THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES AN APPRAISAL OF COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH PROGRAMME IN THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION (NUC) NEW BENCHMARK MINIMUM ACADEMIC STANDARD 2014 DRAFT
Keywords:
English, Teaching, ESP, EAP, EGAP, ESAPAbstract
This paper appraises the content of Communication in English Curriculum in Nigerian Universities. English for Academic Purposes is taught in tertiary academic settings world-wide. It is, however, known by varieties of labels such as freshman’s composition or writing within Disciplines in America, and communication skills in Ghana. In Nigeria, it is called the use of English, or communication skills, and communication in English in the draft of the NUC new bench mark. The result of the appraisal carried out revealed that the branch of EAP taught in Nigerian universities is English for General Academic Purposes(EGAP) This branch of EAP caters for the general linguistic needs of the students rather the needs of students of a particular discipline as in English for Specific Academic Purposes(ESAP). In addition, the syllabus is not based on formal needs analysis of the learners but on the informal which is highly subjective. This study recommends the integration of discipline specific tasks into EGAP contexts in order to meet both the general and specific English language needs of students in Nigerian universities.
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