Abstract:

The aim of the article is to examine the specific language difficulties and needs (e.g. development of formal writing skills with a special focus on the writing of conference articles and formal letter, development of reading skills of professional texts, development of presentation skills or development of listening skills) met by academic staff members in the course of giving lectures during their teaching mobility stays at partner universities, presenting a paper in English at a foreign conference or publishing a paper in a prestigious journal with an impact factor. Therefore, during 2012 and 2013 the author of this article performed an online questionnaires survey and focus interviews with 59 academics in order to discover how to assist academic staff members at the Faculty of Informatics and Management of the University of Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic) in their L2 acquisition and what to teach them in their courses of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). The issue of learning styles is also considered so that relevant teaching strategies for teaching EAP skills can be set.

Keywords:

Academic staff members, language difficulties, learner's needs, survey.