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Articles

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2025): TEL in English language teaching, learning and assessment

Fostering academic literacy in English for Academic Purposes students through online academic Communities of Practice

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.c68f5aa2
Submitted
13 August 2026
Published
15-08-2026

Abstract

This qualitative study reviews existing literature on fostering EAP students’ academic literacy using online academic Communities of Practice (CoPs). While many studies have explored the benefits and drawbacks of using CoPs in Higher Education, few have explored how online academic CoPs can assist international students enrolled on EAP programmes to achieve the requisite academic skills to succeed in their studies while mastering both digital and Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). Thus, this study aims to investigate how CoPs and learning networks can facilitate the development of transferable academic skills of relevance in the digital era in EAP students.

The findings suggest CoPs may prove useful in the EAP classroom as a platform from which students can practise and develop digital literacy skills for their academic benefit. The rapid adoption of technology in academia and daily life is increasingly engaging students in bigger and more diverse online academic communities, enabling them to develop the necessary skill sets to navigate the digital landscape.

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