English for Academic Performance (EAP)

The EAP (English for Academic Purposes) program is designed to aid students’ acquisition of American academic and professional English at Eastman. Each EAP course focuses on the study of authentic reading and lecture materials from both academic and professional contexts that aid students in their integration of the core language skill areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Subjects that are related to music are given special attention. The goal of EAP courses at Eastman is to help students be full and confident participants in the Eastman community.

The first-year course sequence introduces students to a range of academic disciplines related to music and their studies at Eastman. The sequence begins with the receptive skills of reading, listening and vocabulary-building, and during the year focuses increasingly on productive skills of speaking and writing. All courses place emphasis on sustained speech in English through critiqued oral presentations. In written work, students focus on developing an authentic voice, composing a thesis and incorporating evidence with the use of proper citation.

Eastman also offers advanced-level EAP courses, entitled “The Versatile Musician: Professional Writing and Public Speaking.” These courses are cross-listed in the Humanities department and available as electives to advanced undergraduate and graduate students.

All students who were required by Admissions to provide a TOEFL score will be interviewed during orientation week before the fall semester.  The interview takes place through the Office of Academic Affairs, and is used to complement the students’ files to determine appropriate placement. Students are placed in to EAP courses based on a combination of the interview and their admissions file.  Students are notified by the Registrar in the first week of the semester if they have an EAP course requirement, recommendation or exemption.  Please note that international students who are exempt from the first-year EAP sequence may be required or recommended to enroll in EAP 201/202.  Many international students who are exempt from an EAP requirement may also find it beneficial to take EAP, and these students are welcome to take any EAP course.

A minimum TOEFL score for acceptance into Eastman does not exempt students from EAP study.  While the TOEFL test can serve as a predictor of student success, the skills required for a successful TOEFL score are not necessarily the same skills required for successful academic studying in the English-medium environment.