Presentation Developing EAP/ESAP Reading Materials with GenAI: A Boon or a Bane? more

With the affordances offered by GenAI (Generative AI) in nearly every aspect of language learning and teaching—including material development and assessment—both novice and experienced educators can now create tailored materials for their learners with remarkable ease. This shift has raised questions about the necessity of relying on established ELT (English Language Teaching) textbooks, which traditionally provide a well-structured curriculum and high-quality content. Drawing on his experience in developing in-house EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and ESAP (English for Specific and Academic Purposes) materials at an EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) university, the presenter will examine the challenges of using GenAI to create reading texts and the relevant learning tasks that accompany them. These challenges encompass text readability, the frequent content overlap encountered in the question or task types, and the necessary review and revision for enhancing the quality and suitability of the generated materials. While potential solutions will be shared, one of which involves prompt writing to generate varying readability and task difficulty levels, the ultimate aim of the talk is to encourage reflection on the impact of GenAI on EAP/ESAP material development.