EAP Foundation

EAP Foundation episodes:

• 12.31.2022

  Episode 61: Using dictionaries

  A good dictionary is an essential tool for any language learner. This podcast considers different types of dictionary and the advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as looking at the features of a good dictionary. It concludes by looking...

  
• 05.21.2022

  Episode 60: Note-taking (while listening)

  Taking notes, both when reading texts and when listening to lectures or presentations, is an essential aspect of student life. This podcast considers reasons to take notes while listening, how note-taking for listening differs from note-taking for reading, and gives...

  
• 04.10.2022

  Episode 59: Language for reports

  This podcast looks at language for reports. As with other formulaic language (e.g. the language for presentations), you do not need to learn all of these phrases. You should be able to use at least one phrase for each function...

  
• 03.21.2022

  Episode 58: Features of vocabulary

  This podcast considers the important features of English vocabulary that you will need to know in order to use it effectively, namely meaning, spelling, pronunciation, part of speech, word family, frequency, register, usage and collocation. 

  
• 03.03.2022

  Episode 57: Brainstorming

  After you have understood the title, the next step of the writing process is to generate ideas. The best way to do this is by a process called brainstorming. The podcast gives information on what brainstorming is, as well as...

  
• 02.17.2022

  Episode 56: Taking part in academic discussions

  Academic discussions are a key part of university life. This podcast will help you understand how to participate in academic discussions by considering the reasons for taking part in discussions and giving ways that individuals and groups can help to...

  
• 02.14.2022

  Episode 56: What is EAP (English for Academic Purposes)?

  This podcast explains what EAP (English for Academic Purposes) is, giving a definition of EAP, describing its development, locating EAP in a family tree of English Language Teaching, considering general versus specific EAP, and comparing EAP to General English.

  
• 02.07.2022

  Episode 55: Technical (subject-specific) vocabulary

  Each subject has words which are either used specifically in that subject area (and not in general English), or common words which are used with special meaning in that subject area. Such words are known as technical, domain-specific or subject-specific...

  
• 02.04.2022

  Episode 55: General (high-frequency) vocabulary

  General vocabulary, also called high-frequency vocabulary, is vocabulary that occurs frequently in all kinds of texts and everyday language. It is likely to comprise the majority of the words and phrases learners encounter on a General English course at school....

  
• 02.01.2022

  Episode 54: Academic report writing

  The two most common forms of writing at university are reports and essays. This podcast describes academic reports, giving information on what a report is, outlines the main types of report you may need to write, and summarises the differences...

  
• 01.30.2022

  Episode 54: Writing objectively: How to create an objective tone in academic writing

  Academic writing is generally impersonal and objective in tone. This podcast considers what objective writing is, how objective academic writing is, then presents several ways to make your writing more objective, namely: using passive; focusing on the evidence (The findings...

  
• 01.28.2022

  Episode 54: Academic Formulas List (AFL)

  The Academic Formulas List (AFL) is a list of the most common formulaic sequences in academic English, i.e. recurring word sequences three to five words long. There are three separate lists: one for formulas that are common in both academic...

  
• 01.26.2022

  Episode 53: Hedging in Academic Writing

  Hedging, also called caution or cautious language, is an important component of academic style. This podcast explains what hedging is, then looks at different ways to hedge, namely using introductory verbs, modal verbs, adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and some other ways...

  
• 01.13.2022

  Episode 52: New Academic Word List (NAWL)

  This podcast describes the New Academic Word List (NAWL), giving information on what the NAWL is, as well as the 10 most frequent words in the NAWL.

  
• 01.11.2022

  Episode 52: New General Service List (NGSL)

  This podcast describes the New General Service List (NGSL), giving information on what the NGSL is, as well as the first 10 words in the NGSL.

  
• 01.09.2022

  Episode 51: The Academic Collocation List (ACL)

  This podcast describes the Academic Collocation List (ACL), explaining what it is and giving some example collocations.

  
• 12.31.2021

  Episode 50: What is academic writing?

  Academic writing is arguably the most important skill in academic contexts, since writing is the main method of academic communication. It is also the most difficult skill for most students to master. This podcast considers what academic writing is, looking...

  
• 12.29.2021

  Episode 49: Idioms for Academic English

  Although it is often assumed that idioms are too informal for use in academic English, two studies have identified idioms which occur fairly frequently in spoken and written academic English. This podcast describes idioms in academic English, giving information on...

  
• 12.27.2021

  Episode 48: The Academic Word List (AWL)

  This podcast describes the Academic Word List (AWL), giving information on what the AWL is, as well as listing the first 60 headwords of the AWL.

  
• 12.05.2021

  Episode 47: Using word lists

  There are many word lists for general and academic English study. This podcast gives information on why word lists are important, then presents ideas about how to use word lists. For more information, check out the page on the website,...

  
• 06.26.2021

  Episode 46: Reading and Note-taking

  Taking notes, both when reading texts and when listening to lectures or presentations, is an essential aspect of student life. Note-taking for reading has many areas in common with note-taking when listening, for example the need to identify main ideas,...

  
• 06.04.2021

  Episode 45: Learning Vocabulary for Academic English

  Learning vocabulary is an important aspect of academic study. This podcast considers how much vocabulary to learn, the type of vocabulary to study, including formulaic phrases, and gives some tips on how to learn vocabulary.

  
• 05.31.2021

  Episode 44: Cohesion in Academic Writing

  Cohesion and coherence are important features of academic writing. They are one of the features tested in exams of academic English, including the IELTS test and the TOEFL test. This podcast gives information on what cohesion is and how to...

  
• 05.29.2021

  Episode 43: Summarising for Academic Writing

  In academic writing you often have to summarise part of a book or journal article. It is one of three ways of using another writer's work in your own (the other two being quotation and paraphrase). Your summary may be...

  
• 05.29.2021

  Episode 42: General Service List (GSL)

  This podcast describes the General Service List (GSL), explaining what it is, details about the list, and why it is important for academic study. There is also information about the New GSL (NGSL), as well as note on the information...

  
• 05.28.2021

  Episode 41: Critical Reading

  In academic contexts you cannot assume that everything you read is a simple representation of the facts. Every area of study has many different perspectives, and you will need to understand not only what a writer is saying, but how...

  
• 04.08.2021

  Episode 40: Paraphrasing in Academic Writing

  In academic writing, you will need to use other writer's ideas to support your own. The most common way to do this is by using paraphrase. This podcast considers how to do this by first looking in more detail at...

  
• 08.22.2020

  Structure of Reports

  Reports are a common academic genre at university. Although the exact nature will vary according to discipline, the general structure is broadly similar for all disciplines. This podcast examines the typical structure of a report, often referred to as IMRAD,...

  
• 08.22.2020

  Academic Writing Style

  Academic English, like any writing, has its own conventions or 'style'. This podcast considers 10 'rules' for good academic writing in English. These rules are concerned with the use of: formality (rules 1-5); objectivity (rule 6); precision (rules 7-8); tentative...

  
• 07.09.2020

  Avoiding Plagiarism

  Academic writers need to use material from other writers to support their own ideas. Failure to integrate this material appropriately can lead to plagiarism, a form of academic misconduct. This podcast explains what plagiarism is, gives types of plagiarism, gives...

  
• 11.03.2019

  Critical writing

  In academic writing you will develop an argument or point of view. This will be supported by concrete evidence, in other words reasons, examples, and information from sources. The writing you produce in this way will need to be 'critical...

  
• 11.02.2019

  Academic vocabulary

  This podcast discusses academic vocabulary, beginning with a definition of academic vocabulary, then looking at different types of vocabulary used in academic contexts, namely general words, non-general 'academic' words, and technical words. Another important feature of academic vocabulary, nominalisation, is...

  
• 10.30.2019

  Transition signals

  Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in writing. This podcast gives information on what transition signals are, the grammar of transition signals, and different types of transition signals.

  
• 10.20.2019

  Reporting verbs

  In academic writing, you will need to cite (or 'refer to') other people's work or ideas. In order to do this accurately, you will need to use reporting verbs to link your in-text citation to the information cited. This podcast...

  
• 09.21.2019

  Lecture cues

  Lecture cues are words or phrases which lecturers use to help you understand their lectures. This podcast explains cues to signal the structure (structure cues), different parts of the talk (transition cues and concluding cues), and the connection between ideas...

  
• 09.21.2019

  Understanding lectures

  Understanding a lecture is not simply a matter of attending the lecture and listening. You need to prepare for the lecture by doing some pre-lecture activities; you need to be active during the lecture by listening for the main points...

  
• 09.14.2019

  Learner Autonomy (Study Skills podcast)

  Learner autonomy is an important concept in educational fields, including language learning ones such as EAP. This podcast, part of the study skills series, considers what learner autonomy is, what skills autonomous learners need and why learner autonomy is important....

  
• 09.14.2019

  Feedback (Study Skills podcast)

  Feedback is an important way to improve performance. Feedback is typically associated with written work, e.g. essays or reports, but is equally vital for other areas of English, such as presentation skills or even note-taking when reading or listening. This...

  
• 09.09.2019

  The Learning Cycle (Study Skills podcast)

  Reflection is an important part of the learning cycle, and in order to understand reflection and its importance it is necessary to understand more about the learning cycle. This podcast, part of the Study Skills series, looks at the Kolb...

  
• 09.08.2019

  Presentations Skills podcast #5: Visual aids

  This podcast, part of the Presentation Skills podcasts, gives some guidelines on using visual aids for presentations, with some do's and don'ts as well as useful language phrases.

  
• 09.08.2019

  Presentations Skills podcast #4: Delivery

  This podcast, part of the Presentation Skills podcasts, looks at presentation delivery, considering three key factors which influence the delivery of a presentation: pace; volume; and emphasis.

  
• 09.08.2019

  Presentations Skills podcast #3: Body language

  The message you give with your body is as important as the one you give using words. This podcast, part of the Presentation Skills podcasts, examines the most important elements of body language for presentations, namely posture, position, movement and...

  
• 09.08.2019

  Presentations Skills podcast #2: Language

  This podcast, part of the Presentation Skills podcasts, gives examples of language phrases to use in different sections, for transitioning, and for presenting visual aids.

  
• 09.08.2019

  Presentations Skills podcast #1: Structure

  This podcast, part of the Presentation Skills podcasts, outlines the structure of a typical presentation, namely Introduction, Main body, Conclusion, Q&A;, with tips on the function of each section and what to include in each.

  
• 11.28.2018

  Reading skills

  This podcast, part of the reading skills series, gives an overview of skills which are needed for reading academic texts, including skimming, scanning, surveying, establishing a purpose and guessing meaning of unknown words.

  
• 11.28.2018

  Establishing a purpose for reading

  Academic reading differs from reading for pleasure in that you will often not read every word, and you are reading for a specific purpose rather than enjoyment. This podcast, part of the reading skills series, explains different types of purpose...

  
• 11.28.2018

  Surveying a text

  Surveying is another way to read a text quickly. The aim is to take a broad look at a text to decide whether it is worth reading more closely. This podcast, part of the reading skills series, explains in more...

  
• 11.25.2018

  Scanning

  Skimming is another way to read a text quickly. This podcast, part of the reading skills series, looks at what scanning is, how to scan a text, and the difference between scanning and searching.

  
• 11.25.2018

  Skimming

  Skimming is one way to read a text quickly. This podcast, part of the reading skills series, looks at what skimming is and which parts of the text are needed for skimming.

  
• 11.24.2018

  Guessing unknown words

  Whenever you read extended texts in English, you will come across words which you do not know. This podcast looks at how to guess the meaning of unknown words by considering the context and using prefixes, suffixes and words roots.