Preparing EAP Students for the Transfer Climate: EAP Instructors' Perceptions of the Role of EAP Courses

Although the issue of learning transfer has been given much attention in English-for-academic-purposes (EAP) research, the factor of transfer climate could be investigated further. The current study examines what the instructors of EAP perceive can be done to prepare students for the transfer climate. The transfer climate refers to the nature of the target context of instruction and the support for learning transfer perceived by a learner in that target context (Burke & Baldwin, 1999). The target context in EAP education is the discipline courses that students take alongside or after EAP courses. The transfer climate may be supportive or unsupportive depending on whether such discipline courses accommodate for students' transfer of EAP skills. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 22 EAP instructors and, subsequently, three of them were observed to see what actually happens in their EAP courses (Borg, 2015). The findings outline eight steps that can be taken to prepare students for the transfer climate, seven within EAP courses, and one within discipline courses. From what was observed, few of the steps that participants mentioned in the interviews were actually implemented in the classes. Both practical implications and implications for future research are outlined.