How would you answer Krashen’s assertion that teaching EAP is a “waste of time”?

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The above question was posted on the Oxford University Press English language teaching global blog

This reply was circulated via the BALEAP mailing list.

Any comments?

“[Stephen Krashen] did a tour of Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago, and gave three training sessions at our university.

He repeated these things (listed in order of what I remember and not giving value judgements on them)
 
-teaching grammar is a waste of time
-having standardised exams is a waste of time (we should rely on teacher evaluation)
– teaching must be ‘compelling’, in the sense that the student becomes so awestruck that he/she forgets him/herself and becomes totally immersed in the activity – no further guidance on how to achieve this!
– he gave us an example of his own learning English (his first language) when he grew up in his middle-class house surrounded by books. Not sure how I can transpose this to Saudi society.
 
Regards
 
Aftab Ahmed
Taiba University
Madinah
Saudi Arabia
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