TY - JOUR
T1 - Toward a Learning-centered EAP Instruction
T2 - An Attempt to Change Students' Reading Attitude
AU - Kashef, Sayyed Hossein
AU - Pandian, Ambigapathy
AU - Khameneh, Sima Modir
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - There have been remarkable improvements and modifications in TESOL methodology with the advent of post-method era; however, such changes are rarely implemented in fields like ESP. Therefore, a majority of learners and teachers are not satisfied with currently offered EAP courses. Hence, the present study aims at exploring the effect of a Learner-Centered Instruction on undergraduate students' reading attitude in an EAP context. Based on a pedagogical framework driven from Hutchinson and Waters’ Learning-Centered ESP approach, it was assumed that such an approach would be effective in changing students’ attitudes towards EAP reading through encouraging the use of effective strategies and learning skills. The participants aged 18 to 22, included 80 engineering students who were divided into an experimental group and a control group. Following a pretest, treatment and a posttest, the obtained data was analyzed using t-test to examine the effect of the independent variable, namely, method of instruction. The findings revealed that learning-centered EAP instruction improves reading attitude of EAP students. In addition, the findings provide implications for all EAP practitioners in general and Asian EAP practitioners in particular.
AB - There have been remarkable improvements and modifications in TESOL methodology with the advent of post-method era; however, such changes are rarely implemented in fields like ESP. Therefore, a majority of learners and teachers are not satisfied with currently offered EAP courses. Hence, the present study aims at exploring the effect of a Learner-Centered Instruction on undergraduate students' reading attitude in an EAP context. Based on a pedagogical framework driven from Hutchinson and Waters’ Learning-Centered ESP approach, it was assumed that such an approach would be effective in changing students’ attitudes towards EAP reading through encouraging the use of effective strategies and learning skills. The participants aged 18 to 22, included 80 engineering students who were divided into an experimental group and a control group. Following a pretest, treatment and a posttest, the obtained data was analyzed using t-test to examine the effect of the independent variable, namely, method of instruction. The findings revealed that learning-centered EAP instruction improves reading attitude of EAP students. In addition, the findings provide implications for all EAP practitioners in general and Asian EAP practitioners in particular.
UR - http://www.academypublication.com/ojs/index.php/tpls/index
U2 - 10.4304/tpls.4.1.39-45
DO - 10.4304/tpls.4.1.39-45
M3 - Article
VL - 4
SP - 39
EP - 45
JO - Theory and Practice in Language Studies
JF - Theory and Practice in Language Studies
SN - 1799-2591
IS - 1
ER -