ELINET - Debating gender gap issues in the STEM EAP class

The talk describes the set-up and development of a project within an EAP course for STEM doctoral students which aimed to extend the language traditionally taught from the specific purposes related to the field to more discursive domains. Indeed, these students typically use English as the lingua franca of science, i.e. to study their literature, write their papers and academi correspondence, attend conferences, present their research. They feel confident carrying out these tasks, but realise that English is also a necessary ‘social skill’ and report feeling handicapped when trying to find their ‘English voice’ in discussions or similar challenging oral interactions. In order to address this dichotomy and provide a more holistic use of English, young scientists attending an EAP course were involved in a debate on gender gap in STEM. The topic was chosen to spark their interest and hone skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, interactional competence, mediation and oracy by investigating an issue that is related to their field, yet distant from their daily research. The debate task allowed them to develop multiple skills in English by gradually moving from familiar activities (e.g. evidence collection, teamwork, note-taking) to less known areas (e.g. sequencing arguments, preparing counter-arguments, active listening). As the online anonymous end-of-course feedback form highlighted, ‘side-effects’ were increased awareness of the issue and inclusion of different perspectives (e.g. non-Europe-centric views thanks to the contribution of foreign students). The feedback they provided showed that participants understood the task’s value in terms of skills development and appeared to appreciate work with a scope which went beyond their field of work.