Evaluating the Impact of Embedded Academic Language and Literacies Provision in a School of Education and School of Music

This paper outlines how a Listening Room approach was used by two practitioners of English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) to evaluate the impact of embedded academic language and literacies provision in two departments at the University of Leeds. In this small-scale case study, Listening Rooms were used to capture authentic conversations between student friends, who took part in a conversation about the impact of the language and literacies provision they were accessing within their respective schools. Within this, the EAP practitioners undertook a collaborative approach to data analysis which led them to revisit methodological dilemmas about the researcher’s role in this type of evaluation study alongside the influence of emic and etic perspectives in collaborative data analysis processes. In this paper, they consider which type of researcher or teacher-researcher is best positioned to undertake these types of evaluation studies. In line with other evaluation studies, students identified key features of the provision that enhanced or thwarted their engagement in different types of academic communication. These features included the value of relationship-building, the influence of curriculum, learning and teaching practices, and explicit teaching of academic language and literacies. This study also captured important constructive suggestions that have implications for online teaching and classroom practice.