Continuing professional development 

Teaching English for Academic Purposes (TEAP) online Online distance learning

This online course is suitable for teachers from a wide variety of backgrounds and is aimed at people interested in developing their understanding of practices and skills required for teaching English for academic purposes (EAP), in anglophone and non-anglophone English medium instruction (EMI) contexts. Areas covered include exploring academic contexts, understanding and producing academic texts and EAP course design and assessment.

  • CPD: 17 weeks

Why this course

  • This course is designed and delivered by the team in English for Academic Study at the University of Glasgow.
  • English for Academic Study has been designing and delivering general and specific academic English courses for over 25 years and runs the highly-regarded BALEAP Accredited summer pre-sessional courses.
  • The team has extensive experience in English for academic purposes course design, teaching and teacher development.
  • The teaching team also deliver a number of courses on both the MSc and MEd TESOL, including the very successful face to face TEAP option on both programmes. In 2016, one of our MEd TESOL graduates won the BALEAP EAP Masters Dissertation Award for her work on critical thinking and EAP writing.
  • Completion of the course carries with it 20 Postgraduate Masters level credit points (SCQF Level 11; RQF Level 7).
  • Should participants wish to continue on to a masters in TESOL at Glasgow, the credits would be eligible for consideration under accredited prior learning.

    • What our students say

    Having previously taken numerous online master’s courses, this one stood out due to its attention to detail. From the start, it was clear that significant time had gone into planning the course and curating valuable materials. I appreciated the synchronous aspects of the course, but the flexibility of being able to work in my time zone at my convenience was invaluable. This course was instrumental in developing an understanding of the extent that academic literacies vary from programme to programme. Not only did the course raise awareness, but it also provided a framework to apply in investigating different disciplines, spoken and written academic genres, and developing materials for students within those disciplines. Additionally, the theoretical aspects of the course were complemented with practical applications through the assignments.
    Kate, previous TEAP Online student

    As I live in Spain, the best thing for me was the online option. I also liked the fact that we could meet up once a week online and speak with different tutors and other students. It was good to know that I wasn’t the only one trying to juggle the course with a full-time teaching job.
    Leah, previous TEAP Online student

    Studying online allowed me to engage with an international community of lecturers. This improved my experience, knowledge, and culture, as every week there was an opportunity to interact with international academics. There was a constant dialogue and interaction aimed at sharing personal experiences in teaching activities. While I am not an EAP lecturer, I strongly believe that the TEAP course helps me in a wide range of academic activities: module and syllabus design, assessment, poster design, evaluation of three-minute presentations, citing and referencing, and how to teach these skills.
    Camilla, previous TEAP Online student

    Frequently Asked Questions

    You can download answers to our most frequently asked questions as a PDF:

Course structure

Summary

  • Course duration: The course starts in January and continues to mid-May.
  • The course includes a one-week induction to the course and online learning
  • 10 'input' units based around three themes
  • Regular workshop weeks are built into the schedule to prepare for assignments
  • A final period for assessment
  • Normally a 2-week break around Easter and the University’s Spring vacation
  • You should allocate, on average, at least 12 hours a week.

Structure

Drawing on the BALEAP Competency Framework for Teachers of English for Academic Purposes (2008), the course is designed around three main themes split into ten individual units:

  • academic contexts
  • understanding and producing academic texts
  • EAP course design and assessment

The content units and workshop weeks for assignment familiarisation each form a weekly cycle of work.

You can download a sample timetable here:

Delivery

  • We have designed the course so that you can complete units in an asynchronous fashion over each weekly cycle of work. Course content is provided via specifically recorded mini-lectures, screencasts & accompanying slides and written materials.
  • Guided self-study tasks, including forum postings and wiki–based tasks, to enhance interaction and engagement with content and peers. We also offer live room webinars at regular intervals for those who wish to join a live discussion. These are not, however, obligatory.
  • Presented via our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Moodle.
  • Participants will be able to access digitised materials, articles, and books via the University of Glasgow's library and to take advantage of the additional online resources to which the library subscribes.

Assessment

The formal assessment for this course consists of two assignments:

  • Research and report on a specific academic context/discipline (including exploration of academic discourse) 2000 words (50%).
  • An essay which investigates a specific aspect of EAP or ESAP teaching accompanied by an evaluation of teaching materials 2000 words (50%).

More information on the course is available in the course catalogue:

Course alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all courses as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a course. For more information, please see: Student contract.

Career prospects

Completion of the course carries with it 20 Postgraduate Masters level credit points (SCQF Level 11; RQF Level 7).

Should participants wish to continue on to a masters in TESOL at Glasgow, the credits would be eligible for consideration under accredited prior learning.

Fees & funding

Fees 2025-26

£1,250

Entry requirements

The following entry requirements normally apply:

  • First degree (undergraduate) and normally a recognised professional teaching qualification.
  • Level of English equivalent to a minimum of IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.5 in any skill.
  • Teaching experience is desirable.

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Computer requirements

Internet browsers

Moodle requires the following browser specs:

  • Google Chrome 81.0.4044.113 or later
  • Mozilla Firefox 75.0 or later
  • Microsoft Edge 81.0.416.58 or later

Javascript also needs to be enabled within your browser.

Minimum recommended computer specifications

  • Processor: 2GHz
  • Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® 10 or macOS 10.15 (Windows 10 is highly recommended) 
  • Memory: 8GB of RAM
  • Hard disk: 250 GB
  • Sound card and microphone plus speakers or headphones
  • Monitor and video card with 1024x768 display or higher
  • Broadband internet connection: 1.5 MBs or higher

Mobile devices specifications

  • iOS: latest, and latest version of Apple Safari web browser
  • Android: 10 with latest Google Chrome

Advised software

  • Word processing software (that outputs to the following file types for marking online: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf)
  • Anti-virus software

Optional hardware

There are live virtual classroom sessions scheduled for this course. Zoom meetings will be held with your course tutor or support staff (e.g. for academic writing support), and a Zoom-compatible headset with microphone is  highly recommended. 

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How to apply

  • The next course is due to start in January 2026
  • Application deadline is 19 December 2025 (all applicants)
  • The application system normally opens in the autumn

If you wish to be informed once the application system has opened or if you would like any further information, please contact: arts-teaponline@glasgow.ac.uk

Preparing for application

The following entry requirements normally apply:

  • First degree (undergraduate) and normally a recognised professional teaching qualification
  • Level of English equivalent to a minimum of IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.5 in any skill
  • Teaching experience is desirable

When you apply, you will be asked to upload the following documents:

  • CV/Resume
  • Degree certificate(s)
  • Any teaching qualification certificates (add under Degree or Other)
  • Personal statement (saying why you wish to take this course)
  • Language test if relevant

The number of places on this course is capped and applications will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis to help us manage the process fairly.

Apply now
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