EAP in a changing world: Towards a New Research Agenda

Jiang, Fang (Kevin) and Hyland, Ken (2026) EAP in a changing world: Towards a New Research Agenda. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 80. ISSN 1475-1585

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Abstract

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has evolved from its beginnings as a pragmatic branch of English language teaching into a mature, interdisciplinary field concerned with the linguistic mediation of knowledge. While continuing to play a crucial role in the higher education of students around the world, contemporary developments have radically reconfigured the conditions of academic communication in which it operates. English now functions within a global-digital-plural ecosystem characterised by multilingual practices, multimodal genres, and algorithmic mediation. These changes present EAP with new theoretical and pedagogical challenges that extend beyond language description or skills instruction, demanding critical engagement with the ethical, technological, and epistemic dimensions of academic literacy. This paper proposes that we need a new research agenda for EAP that addresses three intersecting domains: the impact of artificial intelligence on academic writing and authorship; the diversification of academic communication in a globalised and open-science environment; and the implications of disciplinary hybridity and epistemic pluralism for pedagogy and research. In doing so, it positions EAP as a critical and epistemic discipline central to understanding how language, technology, and knowledge co-evolve and operate in the contemporary academy.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	artificial intelligence,digitalisation,disciplinary communication,english for academic purposes,epistemic pluralism,global english,language and linguistics,education,linguistics and language ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1200/1203
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Language in Education
Related URLs:	https://www.scopus.com/pages/publication...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	05 May 2026 08:43
Last Modified:	09 May 2026 13:09
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/102887
DOI:

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