Conference reflections: Bridging EAP and science with data-driven learning
Written by Charles Lam
In December 2025, Charles Lam (Language Centre) presented at the 8th International Conference of the Asia-Pacific LSP & Professional Communication Association with support from the LITE Conference Fund and the International Conference Fund from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures.
This conference is one of the largest in the discipline of applied linguistics and language for special purposes. Plenary sessions included Averil Coxhead, who is the pioneer of academic word lists for lexical development. Sylvia Jaworska (University of Reading) discussed the use of corpus methods with experimentation in pedagogical research on language learning.
Across various topics and applications, we see the increasing presence of generative AI (GenAI). Scholars invariably stressed the importance of AI literacy in different contexts and purposes. Customised AI tools were also highlighted, demonstrating promising use cases beyond general purpose “off-the-shelf" chatbots. We also heard from Matthew McGlone on linguistic agency in health communication and Vijay Bhatia on negotiating identities in research engagement. These sessions provided a rigorous theoretical backdrop that complemented the practical, forward-thinking workshops.
The research presented at the conference
At the conference, I presented my work on ‘Qualitative Studies in Biomedical Science’. This scholarship work is a direct result of my teaching in Academic Literacy in Biological Sciences, where I work with postgraduate taught (PGT) students in the Faculty of Biological Sciences.
Using published research articles as my data, I analysed how procedures in qualitative studies are described. Specifically, I curated a corpus with methods sections from 15,159 articles (approximately 1.4 million words) available on PubMed Central, then identified key methods used (interviews and focus groups are common, unsurprisingly, but it is interesting to see ‘thematic analysis’ and ‘content analysis’ being increasingly important). An analysis with topic modelling (Latent Dirichlet Allocation, specifically) highlights topics that are frequently investigated through qualitative methods, such as GPs’ experience and women’s healthcare access.
For the purpose of language teaching, I have also investigated the choice of tense (past vs. present) and voice (active vs. passive) of high frequency verbs within the methods sections. These findings have direct impact on my teaching, facilitating PGT students in the Faculty of Biological Sciences with a class of research methods that is not familiar to everyone.
My experience as a presenter at this conference
Presenting at LSPPC8 allowed me to showcase how the University is using data-driven approaches to bridge the gap between English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and science disciplines. The feedback I received from my fellow scholars at the conference was invaluable, validating the approach we are taking at the Language Centre while challenging some of my perspectives on how to leverage the language corpus for pedagogical purposes.
One of the most insightful aspects of the conference was the sheer volume of forward-thinking work aiming to enhance pedagogy in Higher Education through GenAI. The conference programme was rich with sessions dedicated to this rapid technological shift. For example, workshops and panels such as ‘Promoting AI literacy through the design and use of customized GenAI bots’ and ‘AI literacy practices for law’ highlighted that GenAI is no longer just a buzzword but a practical tool in engaging student education. Seeing how colleagues across the world are navigating the challenges of GenAI gave me some concrete ideas on how to better prepare our students for a GenAI-integrated professional landscape.
Reflections on possibilities for collaboration with other institutions
Attending LSPPC8 was a reinvigorating experience that has strengthened my commitment to integrating research-informed teaching into the curriculum. I am grateful to the LITE Conference Fund and the International Conference Fund from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures for enabling this opportunity to engage with the global LSP community. Through this conference trip, I was able to connect with fellow scholars in linguistics to discuss data-driven learning and the use of GenAI in the context of language learning and teaching. Beyond the formal sessions, the hallway encounters and proved equally productive. These informal discussions, facilitated during the reception and breaks, have opened doors for potential cross-institutional collaborations.