A Narrative Inquiry Into The Development Model Of EAP Literacy In China:Learner Identity Construction Approach

EAP(English for Academic Purposes)course aims to develop learners’ abilities in academic activities with multiple EAP literacy development objectives including language skills,thinking and meta-cognition management in digital era[1]Currently,most domestic studies in EAP field concentrate upon the position justification of EAP course as an available choice for college English reform and its curriculum design,yet rare involve learners’ literacy development degrees and processes in EAP natural learning environment.Constructed and reconstructed through learning experiences,learner identity can be used as an analytic tool to reflect education,especially unquantifiable factors like multiple literacy.That is to say,learner identity is constructed in the process of EAP literacy development,so the study of learner identity and its construction process can mirror the situation of EAP literacy development.Therefore,this thesis attempts to explore learner identity and its construction process in EAP literacy development context and establish a general development model of EAP literacy based on specific development paths,so as to contribute to the promotion and consolidation of EAP curriculum system in China.Four life stories of four EAP learners,ranging from the past and the present to the future,are demonstrated according to their own narratives in reflective journals and face-to-face interviews,their EAP teachers’ and the researcher’s observations,and some related multimodal resources.The cooperation of narrative inquiry and analytical theory of Dialogical Self Theory highlights the dynamic and communicative feature of identity and its construction process,and restores the natural situation of EAP literacy development as much as possible.Results show four types of EAP learner identity embodied in stories:budding researcher,critical thinker,reflective imitator,and entrepreneur in progress,implying different literacy development stages and directions among EAP learners and representing groups of learners with similar experiences or characteristics.Specific development paths are discussed with the examining of each identity construction process,and a general model of EAP literacy development with multi-layered communication of experiences from the past,the present and the future is concluded based on the common characters shared by these paths.These findings have significant implications and referential values for future EAP studies and pedagogy.