‘Make the world your major’: Exploring experiential learning in the EAP curriculum

This article explores the affordances of experiential learning framed within two college-level English for academic purposes (EAP) courses at a Sino-U.S. university in China. By adopting a four-phase experiential learning model, the two authors provide rich descriptions of their experiential learning project design and implementation and discuss how the experiential components enhanced students’ academic English learning experiences and stimulated interest of field-specific subject areas. The authors argue that despite some challenges in carrying out experiential projects, students were able to develop language skills and acculturate to academic practices of the university through the phases of the experiential cycle. Additionally, the authors highlight the potential of experiential learning and teaching to transform EAP curriculum design. This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ .

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Publication Details

Journal
International Journal of English for Academic Purposes Research and Practice
Published
2026-03-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3828/ijeap.2026.3
Primary Topic
Outdoor and Experiential Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

‘Make the world your major’: Exploring experiential learning in the EAP curriculum

Steve Iams, Meng Zhang
International Journal of English for Academic Purposes Research and Practice
Outdoor and Experiential Education
article

‘Make the world your major’: Exploring experiential learning in the EAP curriculum

Steve Iams, Meng Zhang
article en

Abstract

This article explores the affordances of experiential learning framed within two college-level English for academic purposes (EAP) courses at a Sino-U.S. university in China. By adopting a four-phase experiential learning model, the two authors provide rich descriptions of their experiential learning project design and implementation and discuss how the experiential components enhanced students’ academic English learning experiences and stimulated interest of field-specific subject areas. The authors argue that despite some challenges in carrying out experiential projects, students were able to develop language skills and acculturate to academic practices of the university through the phases of the experiential cycle. Additionally, the authors highlight the potential of experiential learning and teaching to transform EAP curriculum design. This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ .

International Journal of English for Academic Purposes Research and PracticeVol. 6(1)
New York University Shanghai (CN)
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 28%
Outdoor and Experiential Education
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