A Collaborative Approach to Enhancing Source-Based Speaking and Writing Skills in EAP for University Students in Taiwan

The Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College (BEST), launched by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MOE) in 2021, aims to enhance students’ proficiency in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and professional communication. A key principle of the program is strengthening the connections among teaching, learning, and assessment. This paper presents a case study that explores how learning materials, developed with reference to the results of the BESTEP, an EAP-oriented test, have been adapted for English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) courses at a university to enhance students’ source-based speaking and writing skills.

To support the implementation of the BEST program, the BEST Test of English Proficiency (BESTEP) was developed under the MOE’s guidance. Results from BESTEP speaking and writing tests show that students struggle with source-based tasks that require integrating visual and textual information to develop arguments in spoken and written formats. In response, EAP learning materials were developed by the BESTEP developers to strengthen skills in graph description, information synthesis, paraphrasing, and summarizing, addressing challenges identified in test-takers’ performances.

This study examines the use of EAP materials in two ESAP courses—Academic English for Management and Academic English for Bioresources & Agriculture—targeting students with CEFR B1+ to C1 proficiency. Emphasizing the integration of academic theory with practical knowledge in each discipline, the courses aim to enhance students’ discipline-specific academic communication skills. Instructors adapted different EAP units for each course to teach source-based speaking and writing. The four-month study explores how these materials have been tailored to meet the needs of students in different disciplines and their impact on learning. Data have been collected through test and course document analysis, classroom observations, and interviews with instructors and students. The findings aim to demonstrate a collaborative approach to enhancing English language education for academic purposes at the tertiary level.