1. Developing a Sustainable EGAP Course
Averil Bolster & Peter Levrai
Wednesday 5th April, IATEFL Glasgow Conference 2017

2. Context Location Student profile Course
English Language Centre (ELC), University of Macau (UM)
English Medium Instruction (EMI)
Student profile
1st year students; years old;
mixed language level (B1+);
multidisciplinary
Course
40-hour, one-semester course
Qualifying English course for all incoming UM students
Part of General Education

3. Rationale for key decisions Design princples
Alexander et al (2008)
EAP is goal-driven
Gillett (2015)
EAP develops practices needed to work or study in higher education
de Chazal (2012)
Suitability of EGAP for an entry level EAP course
Backward Design preferred
(Wiggins & McTighe, 2005)
Big idea = “the language and associated practices that people need in order to undertake study or work in English medium higher education” (Gillett, 2015, para. 1)

4. Backward Design
Bolster, A. & Levrai, P. (in press). A Slow (R)Evolution: Developing a Sustainable EGAP Course. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 6 (1).

5. Stages 1 & 2 Stage 1: Lynchpin Idea
The aim of the course is to help students develop “the language and associated practices that people need in order to undertake study or work in English medium higher education” (Gillett, 2015, para. 1).
Stage 1: Lynchpin Idea
Group Essay Portfolio*, Group Presentation, Coursework, Course Reflection
Stage 2: Assessments
*Levrai & Bolster (2017)

6. Stage 3 - Course Content
the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs)
relevant for 21st century citizens
appeal to all disciplines
Big idea = “the language and associated practices that people need in order to undertake study or work in English medium higher education” (Gillett, 2015, para. 1)

7. The SDGs
Big idea = “the language and associated practices that people need in order to undertake study or work in English medium higher education” (Gillett, 2015, para. 1)

8. Course Mode Blended course
Possibilities of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)
Course emphasis on collaboration
Limited class time
Big idea = “the language and associated practices that people need in order to undertake study or work in English medium higher education” (Gillett, 2015, para. 1)

9. The Course In-house Booklet Moodle Template Course (VLE)
QR codes to useful websites
Open sources like UN’s SDG website and ‘The Conversation’
Moodle Template Course (VLE)
Extensive use of discussion forums
Online Collaboration tools
Stormboard
Google Docs & Google Slide

10. Reflections on Delivery
Backward Design highly beneficial to course developers
SDGs are an engaging topic
Very different work can arise from the same assignment question
Use of QR codes to external resources very useful
Asynchronous discussion of the topic on inputs on Moodle very productive

11. What makes it sustainable?
“… a course that would be sustainable in terms of being able to run with multiple cohorts for several years without major curriculum overhaul.” (Bolster & Levrai, in press)
Easy to update the in-house booklet without major revisions
Moodle template course can be expanded or amended (paper free!)
17 SDGs and 169 targets – wide variety of content and more sources become available about the project year-on-year (including those the students source)

12. References
Alexander, O., Argent, S., & Spencer, J. (2008). EAP essentials: A teacher’s guide to principles and practice. Reading: Garnet
Bolster, A. & Levrai, P. (in press). A Slow (R)Evolution: Developing a Sustainable EGAP Course. The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, 6 (1).
de Chazal, E. (2012). The general-specific debate in EAP: Which case is the most convincing for most contexts? Journal of Second Language Teaching and Research, 2(1), 135–48.
Gillett, A. (2015). What is EAP? Retrieved from htm
Levrai, P. & Bolster, A. (2017). ‘Undergraduate collaborative essays: constructive not a cop-out’, IATEFL 2016 Birmingham Conference Selections. IATEFL
United Nations. (2016). Sustainable Development Goals: 17 Goals to Transform our World. Retrieved from
Whitehouse, M. (2014). Using a backward design approach to embed assessment in teaching. School Science Review, 95(352), 99–104. Retrieved from Mar_2014_Whitehouse.pdf
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

13. Thank you averilbolster@gmail.com peterlevrai@gmail.com
Thank you