Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Experiential Learning for College-Level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Learners
Prof. Dr. Meng Zhang
ABSTRACT:
This practical paper discusses a range of meaningful practices of experiential learning projects executed at college-level EAP courses. Experiential learning refers to a constructivist learning process that highlights learning-by-doing. In such a process, learners are engaged in concrete learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation (Western Governance University, 2020). It is essential for EAP education and practice because it not only makes EAP curricula integrative in nature, but also fosters learners to develop skills of inquiry, reflection, synthesis, and analysis along with their development of English language capacities. EAP course developers and instructors are encouraged to design course content and context suitable for the execution of an experiential learning project. In this paper, I am utilizing three projects from a content-based EAP course of a Sino-United University to demonstrate the feasibility, operation, significance, as well as challenge of experiential learning. The sample course has a central theme on fashion studies and the three projects are titled ‘fashion store observation’, ‘interview on people’s attitudes towards makeup and gender’, and ‘sustainable fashion in real practice’, respectively. Altogether, these projects help students practice communication beyond the walls of the university; they help students develop language and qualitative research skills pertinent to the course theme. Equally importantly, they serve as a space for students to develop a critical, creative, resilient, and cross-disciplinary mind in understanding fashion as well as a rich array of sociocultural, socioeconomical, and sociopolitical issues attached to it.
keywords: Experiential learning, EAP, Course design and materials, L2 education, Teaching and learning