A Mixed Blessing? Creating Opportunities for Interdisciplinarity in Mixed-Discipline Postgraduate In-sessional Modules

This chapter explores an innovative approach to the challenge of introducing interdisciplinarity into postgraduate in-sessional EAP modules. Mixed-discipline classes are often considered to be a necessary evil in EAP. EGAP (English for General Academic Purposes) provision is either viewed as a bridge to reach a later stage of academic literacy (Bruce in TESOLANZ Journal 25:1–8, 2017; Hyland in The Routledge handbook of English for Academic Purposes. Routledge, 2016) or as an unavoidable compromise that has to be tolerated due to low staff numbers, lack of suitable published materials, or limited expertise among EAP teachers in any particular academic subject (De Chazal in English for Academic Purposes. Oxford University Press, 2014). Meanwhile, ESAP (English for Specific Academic Purposes) is seen as the gold standard of ‘real’ EAP, teaching students the language and academic literacies particular to their own academic field and thus leading to acceptance within their discourse community (Hyland in English for Specific Purposes 21(4):385–395, 2002; Journal of English for Academic Purposes 29:32–43, 2015). However, this chapter will suggest why we might see mixed-discipline groups as a blessing rather than a curse. While practicalities of timetabling mean that postgraduates taking in-sessional EAP modules at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) find themselves in diverse mixed-discipline groups, this reality has led to innovative curriculum design focused on operating within interdisciplinary contexts. The chapter will provide examples of lessons and activities based on interdisciplinary communication. In module feedback, students reported that they appreciated the chance to engage in authentic interdisciplinary communication, explore topics from perspectives they would not normally have considered, and consider how to present knowledge from their own field to non-experts. Research points to multiple benefits of interdisciplinary learning, including student engagement, increased problem-solving skills, and enhanced cognitive gains (Gerstein in User Generated Education, 2019). Meanwhile, academic publications show significant trends towards interdisciplinary collaboration (Larivière and Gingras in Beyond bibliometrics. MIT Press, 2014). This suggests that we should be seeking to develop our students’ interdisciplinary language and skills as these are reflective of the future world of work and academia in which they will be operating.