Developing disciplinary literacy in EAL university students
This autoethnographic account describes Canadian educators' efforts to develop disciplinary literacies among international undergraduate students. The course integrated language and content from first-year history, psychology, and geography using task-based and functional approaches. The authors illustrate how such pedagogy invites students to position themselves as meaning producers and fosters more empowered academic identities.
Key takeaways2
- Task-based and functional language learning approaches create educational spaces where students act as legitimate participants in scholarly discourse rather than merely "non-native" speakers or writers.
- Such pedagogical efforts support the development of learners' affective, cognitive, and communicative dispositions.