Bee Bond. Making language visible in the university: English for academic purposes and internationalisation. New perspectives on language and education. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2020. 223 pp.

Sara Gozálvez Catalán

Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Faculty of Philology
Department of English Studies: Linguistics and Literature

Grammar is the cradle of language, the reason for all writing; this is part of the thesis that Bee Bond proposes in her book Making language visible in the university: English for academic purposes and internationalisation. New perspectives on language and education. According to her biographical data, the author is an Associate Instructor of English for Academic Purposes at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Her research interests include language and policy, development of the English studies project with academic goals, international student experiences through language, and content-driven academic language education.

The present edition of this book focuses on the nexus of language, disciplinary content, and communication of understanding in the environment of economic, cultural, and ideological forces in today’s promotion of higher education on the way to internationalization. It indicates the need for greater synergy between professionals in language and content and argues that change should be implemented through policies rather than ad-hoc by individual teachers. It is a call for action so that English for Academic Purposes (eap) experts find a way out of the comfort of their centers and work to apply dominance over the larger environment in which they work. The book begins and ends in the practice of education, with a full focus on understanding the barriers and enablers of such practice in any particular setting.

This book is primarily intended for eap experts. However, it is also aimed at other researchers who work in higher or tertiary education and have an interest in teaching and supporting international students. As it is mainly focused on postgraduate study projects taught in the uk, it is of the highest relevance to those working in this environment and teaching at that level. However, the author’s intention is that many of the issues raised and topics discussed in each chapter resonate with and apply to those who teach in other settings and at other levels. Furthermore, the final chapter also gathers suggestions for the development of policies and practices the institutional and local levels. These recommendations are where the English for Academic Purposes (eap) practice should position itself and work with university leadership to make actual changes in education and learning in higher education practices. English for Academic Purposes is essentially defined as “the teaching of English with the specific aim of helping learners to study, conduct research, or teach in that language” (Bond, 2020: 7).

Chapter 1 is of interest to those who continue advancing their own scholarship plan. The author cites the argument of Ding and Bruce (2017): scholarship is key to implementing a more equitable status for eap in academia. This chapter explains her own unintended journey to the Learning and Education Grant, positioning herself as the definition of the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching (SoTL). It focuses on the complex ethical considerations required in the SoTL plan, expert efforts and benefits, and institutional revenue. The next chapters provide an elaborate portrayal of rhizomatically interconnected components and topics that create the experience of those engaged in learning and education in an undergraduate program.

To note, each part begins with a brief overview of an eclectic program, continuing with theorists that set the basis for the study of data, and with practice and references to teach how to remain permanently interconnected and unequal by creating exceptions of identity, agency temporality, and trust. However, in Chapter 6, she discusses on how to focus on English with academic goals and the current role of eap practitioners in assisting any linguistic taught post-graduate (tpg) curriculum.

An example of an unequivocal action that is adversely related to the use of language is reflected on page 129 of Chapter 5: “For students to feel authorised to speak with authority, they needed to feel able to both interact with a text and with other speakers in unplanned communication…” (Bond, 2020: 129). This fragment shows an informal tone that could be improved by strengthening the analytical process that an academic textbook should represent. However, not all the examples provided in Chapter 4 page 85 are unfavorable, as is the case of the instances of fragments that document it: “Students focused on decisions they were making around academic processes, on how they were developing as independent and autonomous thinkers and their growing confidence...”, and an example of the documented feedback that states: “I feel like I know how to start and how to arrange the structure and the references. I feel like it will take less time than it did before”. These aspects reinforce the usefulness of the information provided in the chapter. Therefore, the recipient infers that the data documented in the text are useful for his/her professional training.

Later, in Chapter 7, a language heuristic is shown that joins six areas — pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, knowledge communication, cultural capital, social capital and threshold concept. These areas can be used when considering where language could impact the experience of tpg for all related parties. For this reason, the author of the book clearly indicates that it is only through strategic change and institutional policy based on constant practice that the possibility of language conceptions within the content curriculum can take place. Afterward, she outlines the multiple policy points to keep in mind and makes recommendations for developing local practice to allow for the development of a more inclusive, linguistic, and connected curriculum. This is where eap experts really should start to surpass their educational centers and set dominance networks and spheres to continue with their academic progress as professionals.

Therefore, after a careful analysis of the book, it can be inferred that the author fully met the primary objective of the book, i.e., exemplify the tools to improve the grammatical aspect of both the student body and the teaching staff. Consequently, it exposes both bibliographic and phenomenological evidence to carry out an analytical contrast from two perspectives: objective and subjective.

Finally, it should be noted that this book was intended to outline the main approaches related to learning the key grammatical aspects in English. This material is considered a reliable bibliographic source for the elaboration of curricula for English teachers since it promotes the cognitive process in students. Moreover, this book is highly recommended for teachers, scholars, and researchers interested in eap and improving the knowledge and practice of international students at higher or tertiary education levels. Nevertheless, the author occasionally uses an authorial voice in the first person that reduces the elegance of the text. Using a formal and objective word usage at all times would be recommended to avoid biasing the reaction of the receiver of the information in the text.

References

Ding, Alex, & Bruce, Ian (2017). The English for academic purposes practitioner: Operating on the edge of academia. London: Palgrave Macmillan.