An Investigation Into English-for-Academic-Purposes (EAP) Students’ Transfer Motivation and Learning Transfer

Determining whether students are motivated to transfer their learning is vital in learning transfer research. However, this topic has received little attention in the context of English-for-academic purposes (EAP) education. This study examines 22 EAP students’ (a) transfer motivation and (b) actual learning transfer from their EAP course to other courses they were taking concurrently. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with the students to gauge their transfer motivation. Writing samples from these students’ EAP and content courses were also collected and analysed for determining the actual transfer of 10 learning outcomes. The qualitative data analysis revealed that most students did not report having total transfer motivation. Most participants had transfer motivation components (e.g., intention to transfer; desire to transfer), while half of the participants demonstrated an effort to transfer, and only seven participants had a positive attitude to transfer. Analysis of their writing samples revealed that all but one student demonstrated a transfer of EAP skills; however, this transfer was inconsistent across learning outcomes, tasks, and disciplines. The findings highlight the importance of total transfer motivation to achieve more consistent learning transfer. Based on these findings, implications for future research and instruction are discussed.