EAP Grammar in Context

EAP Grammar in Context

EAP Grammar in Context is a new paired-skills, three-level (B1-C1) series that can easily integrate into any EAP classroom, is affordable and gives your EAP students the grammar boost that they need to succeed.

Why EAP Grammar?

Firstly, the grammar used in EAP is different from the grammar used in everyday English: 80-85% of academic and technical English is in the simple present, 5-10% is in the simple past, and 5% is in every other tense/verb form. Considering this, pursuing the typically tense-heavy grammar syllabus of general English is not appropriate or effective in the EAP context. While tenses and verb phrases are taught in EAP Grammar, the predominance of the work is on syntax, with the basic syntactic patterns and the prominence of the noun phrase emphasized.

Secondly, a different grammar focus is important for developing each of the four skills. For example, modality (both positive and negative) is easy to spot in reading and relatively easy to use in writing, but in listening, modality becomes quite challenging and requiring more instruction and practice. The modal is unstressed when positive, so learners often don’t hear it. When negative, the modal is stressed but the “’t” of the negative is assimilated into the following verb, so learners often hear the modal as positive. To take another example, when it comes to effective reading, EAP learners need help unpacking complex phrases so that they can find head nouns and main verbs, for example. On the other hand, in writing, learners should almost work in the opposite direction as they do in reading; they do not begin with producing complex sentences, but with basic SVC and SVO and then gradually learn to add complexity.

So the important question now is…. Why not EAP Grammar?

Key features:

• Easily integrates into the EAP classroom as a core text or as complementary material to any EAP coursebook currently being used
• Classroom-friendly while many closed items can also be assigned for self-study
• Builds ability in receptive and productive skills
• Teaches grammar that is salient for each of the four skills in an academic context
• Easy to navigate with a clear table of contents