DECOLONIZING ANGLOPHONE EAP INFLUENCE IN THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT

Abstract

It is widely known that English teaching practices are largely rooted in colonialism and linguistic imperialism – the belief in the superiority of the Western teaching methods and linguistic norms established in such countries as the UK and the US. The current trend to decolonize English teaching has been gaining momentum for over three decades but has not entirely penetrated into the mainstream teaching of English, with English for Academic Purposes not being an exception. Relatively little focus has been placed in the research onto non-English speaking contexts with the purpose of analysing the current state of EAP provision at universities and gauging the influence of the native-speakerist academic English norms on EAP students’ writing. In the case of the EU context, it may be particularly pertinent to investigate the potential influence that Brexit might have had in terms of rejecting the imposition of the Standard British English norms and associated teaching approaches. This paper is meant to be a reflection with an attempt to stimulate the discussion of EAP teaching practices and academic discourses in the EU higher education in the post-Brexit era. It will consider the issues in the EAP provision in the EU with the example of Portuguese HE and will reflect on the native-speakerist tendencies within the academia and ways to tackle the dominance of the Anglophone norms. This paper hopes to contribute to the argument in favor of the decolonization of EAP teaching practices in non-English speaking contexts, as decolonization can help foster a more equitable and inclusive world.