Anchor Points for Teaching ESL Academic Writing in the Changing Educational Landscape

DOI: 10.24833/2949–6357.2024.GEO.1 УДК: 372.881.111.1

Natalia N. Kasatkina
Candidate of Pedagogy, Associate Professor, Yaroslavl State University named after P. G. Demidov, Yaroslavl, Russia;
email: Ninet75@mail.ru

Victoria V. Tevs
Teaching Assistant, Yaroslavl State University named after P. G. Demidov, Yaroslavl, Russia;
email: viktori19985@gmail.com

Abstract
In recent years, there has been a tremendous paradigm shift towards seeing language as a dynamic and multifaceted process, which has opened new avenues and posed new challenges for both teaching and learning. Given that the CEFR supplies the conceptual vision of our research, we singled out three principles permeating the 2020 edition of the volume (student-centered approach, action-oriented approach, social agency, and mediation) and took them as the anchor points when designing the syllabus of our course for B1–B2 learners. The main objective of the study is to understand how the CEFR and the teaching assets it contains can be incorporated into the classroom. The authors argue that catering to students` needs by constructing an individual roadmap, modeling real-life situations, and learning through interaction with peers empowers students to get in the driving seat of the learning process, exert their social agency, and, consequently, get closer to their goals and aspirations.

Keywords: L2 academic writing, science communication, CEFR, literature circles, student-centered approach, action-oriented approach.

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