6.1 Introduction

The first half of this chapter reviews the discussions raised in the previous chapter to provide possible solutions to the revealed problems, taking the feedbacks and practices of the investigated teachers’ into considertaion. Firstly, implications for EAP theory extension are deduced in reference to the lack of adequate preparation of EAP teachers in Shanghai. After which, drawing on Leung’s (2009, 2013) work, reference is made to English language teachers’ sponsored and independent professionalism. The implications of the collected data for updating the Shanghai EAP policy are also discussed, after comparing the data from the cases discussed with theories previously developed as components of the educational policy. This provides inferences for how to prepare students to study EAP by developing bridging courses based on situated learning, contrastive rhetoric and identity building. The possibilities for improving EAP pedagogy utilising an academic service learning EAP method, combining not only the participation of students in disciplinary learning but also fuelling their responsibility to humanity, are linked to the coordination of resources to support educators. However, deriving from the author’s subjective interpretation of the research participants’ behaviours and ideas, the implications might not be suitable for EAP teaching in every context. The second half of this chapter aims to conclude the research by recapping key points of significance raised during the course of the study and highlighting the limitations of the current thesis, while anticipating future related works.

6.2 Implications for EAP Theory Update

EAP has long been viewed as a rehearsal tool for novice researchers, before their entrance proper into the arena of academic discourse. However, regardless of the fact that its focus is on knowledge (whether academic, disciplinary cultural, critical or digital literacy), the crucial aspects of how to “do” research have been largely untouched; i.e. how to interact with research participants, how to conduct experiments, how to locate flaws within complex phenomena, how to filter arguments from different layers of bias, how to evaluate the opportunities and limitations embodied in one’s own research and how to make ethical decisions.

In other words, contemporary EAP theories fail to include preparation for the realities students will encounter when doing research. Thus, without opportunities to experience the research process directly, the multiple literacies of EAP remain in the domain of classroom knowledge. Even though scholars like Hyland (2006), and Lea and Street (2000) have recommended disciplinary socialisation be taught within EAP, from their description, their aim seems to have been merely to encourage students to interact with the discipline through reading and writing materials. However, academic research contains more than simply writing up research, considerable additional work is necessitating both before and after this step.

From a linguistic perspective, Widdowson (1998) suggests students learn English through experience. English language studied in the classroom, no matter how similar to real-world contexts, it is not as authentic as that acquired naturally, because the classroom environment is not localised. Classroom English teaching emphasises the semantic meaning over the pragmatic meaning of language; however, in localised or authentic contexts, people just “pay only as much attention to the language as it is necessary to make this connection and no more…for it is only when listeners connect language up to contextual conditions of one kind or another that they can do things with it” (Widdowson, 1998, pp. 707–709). Similarly, if students are able to learn EAP while conducting their own academic research, the research contexts and processes could then afford greater support for their writing, rendering it more purposeful.

Widdowson’s (1998) opinions regarding learning English through experience echo ideas put forward by Rogers (1967), the humanistic philosopher. EAP’s aim has always been to prepare students for a future as academics; however, from the perspective of humanistic education, former EAP experts have failed to address the importance of students’ context-related experience (Rogers, 1967). In the context of Shanghai, where many students are demotivated to learn, and when academic misconduct in China is severe, EAP should not only be viewed as a utility but should stress the humanistic goals of academic research and the moral responsibilities of those who become academics.

6.3 Implication for Improving EAP Teachers’ Professionalism

Current discussions will adopt Leung’s (2009, 2013) definition of teachers’ professionalism. Leung (2009, 2013) uses sponsored and independent professionalism to describe second language teachers’ professional reservations. Sponsored professionalism refers to “institutionally endorsed and publicly heralded definitions of teachers’ disciplinary knowledge and practical experience as expressed by regulatory bodies” (Coffey & Leung, 2015, p. 234); this evokes the stakeholder agreements that regulate teachers collectively (Ball, 1990, 1997; Leung, 2013). More specifically, Leung (2009, p. 67) gives an example of sponsored professionalism: “end-of-course standard”, “pronouncement made by peak professional or regulatory bodies”, “teaching quality inspection menus” and “quasi-judicial decisions related to disputed teacher conduct”.

Independent professionalism, according to Coffey and Leung (2015, pp. 234–235), refers to:

[M]ore individually oriented notions of professionalism, in particular, individual teachers’ commitment to careful and critical examination of the assumptions and practices embedded in sponsored collective professionalism with reference to discipline-based knowledge, and readiness to take action to effect change where appropriate.

In other words, it is teachers’ engagement in critical reflection over their beliefs and actions (Coffey & Leung, 2015). In more detail, Leung (2009, p. 71) explains independent professionalism requires teachers to be “receptive to alternative perspectives on routinized practice, and they will seek to update and modify their knowledge and work in ways that are consistent with their developing views”; thus, “teachers can adapt and extend an inappropriate scheme of work or curriculum framework by devising additional teaching materials and classroom activities” (Leung, 2013, p. 25).

Sponsored professionalism should coexist with independent professionalism, and the latter may not necessarily contradict the former (Leung, 2009). However, independent professionalism denotes the process by which teachers maintain their teaching and professionalism as vigorous, preventing them from mechanically repeating pedagogy, which is particularly important in the context of a lack of functional sponsored professionalism available to guide teachers (Leung, 2009), as in the current context of Shanghai.

In terms of sponsored professionalism, future EAP teacher training in Shanghai should afford trainees a systematic understanding of EAP concepts. Rather than letting teachers probe the meaning of EAP by themselves, providing them with comprehensive guidelines could heighten their awareness of key concepts, from which they could then choose the elements most suit to themselves and their learners. Furthermore, as indicated in the discussion, teachers should be afforded more opportunities to become involved in academic research, becoming researchers themselves, or at least have some knowledge of the processes involved in doing research. Therefore, modules related to research methods should be integrated with EAP training sessions. If possible, teachers should be encouraged and supported to make academic visits to universities in other countries, in order to enlighten them as to the international vision for academia. In terms of independent professionalism, it is crucial to emphasise teachers’ ability to reflect on sponsored EAP knowledge, teaching context and students. Teachers could also improve their awareness of the teaching contexts in which they engage through reflective practice (Wallace, 1991). They could also see their teaching through one another’s eyes by participating in microteaching (Liu & Li, 2016). The associated training sessions should also include communication between teachers discussing the opinions of students and aspects that are meaningful to them when teaching. Generally speaking, training for sponsored and independent professionals should assist EAP teachers to formulate their own teaching approaches.

6.4 Implications for Updates to the Shanghai EAP Language Policy

Firstly, updates to EAP knowledge should be integrated into the Shanghai EAP reform policy, as stipulated by Cai (2013). According to the data collected for this study, almost all the investigated teachers expressed an over-reliance on the policy document. In the document itself, Cai’s (2013) definition of EAP borrows from those of Hutchinson and Waters (1987), who claim there are two subsections of EFL: one being EGP, and the other ESP (including EAP and EOP), and Jordan (1997), whose version of EAP combines EGAP and ESAP. Written in 2013, Cai’s limited reference to theory prevents a reasoned representation of any holistic EAP discourse.

Meanwhile, from the categorisation of EAP proposed by Hyland (2006), a clear progression, marking the development of EAP theory emerges; ranging from stressing linguistic skills, to skills in a broader sense, to disciplinary socialisation, and academic literacy. Generally, however, Cai’s (2013) emphasis is heavily reliant on the superficial layer of linguistic skills. Therefore, we find that in consideration of the contemporary landscape and paradigmatic shifts within EAP, the concept of EAP outlined in the policy should be updated. The conceptualisation of EAP in the literature review includes academic literacy, disciplinary cultural literacy, critical literacy and digital literacy, which can all be integrated within the theoretical framework of the Shanghai EAP policy to guide universities and their staff, to develop tailored curricular conveying a more holistic interpretation of EAP.

Secondly, the ultimate goal expressed in the EAP policy should be changed. As discussed in relation to the third research question, the Shanghai EAP reform, as a language policy, prepares students for a more globalised world, and so fails to keep abreast of educational paradigm shifts (Cheng, 2005). As the new millennium progresses, globalisation has brought both opportunities and challenges, most importantly prompting changes to our lives characterised by the information technology revolution, prompting a move towards a knowledge-driven economy, and stronger international and national competition (Townsend & Cheng, 2000). Resulting from this transformation is a need for education to develop more quickly at the international, national, and local levels, to erode the boundaries between institutions and countries. The pace of change is rapid and multi-faceted, requiring people, particularly the young, to equip themselves with multiple contextualised intelligences (Cheng, 2005). According to Cheng (2005), the multiple contextualised intelligence is formulated to nurture future leaders and global citizens. In the context of Shanghai’s EAP reform, Bluewitch’s idea of nurturing scholars through EAP, and Fielding’s aim of preventing students becoming “exquisite egoists” both highlight a desire to create graduates with abilities, responsibility, ethics and global visions. Therefore, EAP in this new paradigm should place greater emphasis on educating the researchers of the future, whether future academics or not. Thus, teaching and learning in such an epoch is expected to be markedly different from that in traditional times (Cheng, 2005; Fisher, 2005; Gerver, 2014), necessitating a change to the stated goals of the Shanghai EAP policy.

Thirdly, the pedagogy recommended by Cai (2013) in the Shanghai EAP reform policy requires adaption. According to Cheng (2005, pp. 29–31), traditional learning prefers “absorbing knowledge”, “receiving process”, “separated learning”, “teaching based learning”, “achieving standard” and the “practice of previous knowledge”. The stipulated teaching methodology and module structure of EAP in Cai (2013), however, follow a traditional norm by delivering language knowledge, skills, and cultural principles in a lecturer dominant classroom, then requires students to sit for examinations. These methods are somewhat appropriate; however, in the context of training scholars who will be studying to meet futuristic education objectives, they are too narrow. Instead, Fisher (2005) advocates developing learners’ abilities in creative thinking, critical thinking and problem-solving thinking. Academics also consider these modes of thinking fundamentally important alongside the establishment of a supportive environment (Fisher, 2005). In the current study, the project-based form of learning EAP devised by Fielding and Lisa; and Bluewitch’s nurturing of scholarly values are valid examples of how to establish a supportive environment. Therefore, the EAP pedagogy described in the Shanghai EAP reform policy should benefit from the case of the current research, seeking to establish a suitable learning environment in which to nurture future academics.

6.5 Implications for Preparing Students for Learning EAP

Enlightened by Bluewitch, a preparatory course for newly recruited college students is necessary, not only to make sense of their future career direction, meaning higher education, but also to establish basic knowledge about academic research. Therefore, a course with three components is hereby introduced. It establishes a need for situated learning, in order to raise the awareness of the subject of the major and to promote interest. There also needs to be a critical explanation of the relative cultural difference influencing students’ literal habits; explicating the disciplinary characteristics, affordances of the research and the transition from student to researcher. These components can be amalgamated into pre-sessional courses for raising students’ awareness, as located in the first year of study. This would assist many students in their decisions about whether they wish to continue pursuing EAP studies, or to withdraw and pursue alternative options.

I propose situated learning to negotiate the relationship between EAP and the expectations of various disciplines. Anderson, Reder, and Simon (1996, p. 5) state that situated learning “emphasises the idea that much of what is learned is specific to the situation in which it is learned”, i.e. learning should take place in a real (or similar) context. It is also supported as: improving motivation and helping learners who lack a real-world experience (Kneebone, Scott, Darzi, & Horrocks, 2004), being professional (Gulikers, Kester, Kirschner, & Bastiaens, 2008), being suitable for both science (Ünal & Inan, 2010), and social science (Gulikers et al., 2008) and improving the attitudes of students towards a subject (Edwards, Nash, Sacre, Courtney, & Abbey, 2008). In an EAP setting, situated learning can be realised by showing students around the field related to their major, e.g. visits to factories, laboratories. By visiting such places, students’ awareness of what is involved in their chosen profession will be raised, which could act to stimulate their motivation and direct their future planning. Furthermore, a similar outcome could be achieved by inviting professionals to give seminars on the affordances of certain techniques or aspects of the major, etc. Many such activities could be negotiated under the auspices of the recently advocated university/enterprise/community partnerships.

EAP students need to be made aware of the cultural differences they will encounter when they commence studying for their courses. However, as the Shanghai EAP policy modules relating to cultural differences and critical thinking are only run for the fourth year students (Cai, 2012, 2013), this leads the researcher to be concerned over whether students are unaware of these differences when they begin their studies. The difficulties that they might encounter because of lacking essential research skills could result in their becoming demotivated and relinquishing their academic ambitions. The researcher, therefore, recommends the creation of a carefully planned module, similar to situated learning, to explicate the differences between Chinese writing style and EAP, what comprises plagiarism, and to outline underpinning cultural possibilities.

One approach to negotiating cultural difference and the demands of the academic context is to employ contrastive rhetoric. This is applicable in many different aspects. According to Bloch (2008), understanding of plagiarism differs across cultures. In China, the epistemology of plagiarism differs from that in the west, because the Chinese have no history of protecting intellectual property (Bloch, 2008). Another example is offered by You (2008), who implies that what Chinese writing teachers regard as good writing might not be treated similarly in the west. Thus, if students have been immersed in a Chinese literacy environment, they need to be given access to a contrastive rhetoric to explain the expectations place upon them by EAP.

Any new course should explicitly outline the following: academic integrity; the characteristics of different disciplines; the practice and rules scholars are expected to follow (for example in essay writing); the role of the researcher; the ways in which research is able to produce knowledge; the difference between research and other means of gaining knowledge; the transition from secondary school student to university student to researcher; and access to learning at different stages of one’s life.

6.6 Implications for How to Optimise the EAP Pedagogy

A number of factors must be considered when optimising the current EAP framework. For example, teachers have expressed anxiety about the omission of humanity from EAP courses, and at the same time, the majority of the investigated teachers advocated letting students learn EAP by participating in genuine disciplinary projects, which is one way in which Rogers’ (1967) suggests courses can become more humanistic.

Therefore, an academic service learning method, allowing students to study EAP and use their disciplinary knowledge while serving people in a real context seems appropriate. “Service learning is a form of experiential education where learning occurs through cycles of action and reflection as students work with others in applying their knowledge to solve a community problem and, at the same time, reflect upon their experience to gain a deeper understanding of complex issues for themselves” (Wilczenski & Coomey, 2007, p. 4). According to Wilczenski and Coomey (2007), academic service learning originated from Dewey (1933) who claimed it had the characteristic of connecting “service to academic content and standards; personal and social learning; opportunities for career exploration, helping to determine and meet real community needs; beneficial for both the students and the community; appropriate in any subject area to meet learning goals; suitable for students at all grade levels” (Wilczenski & Coomey, 2007, p. xiii).

One of the key differences between service learning and PBL, is that student learning while serving in real contexts are able to fulfil actual needs expressed by members of the community (Woolfolk, 2008), which will help to build partnerships between universities and communities; an important necessity highlighted in Lisa’s case. If an EAP course could support students to conduct research to improve people’s welfare, as Maslow hinted (1967), then the missing component of humanity could be rediscovered. However, performing services for the community is complex, requiring the coordination of resources, and suggesting that EAP course should become an optional course. Were EAP optional then this would reduce teachers’ complaints about workload (see the cases of Lisa and Rui), and would no longer force demotivated students to learn EAP.

Service learning has become a popular aspect of curricular in institutes of different levels in a variety of countries; including the Education University of Hong Kong and George Washington University in the US. It is employed for various projects, such as determining the urban sustainability of Anacostia Watershed, and establishing interpersonal communication among DC staff in order to better serve children, researching and offering solutions for gaps in middle schools, consulting the organisational management of programs, school counselling and community-peace building (January 15, 2015, http://serve.gwu.edu/academic-service-learning), researching youth gambling addiction, elderly service, and leadership promotion (January 15, 2015, https://www.ied.edu.hk/sao/?p=191).

According to Wilczenski and Coomey (2007), service learning functions to improve social and emotional growth, as well as facilitating academic and career development. It is also renowned for promoting students’ engagement in learning and the community (Shumer, 1994), students’ self-awareness, giving students a joy in learning, a sense of empowerment when changing the world, opportunity to give back to the community, and bringing the motivation to resolve critical issues around the world (Weigert, 1998), “enhance both academic learning and a sense of caring for others” (Woolfolk, 2008, p. 515). To a large extent, the opportunities assumed to be associated with academic service echo a new EAP pedagogy, designed to empower students, returning their relevance and motivation, establishing an environment for academic research, creative thinking and problem-solving, raising the consciousness of one’s own identity, and social responsibility.

Most importantly, service learning could facilitate the moral awareness of students when they see and understand genuine struggles, injustices and pain, fuelling them with the motivation to develop good morals, a sense of justice, and social responsibility (Donahue, 1999), potentially reducing the level of academic misconduct in China in the future. From this perspective, it is essential to integrate this component into any new EAP pedagogy to develop researchers as complete human beings.

When applying academic service learning, several points should be observed. These include the aspects of service, learning and reflection on one’s own practice. In terms of service, students should aim to deliver assistance that meets the real-life needs of a community; in order to prevent negative influence from the community or false interpretations of what is required, needs should be defined by and negotiated with the target community (Weigert, 1998). With regard to the element of learning, Wilczenski and Coomey (2008) stress the importance of participation in a wider social context, while Weigert (1998) cautions that service should not only be for the purpose of doing service, but should also relate to course objectives. In terms of reflection, Wilczenski and Coomey (2008) think highly of this as a meaning-making process before, within and after service learning, which could encourage students to derive knowledge about services, the community itself, notions of self and injustice, and improved criticality. Troppe (1995) even states that reflection is a key to making learning happen in service. Weigert (1998) suggests reflection could provide a foundation that students could link to course objectives. Teachers should give feedback in terms of learning, rather than on service quality (Troppe, 1995).

Being aware of these important issues, more modes of reflection on academic service learning are recommended. Introspective journal writing could be assigned by teachers to ensure reflection on practice during service learning. Furthermore, students who are confident of their service learning outcomes or the procedures involved in problem-solving, or research design could be encouraged to write up and publish under the supervision of a supervisory team. Reflection could also take the form of students preparing videos in English recording their service learning and their development of understanding. Departments could also host poster sessions, media broadcasts, or student research conferences at which to share service learning achievements. A prerequisite for these would be for students to write up their research in English with the help of their supervisory team, which would then prevent them from engaging in academic writing derived from fake or irrelevant contexts, ensuring they build a solid foundation in EAP. Therefore, by recommending these new modes of academic service learning reflection, the aim is to give back ownership of education by empowering students. The results of the involved activities could then also serve as a basis for a formative assessment of students. Moreover, if what is learned from reflective processes is implemented well, this might cooperate with other activities to deliver a more efficiently strategized academic environment to bolster students’ academic progress. Generally speaking, the entire set of academic service learning requirements can be implemented in a manner that complements the traditional classroom-based curriculum, and could be used concurrently with it. However, for the service learning component of the curriculum to receive proper attention and weighting from teachers and students, it must receive assessment credits and be made compulsory, with classroom hours devoted to implementing it.

6.7 Implications for Coordinating Resources

A beneficial approach that could simultaneously resolve the challenges related to the availability of resources, eliminate EAP teachers’ weaknesses in the area of disciplinary knowledge and facilitate the service learning EAP method, would be to introduce team teaching involving coordinating the resources available for EAP service learning.

When dealing with the extent of teaching specificity in EAP, many scholars have proposed the seemingly magical solution of fostering cooperation, collaboration, and team teaching between subject departments and language centres (Dudley-Evans, 2001; Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998; Hyland, 2006; Gao & Bartlett, 2014). However, the majority of researchers have been unable to propose a scientific and effective method to implement such team teaching. In Gao and Bartlett’s research (2014), they discussed the major challenges facing EAP reformers in China (large student population and who/which department should determine the measure of success), and proffered the solution of strengthening the cooperation and collaboration between academic staff and language staff by quoting from interviews, without outlining an applicable systematic approach.

Gao and Bartlett’s (2014) reluctance to set out a methodology is understandable. From questions associated with how departments and teachers might cooperate, arises the issue of who takes responsibility for teaching knowledge or language resulting in much debate. Taking a philosophical perspective, any cooperation between EAP staff and subject staff seems risky. The ontology EAP language teachers hold is functionalism whereas science teachers pursue a realist paradigm; the resulting different ontologies, leads to different methodologies and assumptions about knowledge, which could impede attempts at collaboration. Furthermore, in some contexts, when subject teachers and language teachers co-teach in the EAP classroom, particularly when the subject teachers are not English native speakers or are less confident in their English, they may fear a challenge to their prestige that damages the potential for mutual trust between the two parties (Dudley-Evans, 2001). According to Wilkinson (1985), if the two parties are intertwined, it can be difficult for either to develop a careful pedagogy or rationale, due to their dependence on an alternate course.

From another perspective, if EAP is only taught by language teachers, then they may not be able to offer sufficient subject knowledge to their students, and cannot judge their students’ grasp of disciplinary knowledge (Faigley & Hansen, 1985; Hyland, 2006). However, if subject teachers take the position of teaching EAP instead of language teachers, according to Hyland (2006), many would take the acquisition of both the language and EAP for granted.

However, this does not mean there are no successful cases of cooperation between disciplinary departments and language centres to refer to. De Escorcia (1984), Dudley-Evans (2001), and Vukadinovic (1998) all offer contributions in this regard. Dudley-Evans’ (2001) team, teaching at the University of Birmingham claims to have achieved satisfactory results. Their strategy succeeded by clearly assigning roles to subject teachers, language teachers and students:

[T]he main role of the language teacher is to prepare the material for the session in co-operation with the subject teacher and to run the session. The subject teacher acts as an advisor entering the discussion to clarify points about the subject and to evaluate the students’ contributions…the students have the opportunity to raise questions and to clarify points about the subject with the actual subject teachers. (Dudley-Evans, 2001, p. 227)

This strategy is also consistent with that outlined by Swales (1988). Later, Dudley-Evans (2001, p. 227) goes on to add that in the real classroom:

[T]he role of the language teachers is that of the intermediary seeking to interpret on behalf of the students what the subject teacher meant in his or her lecturer or in an examination question. The language teacher will respond to the questions but also suggest questions that students might put to the subject teacher. The language teacher will also bring in the subject teacher to the discussion to answer questions or clarify issues when this seems necessary.

However, the complexity and length of a lesson must be seriously considered when EAP classes are being delivered in the suggested way. For example, in China, class size is usually larger than it is in the UK, and manipulating interactions between language teachers, subject teachers and students will lengthen class time and make it impossible to complete the objectives. Similarly, for language teachers and subject teachers to team-teach and fully comprehend the intricacies of each other’s roles requires considerable training, due to the complexity of the practice involved. The need for such training does not mesh with the expectations from the EAP reform in China. Indeed, as Gao and Bartlett (2014) point out; how to utilise the current resources and human resources to support and optimise EAP reform is the challenge that must be met in China’s higher education sector. Thus, we suggest that the recommended cooperation between departments and EAP providers might not be applicable to China. Indeed, Dudley-Evans (2001) himself admits that the Birmingham team teaching mode is ideal but not readily transferable to other contexts.

Therefore, the team teaching recommended here should aim to fit both the situation in China and the expectations from a new EAP pedagogy. Thus, a three-person supervisory team for each student group is suggested; and group numbers would be expected to differ according to the project or task undertaken. The three supervisors should include a disciplinary research supervisor who can offer students suggestions about how to conduct research employing theories relevant in their chosen discipline, a service learning supervisor responsible for connecting the students with the community to carry out service, and a language supervisor who can advise students on producing, writing up, and proofreading in different genres (e.g. essays, seminar PowerPoints and reports). The cooperation between the three supervisors would take place outside the classroom and their interaction would be simple and straightforward. For example, the service learning supervisor could explain the situation in a certain social learning community and outline the community’s needs; the disciplinary supervisors could offer students in-time research and disciplinary guidance when queries arise; and when students complete the practical aspect of their research, they can turn to their language supervisor for academic writing support on how to publish their work in different formats.

The role of each supervisor would be performed relatively independently of the other supervisors, and communication would only be required for clarification or progress updates. This new team teaching would be outside the classroom, leaving traditional classroom practice undisturbed, and so it could be integrated with any other existing curriculum. The disciplinary research supervisor could be appointed from academic staff in the department or experienced research postgraduate students. The service-learning supervisor could be drawn from a target community willing to liaise with postgraduate students or someone with experience in service learning. Finally, the language supervisor would be from the English language or linguistics department, or the university language centre, they might also be a competent postgraduate student with good academic English skills. These measures would greatly reduce the potential for disagreement and the need for additional time for teachers to cooperate, optimising utilisation of current human resources. The approach also reduces interference in classroom teaching and facilitates the delivery of academic services.

6.8 Conclusion

6.8.1 Recap and Significance of the Research

This study has adopted a phenomenological ethnography to probe a community of college English language teachers experiencing the pedagogical transition from EGP to EAP, as set out under the policies of the Shanghai education bureau. By answering the three research questions (RQ1. How do the teachers in pedagogical transitions from EGP formulate their epistemology of EAP? RQ2. How does the transition from teaching EGP to EAP influence teachers’ career as college English teachers? RQ3. How do teachers perceive the challenges and opportunities posed by the Shanghai EAP reform?), the current study extended existing knowledge from EAP teachers in the literature internationally, particularly those in transition from EGP to EAP in China. Transcending all previous studies, the current research offers an anthropological rendering of its research participants, providing a rich, chronological and contextualised picture of teaching, meaning-making, identity construction and the emotions of EAP teachers in pedagogical transition. Therefore, this study produced innovative findings, as discussed below.

When answering RQ1, the current research revealed the investigated teachers’ knowledge of EAP comprised eclectic theories and experiences; however, their eclectic knowledge of EAP to some extent overlapped with that described by current EAP theories. Moreover, the Chinese EAP teachers had a distinct understanding of the key differences between EGP and EAP. In terms of RQ2, the transition from EGP to EAP was perceived to fulfil the teachers’ educational ideals, helping them to boycott their career crises. Moreover, the teachers’ transition from EGP-EAP was a process of self-growth process; EAP stimulated the investigated teachers to become researchers developing visions for research at home and abroad. In terms of RQ3, the teachers identified clearly the potential problems and challenges they encountered when implementing the Shanghai EAP reform policy in relation to a range of factors, including student motivation, teacher training, resources, defined policy and the philosophy underpinning the course.

The advent of an EAP framework in the literature review could function as a map for practitioners when referring to different and sometimes conflicting, EAP theories and strategies. It might also work as a check for EAP teachers wishing to reflect on their curriculum and course, and to observe the progress of their EAP teaching, preparing EAP lessons tailored to the needs and of their students. Comparing EAP to multiple literacies also reduces readers’ cognitive processing of the meaning of EAP overall and as discrete elements. Regarding the theoretical contribution, one of the limited pieces of literature reviewed objectively analysed different schools of EAP theories, and the current study synthesises terminologies in EAP and extracts similarities across four general streams of literacy, producing a panoramic picture of the field.

At the end of this study, a set of implications for updating EAP theories arose, with the potential to improve the professionalism of those EAP teachers preparing their EAP students, optimising EAP pedagogy and refining EAP policy, as well as coordinating resources for EAP reflecting popular educational theories. The creation of these implications is not only useful for the stakeholders of the Shanghai EAP reform but is also constructive for all EAP colleagues to refer to. In terms of theoretical contribution, the current study contributes to EAP theory families, deepens the understanding of EAP teachers, particularly those working in China, and creates a possible pedagogy for EAP teaching. Furthermore, it details key aspects of practice, and could benefit teachers transitioning to teaching EAP, by enabling them to clarify their beliefs. It also offers suggestions for EAP policymakers to reflect upon.

6.8.2 Limitations and Future Works

A limitation of the current study is the limited time the researcher was immersed in the field, although the ethnographic data attained in both virtual and real-world contexts was abundant and the researcher collected as much data as possible. Had more time been devoted to be spent in the field then the ethnographic data might have been richer. Certainly, contacts could have been made sooner in the course of the research and an anthropological stance could have been exercised from 2014 onwards, so there would be scope to gather more data through a longer field study in the future. The current research could not have been statistically generalised, as it emphasises the stories of the four teachers phenomenologically and ethnographically; the implications were also based on the responses from and thinking over the participant teachers. Ideally, further anthropological studies could usefully concentrate on collecting data from EAP teachers in places other than China, because different findings would be expected from different local contexts and cultures. Surveys or other kinds of quantitative studies could be used to uncover the experiences of the Shanghai EAP teachers as a larger cohort. Furthermore, a systematic EAP pedagogy based on the implications of the current research would also prove beneficial.