English as an Additional Language in Research Publication and Communication

Book excerpt: This book brings together a collection of selected empirical studies by researchers and English for Academic Purposes professionals working with scholars who use English as an additional language and who face barriers to publication when communicating the results of their research in the international context. The contributions have their origins in papers and workshops presented at the conference «Publishing and Presenting Research Internationally: Issues for Speakers of English as an Additional Language» (PRISEAL), which took place at the University of La Laguna (Spain) from 11 to 13 January 2007. The various issues which are addressed in this volume are grouped into three main themes: 1. Descriptive studies of linguistic and rhetorical features of written and spoken academic genres. 2. Contrastive studies of academic discourse with a focus on rhetorical preferences of members of scientific communities across cultures, disciplines and genres. 3. Studies which evaluate English for Academic Purposes courses and materials in terms of how successfully they develop the scholar's ability to communicate more effectively in English.