“A thought group is a group, not a thought!” results of a teaching intervention on complex noun phrases in Canadian EAP programs

Complex noun phrases (CNPs) are a major vehicle of academic written discourse. However, despite posing significant challenges to English language learners (ELLs), they are rarely taught in post-secondary English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programs. This article reports on a quasi-experimental study on the usefulness of explicit teaching of the structure and use of CNPs in Canadian post-secondary EAP programs for the purposes of reading comprehension. Specially designed modules on CNP structure and use were integrated into advanced reading and writing EAP courses taught to 96 first-year college and university ELLs over the course of a semester. 102 ELLs in different sections of the same courses had regular instruction without the CNP modules. Pre- and post-test scores were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), and the teaching intervention was found to have a significant effect on the post-test scores in the experimental group. The relative success of the intervention is analyzed in relation to the literature on form-focused teaching interventions in reading courses. The article concludes by discussing opportunities for further integration of CNP instruction in EAP curricula.