specific language instruction on student writing in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course offered to civil engineering undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. Textual analysis of student scripts and student interviews were used to investigate the effectiveness of the course in helping students to write better Introduction and Literature Review sections for their Final Year Project reports. The great majority of students were able to produce effective texts which conform to the discourse conventions of academic writing in civil engineering. However it is difficult to separate the impact of language instruction on student writing from other influential factors. Two major pedagogical implications are drawn: the need for more scaffolding of input tasks and for more teaching of academic reading skills.

Author Biographies

  • Wu Kam Yin, The Centre for Language Education, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    Wu Kam Yin teaches EAP courses to engineering students and lectures on the MA in International Language Education programme. His main interests are genre analysis and pedagogical grammar.
  • Sarah Carmichael, Center for Language Education, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
    Sarah Carmichael is a senior lecturer in the Centre for Language Education, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and is in charge of the development of the English curriculum for undergraduate students in the School of Engineering. Her interests include ESP and language rights.
The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Volume 5, Issue 1. March 2018

Downloads

Published

2018-04-05

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Note: Authors are encouraged to post copies of their AJAL published papers to their own institutional or personal/professional websites along with a link to the original paper at the AJAL website. This will assist in diseminating their work as well as raising awareness of the journal. 

 

How to Cite

Impacts of discipline-specific language instruction on the academic writing of civil engineering students. (2018). The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 19-35. https://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/view/507