Exploring ESP/EAP through questionnaire and replication research

Replicating Moir and Nation (2002): English for Academic Purposes learners’ metacognitive knowledge Research suggests that language learners have personal beliefs and knowledge about ways to learn a language (Wenden Rubin, 1987). Such beliefs and knowledge are conceptualised as metacognitive knowledge (Wenden, 1998). For vocabulary learners, metacognitive knowledge refers to what they know about themselves (e.g. their strengths and weaknesses), about the nature of vocabulary learning, and effective strategies. Moir and Nation’s (2002) study shows evidence that learners with high levels of this metacognitive knowledge are able to approach vocabulary more strategically and effectively, whereas those with gaps in their metacognitive knowledge persisted in learning behaviors they found unfruitful. Through interviews with ten English learners about how they learned vocabulary in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course, Moir and Nation (2002) found that most participants showed limited awareness of some important aspects in vocabulary learning, such as need-based word selection, depth of word knowledge, and effective strategies. Only one learner demonstrated a good understanding of how to learn vocabulary effectively. The present study, as a conceptual replication of Moir and Nation (2002), investigated learners’ metacognitive knowledge for vocabulary learning during a language course. Interviews were conducted with eight EAP students learning in the same institution as those in Moir and Nation (2002). The data showed that most participants reported many learning behaviors that are compatible with the good learner in Moir and Nation (2002), such as the awareness of learning different aspects of word knowledge and the need to put new words into use. Word selection and the impact of vocabulary testing did not emerge as noticeable issues in the current study as they did in Moir and Nation (2002). The different cohorts of participants and changes made to the current EAP course might have played an important part in these commonalities and differences in the findings of the two studies.The Principles and Practice of Developing and Validating a Questionnaire in Applied Linguistics ResearchQuestionnaires have become one of the most common data collection methods in applied linguistics. However, despite the wide application of questionnaires, it is not uncommon to come across questionnaires without sufficient reliability and validity. The major reason for this could be the questionnaire developers’ insufficient awareness of the questionnaire development and validation theory. In this talk, I report on the main principles and steps I followed to develop and validate two questionnaires about English for Medical Purposes (EMP) coursebooks used in China.