Current Developments in English for Academic and Specific Purposes: Local Innovations and Global Perspectives

Innovation – that is, new, beneficial ideas or practices – in English language teaching (ELT) has been a constant subject of academic discussion over the past few decades. This topic continues to be a concern to all ELT practitioners because, as teachers, we constantly invite new challenges into our teaching contexts, and these challenges must be addressed and resolved. However, innovation in the context of ELT is still under-researched (Waters, 2014), although areas of research are emerging in the fields of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (e.g., see Hyland & Wong, 2013).Despite the fact that both EAP and ESP are fertile grounds for innovation, pioneering practices are often limited to individual teachers or institutions. Therefore, there is a need for more research so that EAP and EAS practitioners across the globe can share and benefit from new ideas and approaches. In this context, this volume – the fourth book from the IATEFL ESP SIG – aims to bring together EAP and ESP practitioners from around the world to share their innovations and research into their novel practices. Innovations in EAP and ESP are usually initiated locally to meet specific needs. Innovative practices, due to their small scale and local nature, may not flourish where there is a lack of institutional support or resistance to change (Waters, 2009). Even if the innovation is on a national or large scale, implementing it may still be challenging (Hu & McGrath, 2011). Despite these barriers, if local innovative practices in EAP and ESP can be shared with other practitioners, EAP and ESP learners from around the world stand to benefit, given the increasing demand for English language skills globally. Each of the 12 chapters in this volume aims to showcase local innovations from a global perspective