Evaluating the impact of embedded Insessional academic language and literacies provision across the disciplines – Bee Bond

Evaluating the impact of embedded Insessional academic language and literacies provision across the disciplines – Bee Bond – B.Bond@leeds.ac.uk
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching is now embedded across a range of Schools in the University at PGT level, with EAP teachers working alongside subject academics to support students for whom English is an additional language to develop their understanding of disciplinary academic discourse and literacy requirements. This research aims to evaluate and measure the impact of this intervention, with different researchers in the research group approaching the question from a variety of angles in order to build a rich picture that takes into account the range of perspectives involved in this aspect of taught student education. This research is a longitudinal study that will make use of a highly mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis. Whilst there is one overarching research question, the project will be composed of a range of more localised investigations, carried out by those with insider knowledge. The sum of these different projects will enable a rich description of how local enactments and differing disciplinary concerns and understandings around how knowledge is created and communicated interact with the human participants. The research will consider what, if any, generalisations can be made across a whole University or whether individuals and their contexts are key.
My own involvement includes both supporting other Insessional teachers to carry own their own local investigation into the impact of their work within the partner School as well as carrying out my own investigation into the impact that working within a School has on the academic identity of EAP practitioners.