Abstract:

As internationalization and globalization in higher education intensifies, there are ever increasing numbers of students who travel beyond their own country’s borders to study. Thus, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is a methodology which is at once growing in importance and becoming more widespread. Moreover, English now dominates the research world because it is the language of academic publications. Therefore, non-native English speaking academics, especially those working outside the inner circle English speaking countries, need EAP skills in order to get their research presented and published in the world’s prestigious databases, such as the Web of Science. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explain current understandings of the concepts and principles of EAP. Firstly, its definitions and classifications are outlined. Secondly, the needs of non-native students studying in different environments of EAP are discussed. Thirdly, criticism of present EAP teaching practices is emphasized and finally, a specific problem of the Czech students is mentioned.

Keywords:

English for Academic Purposes, concepts, principles.