Mapping Research on English for Occupational Purposes in Higher Education: Trends and Challenges (2015–2024)
Keywords:
EOP; higher education; graduate employability; systematic literature review; curriculum alignmentAbstract
While the growing demand for workplace English skills has underscored the need for effective teaching English for Occupational Purposes (EOP), current instruction often misaligns with industry requirements. Reviewing empirical studies can inform teaching practice and research, but existing reviews either narrow their scope to specific English skills or exclude authoritative databases. Therefore, this study presents a PRISMA-guided systematic review (2015–2024) of WoS and Scopus empirical studies on EOP in higher education. Following PRISMA guidelines, 36 studies were selected from 200 records. Trends, methodologies, topics, issues, and findings were synthesized. Findings reveal a continuous yet limited and fluctuating publication trend, primarily focused on service-oriented disciplines within public universities in non-English-speaking regions and countries. Methodologically, while mixed, quantitative and qualitative methods were almost evenly employed, cross-sectional designs prevailed. Six major topics are identified, including curriculum design, teaching objectives, teaching resources, teaching methods, assessment, and affecting factors. The most dominant issue is the misalignment between curriculum and industry needs. Technology empowerment, industry relevance, communicative skills, and stakeholder characteristics were effective responses. Collectively, EOP research remains underexplored and constrained by the lack of contextual, methodological and topic diversity, while also highlighting critical pedagogical challenges and potential solutions. These findings offer insights for industry–academia collaboration in policy, industry-aligned EOP curricula, and communication-focused EOP pedagogy. Future research is expected to broaden databases, contexts, and disciplines, employ longitudinal designs, and explore underdeveloped topics such as teaching resources and assessment.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.25.5.33
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