By means of an analysis of the genre of the audit report, this study highlights the respective roles of linguistic and contextual analysis in genre analysis, if the results are to be of maximum use in ESP course design. On the one hand, based on a corpus of current and authentic written auditors' reports produced in a large international Hong Kong…

This study is a genre analysis which explores the specific discourse community of tax accountants. Tax computation letters from one international accounting firm in Hong Kong were analyzed and compared. To probe deeper into the tax accounting discourse community, a group of tax accountants from the same firm was observed and questioned. The texts…

Presents a description of a major class of vocabulary, signalling nouns, that have important discourse functions in establishing links across and within clauses. The description provides a framework useful to materials writers, teachers, and learners of English for academic purposes. (Author/VWL)

Presents a range of insights that can be gained for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) listening comprehension pedagogy from the analysis of an authentic lecture. Notes that the salient features identified in the lecture are absent from academic listening textbooks surveyed and argues that EAP listening instructors need to supplement their texts…

Reports findings of ethnographic research into second-language lectures conducted at a university in Hong Kong. Six sociocultural features of second-language lectures are discussed: purposes of lectures, roles of lecturers, styles of lecturing, simplification, listener behavior, and humor. (31 references) (Author/CK)

Problems of a process approach to English for specific purposes courses for "convergent" academic disciplines are illustrated with an example of science instruction. Course designers must undertake task analysis of the intellectual abilities used in learning activities and relate these to the intellectual abilities of language learners. (Author/CB)

A large-scale experimental content-based language curriculum developed over the last decade at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman is reported. The case study approach shows how content-based instruction can be applied in a situation where a more traditional English-for-Specific-Purposes approach would normally be employed. (44 references) (Author/LB)