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The development of the English for academic purposes (EAP) language teaching sector in Australia has largely mirrored the increase in higher education provision for international students in the country.
EAP courses were initially introduced by language schools anxious to cash in on rising student demand for higher education courses, and universities keen to ensure that international students had the skills to succeed on their mainstream education courses. As Ian Heap from Northern Melbourne Institute of Tafe in Collingwood, VIC, explains, “Many students require additional English language either to raise the level of English to increase their likelihood of success with their higher studies or as a mandatory requirement if they have a lower Ielts score than required to undertake the academic programme.”
However, those going on to higher education in Australia today have a wide variety of general and more specific preparation courses to choose from. And some, like the bridging course offered by the Centre of English Language Teaching (CELT) at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth, WA, come with their own specific selling points, as Bianca Panizza explains. “CELT has offered English for academic purposes since its inception in 1987. In 2004, CELT offered its own 10- and 20- week English language bridging course with direct entry into UWA.”
For those students who otherwise meet academic requirements for entry into an Australian university, an academic preparation course that guarantees entry on to a university programme upon completion is an attractive proposition. Mark Gordon from the Institute of Languages at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, NSW, says that most students on their foundation courses have postgraduate study in mind. He adds, “Numbers for undergraduate courses are lower, although many students planning undergraduate study take English Preparation for the University Foundation Year, before entering the UNSW Foundation Year, and progress to undergraduate study from there.”
The length of an EAP programme is an important consideration for students and there are varying lengths of courses and levels of intensity to choose from. Amanda McKenzie from Shane Global Village in Sydney, NSW, says that they have recently overhauled their preparation courses to make them shorter but more intensive. “We moved from 12 week, 25-hours-a-week to eight week, 30-hours-a-week courses,” she says. “Our total EAP programme still covers a period of 24 weeks of academic preparation but we now offer students a greater amount of flexibility through having more entry points. ”
At Holmesglen Institute of Tafe International Centre in Melbourne, VIC, international students are offered four-, 10- and 20- week EAP courses depending on their individual requirements and Louise Bland at the centre says that the content of their EAP courses has changed recently. “Preparation for further study now demands more emphasis on the use of technology, so students are able to word-process documents with appropriate formatting for formal submission, use the Internet and other technologies for research and use communication technologies in a study context,” she says.
With competition in this sector increasing, some institutions are branching into new areas. Heather Ulanas from Sydney West International College (SWIC) in Westmead, NSW, recounts their latest venture in this field. “SWIC has recently introduced a foundation studies nursing programme to fill the growing demand for nurses both in the local community and worldwide. This course progresses students into the Bachelor of Nursing programme offered at the University of Western Sydney,” she recounts.
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