This was the central question at a joint one-day conference of the British Association of Lecturers of English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP) and the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE).

John Wrigglesworth, Principal Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, gave a presentation on EAP and Learning Development as Academic Meaning Making. The presentation identified essential EAP and Academic Literacies approaches, and outlined the descriptions of language that inform them. Based on research data from Home and International students, the presentation showed how descriptions of language can provide understanding into key similarities and differences in the way these two groups of students have been taught about, and to use, academic discourse.

John Wrigglesworth and Cathy Malone from Sheffield Hallam University are part of the editorial board for a special edition of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education which is looking at approaches to Academic Literacies theory inspired by Mary Lea and Brian Street’s seminal (1998) paper.