ANÁLISIS SOCIO ECONÓMICO

It is clear from the data that the majority of respondents in this study are not linear

careerists who went into the field of EFL with a clear plan to become EAP tutors. They have taken a less than direct route to the roles they are currently in, with chance and unplanned opportunities being an emerging theme. The participants with a strong teaching focus have the clearest career paths but the lack of a definite career plan is evident for the majority of the group.

All of the participants in the study have a background as EFL teachers and taught abroad and in the UK before becoming EAP tutors. That experience typically includes teaching general English to adults and young learners, and some ESP classes, including exam classes, and Business and Academic English.

An interest in or previous experience of teaching is an emerging theme in the data. Three of the participants had trained as teachers and had PGCEs before going into TEFL. Another participant became interested in EFL after being inspired by someone in the field. For four of the participants (Dylan, Ellen, Steven and Gregg) a focus on teaching has been the most

common thread throughout their careers, whether it was in private language schools, state schools or universities. Despite this interest in teaching, no one mentions a vocation for teaching or a particular desire to disseminate the English language.

The other six participants all mentioned various jobs that they had done before going into EFL. These included a mortgage advisor and warehouse worker, and work in HR and in a pharmacy. This emphasises the permeable nature of EFL and the fact that people can enter at any stage in their lives and return following breaks. This permeability is one of the factors that impacts on the professional status of EAP.

Dominic was asked how he would describe his job:

A job. It’s a job. Not like it’s a calling or something. I started doing it because I wanted to travel. I wanted to work abroad. And I kept doing it because I couldn’t think of anything else. And I always quite liked it. Never too much of a burden compared to other jobs I did.

Dominic

Like Dominic, in terms of their original motivations for becoming EFL teachers, half of the participants cite the desire to travel abroad as their reason for going into the field. This is perhaps not surprising, as EFL provides a practical way to achieve this and fund travel abroad. Bell (2016) also found that the majority of his participants became English language teachers with the aim of travelling. He (2016 p.262) also comments on the fact that entering the field of English Language Teaching was “arbitrary” and “circumstantial” for his

interviewees and this also seems to be true for the current sample.

Several interviewees mention that they saw becoming an EFL teacher as a temporary move, planning to return to other work after a year or so. James, for example, comments that his perception was that teaching English was “a gap year job” and that it was only when he went abroad that he realised it that he liked it and that it could be a career. This echoes the common narrative around EFL teaching, as mentioned above in relation to Johnston’s article (1997) ‘Do EFL Teachers Have Careers?’ and the need to ask such a question. It is possible

that this reputation that sprung up around EFL’s early development has been and continues to be influential in its low status (Bell 2016 p.265).

Social conditions were also factors in terms of original motivation, and the following are mentioned by different participants: a dislike of Margaret Thatcher’s education policies and therefore a desire to teach elsewhere (Steven), and the unstable work conditions in the UK (Gregg).

The sample showed an initial commitment to teaching by obtaining EFL qualifications, either through completing the one-month CELTA course or through their PGCE training. As can be seen in Figure 7, four of the sample went on to complete the DELTA and eight of the sample have master’s qualifications (one in applied linguistics, two in TESOL and the other five in other unrelated subjects). One of the sample has a PhD in a subject that is connected to language learning. The range of qualifications evidenced in the sample reflects the

discussions taking place in EAP circles (Campion 2015) regarding what is most appropriate: from the data it is evident that both the DELTA and master’s qualifications are acceptable for EAP teaching. It is also interesting to note that only the minority of the sample have master’s degrees in subject-related areas. This reinforces Bell’s (2016 p.260) comments that EAP is a relatively easy field to enter; he notes that that most academic subjects require practitioners to have doctoral qualifications. As mentioned above, EAP, however, is a permeable area with weak boundaries and this impacts on practitioner status and EAP’s status as a profession.

In terms of the move from EFL to EAP, for most of the participants the change was opportunistic and not because of any particular career plan or desire to become an EAP tutor. Barbara, for example, started teaching on a university EAP course instead of the General English programme she had been employed for as another teacher dropped out and she was the only other person there with a master’s qualification. Another theme is the desire or need to move and that leading to an EAP job: Dominic followed his partner who moved for her job, and he subsequently found an opportunity teaching EAP; Ellen wanted to move to be nearer home and that led to an EAP job. Steven comments that on returning from abroad, it was easier to find EAP jobs than EFL ones and that they were better paid.

This is similar to other tutors in the sample (Mary, James and Tina) who found EAP opportunities attractive despite not having planned for this.

It is interesting to note that apart from one interviewee mentioning that she took the EAP modules as choices on her Diploma, none of the participants received any specific EAP training prior to starting their EAP roles, again emphasising the lack of a strategic career plan in this direction. The EAP qualifications that do currently exist (see BALEAP 2020b for examples) are a recent development over the past few years and would not have been available when the cohort started teaching EAP. The fact that EAP tutors used to, and may still, come into the field lacking subject-specific knowledge supports Ding and Bruce’s (2017 p.217) argument that EAP tutors lack “cultural/symbolic capital within academia” and need to be socialised into their role. These arguments are amongst those given by the authors to show that EAP is not yet a profession, and this is supported by the data.

4.1.5 Conclusion

In terms of general themes, gender differences do not appear to emerge from the data. Differences relating to the location of EAP units, however, do appear to have some influence on how participants regard EAP. The interviewees whose EAP units are located within an academic department or whose role requires them to be embedded in an

academic subject area seem to be more likely to have a broader view of EAP as an academic subject.

The data gathered regarding the EAP tutor show a number of common overall themes. The designation EAP Tutor is the most commonly used and there is broad agreement that this is the most suitable of the proposed EAP-related titles despite strong reservations. The roles of the sample comprise a number of significant differences but common threads have emerged: teaching and one-to-one tutorials are integral but there are discrepancies in how teaching is seen; there is a lack of a research component in all the roles and the majority of participants do not teach home students. The theme of supporting international students is also a common thread although how this is viewed generates diverse views, particularly in relation to the metaphor of a butler. The issue of a lack of status appears throughout the data. Common themes in relation to career background include the absence of a definite

career plan, an EFL background and having become an EAP tutor because of circumstances. All of these factors contribute to a lack of certainty in terms of how EAP tutors see

themselves. The following section examines the role of the EAP tutor in the university and considers the wider impact of this uncertainty.