Rethinking ESP Teaching in Higher Education

New Horizons Through Cognitive Discourse Functions
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-3-032-17613-4
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 163 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 351 g

This book proposes a shift in early higher education instruction, examining why novice ESP students in EFL contexts benefit from focused attention to recurrent academic language functions, rather than being expected to grasp complex, discipline-specific genres from the outset. Motivated by challenges such as the Bologna reform, the spread of English-Medium Instruction (EMI), and increasingly diverse student profiles, the authors draw on Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs), taking the position that attention to these cognitive operations and their linguistic realisations can help make academic expectations more accessible to learners who are still developing both disciplinary knowledge and academic language, while scaffolding rhetorical flexibility and genre awareness.

The book provides an empirical exploration of the emergence and realisation of CDFs in undergraduate writing across a range of disciplines. It will be of particular interest to researchers in applied linguistics and language education, especially those working in ESP and EMI contexts.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nashaat-Sobhy, Nashwa

Carrió-Pastor, Maria Luisa

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Berufliche Bildung Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten, Studientechnik
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Lehrerausbildung, Unterricht & Didaktik Allgemeine Didaktik Hochschuldidaktik
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Fremdsprachenerwerb und -didaktik
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Psycholinguistik, Neurolinguistik, Kognition

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. ESAP in International Higher Education: Unpacking Challenges.- Chapter 3. Approaches to teaching ESP /EAP: a SWOT ANALYSIS.- Chapter 4. Genres in ESAP.- Chapter 5. Issues in Genre.- Chapter 6. In search for a way forward.- Chapter 7. Exploring CDFs as a feature of academic discourse across disciplines.- Chapter 8. Points of convergence and divergence in the uses of CDFs across disciplines.- Chapter 9. New pathways.

Über Autor(innen)

Nashwa Nashaat-Sobhy is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain. Her research examines the acquisition and use of disciplinary literacies across different contexts and educational levels, with a particular focus on the integration of content and language (CLIL). Her work in this area draws on Cognitive Discourse Functions and Legitimation Code Theory and has been published in leading international journals and edited volumes. She is an active member of research groups and networks dedicated to advancing bi-and multilingual disciplinary literacies (UAM-CLIL, CLILNetLE, ICLHE).

María Luisa Carrió-Pastor is a Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain, and a highly accomplished scholar with a prolific publication record in leading international journals and edited volumes. She has an established international research profile in academic and professional discourse, with regular participation in major conferences, including invited plenary talks. She has contributed to the organisation of international conferences and to the management of Cambridge English examinations, holds senior leadership roles in international associations (e.g., AESLA, AILA) and is the editor of an established Q2 journal.