Most academic and scientific writing is nowadays done in English and students are therefore required to read books and do assignments using this medium. The present research was aimed at a comparative study of reading comprehension of EAP original texts and their translations. As many as 50 MA students, majoring in different branches of management, were randomly selected. Out of these 50 students, 30 were asked to take an English reading comprehension test, consisting of 15 multiple-choice questions - 4 questions addressed main ideas of passages to measure global understanding and 11 measured local understanding. The rest of the students took the same reading test for the Persian translations of the same passages; they also took a Nelson test so that their homogeneity in terms of language proficiency would be ensured. The results indicated that the students tended to understand main ideas of the English texts better than those of their translations; however, as regards details, this was not true; i.e., they did not understand details of English texts better than those of Persian translations.The findings suggest that the process of transfer from SL to TL mainly affects the finding of complete equivalences for main ideas, rather than details, due to the fact that the former are higher-order propositions and usually operate at textual level.

The purpose of the present study was to discover which of the two reading strategies, concept mapping or summarizing, is more effective on ESP learners' reading comprehension of EAP texts. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a sample of 94 undergraduate students of accountancy sat for a standardized sample of Key English Testing (KET). Sixty-two students whose scores fell one standard deviation above and below the sample mean were selected and randomly divided into two equal groups. One group practiced concept mapping and the other group summarizing. A researcher-made reading posttest was finally administered to the students in both groups and the mean rank scores were compared by a Mann-Whitney test. The results led to the rejection of the null hypothesis, indicating that concept mapping had a significantly higher effect on the reading comprehension of EAP texts. The implications of the study for EAP readers and teachers as well as EAP textbook writers are discussed.

Research on native vs. non-native formulaic language use in academic texts, despite its wealth in scope and frequency, lacks an inclusive conceptualization of a non-native language learning context. Impressed by such a flawed approach, the bulk (if not all) of studies in the field compared the use of different multi-word strings in the academic discourse of either foreign or second language learners with a native baseline. The current study sought to address the gap, focusing on the structural and functional use of lexical bundles in two culturally parallel corpora developed in two non-native learning context modes: English as a foreign (EFL) and second (ESL) language. To this end, research reports written by Iranian Applied Linguistics MA and Ph. D. learners studying in different universities in Iran and English-speaking provinces of Canada were compared by a structurally similar native corpus, running cross-tabulation, Chi-square, and residual analysis analyses. The results revealed a significant association between language learning context and lexical bundle use on a functional level. The contextual variations yielded significantly different patterns of use concerning several micro-functions underlying text-oriented and research-oriented functions. Compared to functional differences, the between-corpus structural differences were inconspicuous, specifically concerning micro-structures constituting noun, prepositional, and verb phrase-related bundles. The study embraced the notion that EFL writers need to have immense exposure and enhanced language input available in ESL and native learning contexts to foster a native-like formulaic language.   

Teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) requires specific qualifications on the part of teachers for which reconstruction of cognitions on EAP is a prerequisite. Previous studies have largely taken the quality of teachers' EAP cognitions for granted and few studies, if any, have sought to examine in-service teachers' tacitly-held cognitions on EAP. This study aimed to examine in-service teachers' cognitions on key EAP issues including EAP goals, distinction between EAP and English for General Purposes (EGP), and EAP teacher qualifications as well as roles. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and life-history narratives from nine EAP practitioners at a state university in Iran. Results showed that the teachers' cognitions were mainly incongruent with the EAP principles. A close relationship was also found among individual teachers' cognitions on different key issues. It is concluded that despite their past practical experience, in-service EAP teachers' cognitions might be limited and in need of reconstruction. The findings may promise some implications for EAP teacher education and research.

In recent years, online education has become a significant part of teachers’ professional career. Moreover, it has been argued that contexts of teaching are significantly influential in EAP teachers’ practices and identities. Despite these points, little research has examined EAP teachers’ identity construction in online contexts. The present study addressed this gap by exploring the impacts of online education on 20 Iranian EAP teachers’ identity construction. The participants were interviewed and thematic analysis was run to analyze the data. The findings revealed that online education influenced the teachers’ personal, pedagogical, and social identities. More specifically, it was found that the teachers could reconstruct their identities in light of the challenges and affordances of online teaching and adopt new identities that featured concerns with both their EAP and educator responsibilities. These findings are then discussed and implications for teacher educators are offered so that they could help EAP teachers construct their identities in online settings effectively.

Critical English for Academic Purposes (CEAP) is an interdisciplinary subfield which combines English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Criti-cal pedagogy. Through CEAP, the stakeholders and participants can question the status quo and work for for more effective education. Few studies have addressed the critical issues in the context of Iranian EAP education at universities, which may incorporate policy makers, practitioners and students. The present study investigated the perceptions of EAP students, instructors and policy makers with regard to the three prominent modules of critical pedagogy, i. e. power, English hegemony and ideology, in EAP with focus on textbooks and instruction. Data were collected from the corresponding participants from three Iranian universities. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Chi-squares and ANOVA procedures were employed to analyze the quantitative data. The interviews were analyzed through thematic content analysis. We investigated whether there was any significant discrepancy in perspectives among students, instructors and policy makers regarding decision-making power, English hegemony and ideology in the context of Iranian EAP instruction. Results of the quantitative and the qualitative analyses for the module of power showed that based on the participants’ perspectives, neither the students nor the instructors enjoy the power to be active in policy making. Regarding English hegemony, the participants believed that it does not exist in the EAP textbooks. With reference to ideology, they believed in the absence of a dominant ideology in the Iranian EAP textbooks and instruction.

objective: EAP textbooks and materials are probably the most important elements in our academic English courses in Iran. Therefore, their evaluation can help to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and hence, to improve their quality. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of EFL instructors and medical students of their EAP textbook. It was also an attempt to find out about the challenges they may face in their teaching and learning contexts.Materials and Methods: To conduct this study, we selected 175 medical students and 25 EFL instructors from four medical universities (Tehran University, Shahid-Beheshti University, Tehran Islamic-Azad University, and Zanjan University). The instruments for gathering data were a questionnaire and interviews. Statistical t-test and MANOVA were used for analyzing the data.Results: The quantitative analyses showed that there was no significant difference between the students' and EFL instructors’ perceptions of their EAP textbook. However, there were significant differences between their perceptions of six different aspects of the textbook. Moreover, the qualitative data showed that overcrowded classes, lack of appropriate materials to the learners’ needs, lack of clear objectives in the EAP context, and shortage of time were the major challenges instructors and students are faced with.Conclusion: Although there were positive perceptions of the textbook, most of the instructors did not think that it was enough for an EAP course. Besides, they believed that the number of the students in their classes should be reduced; there should be clear objectives for EAP courses; and based on such objectives, relevant materials should be designed and developed for Iranian context.

The systematic study of EAP teachers‟ pedagogic content knowledge and their actual teaching practices in class is a fresh avenue in applied linguistics, especially in contexts like Iran, where, EAP courses are taught by two groups of teachers with different specializations; i. e., language teachers and content teachers. This study explored the similarities and differences between language teachers‟ and content teachers‟ PCK, and teaching practices, and students‟ beliefs about their EAP teachers‟ methodology at Medical Sciences Universities across Iran. In order to answer the research questions, a wide range of instruments including questionnaires, observations, semi-structured interviews, and field notes were utilized. Sources included language teachers, content teachers, students taught by language teachers, and students taught by content teachers. Representative samples of 318 EAP teachers and 1573 students participated in the study. The results indicated substantial inconsistencies across the two groups of teachers with respect to their PCK and teaching practices. The findings also showed that students favored language teachers‟ methodologies and teaching practices. The findings promise implications for EAP instruction in Iran and highlight the pressing need for more systematic teacher training programs.