What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate which skills learned in English for academic purposes (EAP) courses are perceived to transfer to other academic contexts.

March 19, 2026Open Access

Students’ perception of learning transfer: Which EAP skills transfer best?

Key Points

To investigate which skills learned in English for academic purposes (EAP) courses are perceived to transfer to other academic contexts.
Conducted a survey of ninety-five EAP students at a Canadian university.
Examined perceptions of skill transfer over six semesters.
Analyzed variations in perceived transfer across different faculties and academic levels.
Students perceive twenty-first-century skills as more transferable than traditional EAP skills.
Specific reading and writing skills show contradictory perceptions of transferability.
Reported learning transfer differs by faculty, self-reported grades, and between graduate and undergraduate students.

Abstract

English for academic purposes (EAP) courses improve English academic skills, build learner confidence, and prepare students for future academic success ( Zou 2025 ; Perkins James, 2023 ; 2025 ; Larsen-Freeman, 2013 : Monbec, 2020 ). This exploratory study surveyed ninety-five EAP students from a Canadian university over six semesters to understand which skills learned in advanced EAP courses transferred to disciplinary courses. Results show that students perceive twenty-first-century skills to be more transferable than traditional reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Furthermore, students paradoxically report some specific writing and reading skills to be highly transferable and others less so. Finally, reported learning transfer varies according to faculty, self-reported grade, and with graduate vs undergraduate students. Implications concerning curriculum development in EAP are discussed. 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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