Teachers’ decision-making processes when designing EAP reading materials in a Lithuanian university setting

A shift from teaching English for general to teaching English for specific purposes has called for changes in English teachers’ practices in a Lithuanian university; in line with research in the area of EAP, teachers are thus expected to design their own reading materials that could cater to the special needs of their students. However, while designing new materials can be extremely satisfying, both professionally and creatively, it can also be a complex undertaking posing a number of challenges to the teachers. This study aimed to explore eight Lithuanian EAP teachers’ decision-making processes and the factors influencing their decisions when (1) conducting needs analysis, (2) formulating goals and objectives, (3) finding input materials, (4) creating activities, and (5) using materials in class. Results obtained from lesson observation, video-stimulated recall and document data analysis revealed that the selection of materials was intuition-led rather than research based. In addition, contextual factors, such as the principal’s requirements and the availability of resources, appeared to greatly mediate the teachers’ decision making. Implications of these findings for implementing appropriate reading materials in a Lithuanian context are discussed.

► EAP teachers utilized commercial and in-house textbooks.
► Materials used topic units to develop students’ technical vocabulary.
► The selection of materials was intuition-led rather than research based.
► Contextual factors greatly mediated teachers’ decision-making.