Our Expertise
BALEAP has commissioned and collaborated on a range of research projects resulting in the following outputs.
We also support our membership in their research into a wide range of issues relevant to EAP and Higher Education through funding, and dissemination.
English Language Good Practice Guide
English Language Good Practice Guide: Testing, Qualifications and English for Academic Purposes in Higher Education
BALEAP and BUILA are pleased to launch the English Language Good Practice Guide: Testing, Qualifications and English for Academic Purposes in Higher Education. Developed for UK higher education institutions (HEIs) and wider sector stakeholders, the Guide sets out good practice from across the sector.
Bringing together sector expertise from across the student journey including EAP practitioners, test and assessment providers and other professionals working in UK higher education, the Guide focuses on three key areas: evaluating English language qualifications and tests; English language on pre-sessional and pathway programmes; and approaches to in-sessional EAP during the main degree programme. Student voice also underpinned the development of the Guide.
The Guide is designed to help institutions make fair, transparent and evidence-based decisions that protect academic standards, support international student success and experience, and safeguard the UK’s reputation as a world-class study destination.
The Overview section sets out the Guide’s purpose, scope and key principles: transparency, fair access, robust governance and evidence-based practice. It highlights the UK’s expertise in education and assessment and outlines four core areas for institutions to consider when evaluating English language qualifications and provision: due diligence, quality assurance, qualification evaluation, and monitoring and review.
Section 1 focuses on setting entry requirements and evaluating, accepting and monitoring English language tests, school-leaving qualifications, degrees taught in English and pre-sessional courses from external providers.
Section 2 covers good practice in the design, assessment and quality assurance of EAP pre-sessional and pathway provision, including transition and preparedness for degree study.
Section 3 explores models for effective in-sessional EAP, including discipline-relevant provision, collaboration between EAP and subject teams, embedded support, and evaluation through engagement, satisfaction and academic outcomes.
The Guide will be complemented by a series of best practice workshops designed to help HEIs enhance and embed English Language good practice.
Testing Guidelines
The purpose of the BALEAP Guidelines on English Language Tests for University Entry is to give stakeholders a richer description of English language tests in a format that facilitates comparison between them. Our aim is to assist staff responsible for reviewing and selecting the tests used by their institutions and setting the related scores/grades. It also aims to assist in the day to day interpretations of scores on the qualifications concerned.
TEAP competency framework
The Competency Framework was incorporated into the TEAP Portfolio scheme handbook in 2014. This handbook has now been revised to align the TEAP accreditation scheme more closely to the Advance HE (formerly HEA) led UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF).
BALEAP Can Do Framework
BALEAP has carried out research into the competencies required by students studying in UK universities at Master’s level. The results of this research are available as the BALEAP Can Do Framework.
"The BALEAP Journal of Research and Practice" was launched at the 2025 Biennial Conference.
The journal's ethos is to become the home to work related to research and practice within EAP. The journal aims to encourage the community to submit work of any genre which challenges and drives the field forward. We will also be home to future BALEAP conference proceedings.
The journal is open access and creative commons, trying to ensure that the work is as accessible as possible to ensure wider impact on and (trans)formation of the field.
Narratives of Innovation & Resilience
BALEAP commissioned and collated 8 case studies after the initial phase of the 2020 pandemic. In the eight narratives included in this collection, colleagues from different UK universities generously share their experience of developing context-appropriate solutions in the early stages of the 2020 pandemic. They reflect on what they learnt from the experience and on what they themselves and others can take forward into future practice.
The impact of Covid-19 on the UK EAP sector
In order to better understand the relative challenges and opportunities that resulted for key stakeholders in UK EAP provision during March to September 2020, BALEAP commissioned this report which provides the results of research conducted. We hope that this report will be seen as testament to the incredible resilience and community spirit shown and that it will prove useful as decisions are made about the future of UK EAP provision in the post Covid-19 era.
EAP Research Journeys
Snapshots of EAP Research Journeys is a collection of narratives of personal resourcefulness. Each contributor, either a presenter or a non-presenting participant at one of BALEAP‟s research training (ResTES) events, has shared a personal reflection on a research project in which they have been involved. Snapshots captures the journey hidden behind formal, structured accounts of EAP research for the benefit of a wider audience of EAP professionals who are considering embarking on a research journey.
Access to Literature
The importance of engaging with literature and having an evidence or knowledge base for EAP practice and pedagogy are essential elements of BALEAP's TEAP and BAS accreditation schemes. While what to read may be contested, there is general agreement that reading literature plays an important role in the development of the EAP practitioner and EAP provision. It is this access to literature and corpus research that has facilitated the move towards a more confident EAP that is grounded in a more secure and evidence-based understanding of disciplinary rhetoric and communicative behaviours. However, the question needs to be raised as to how accessible literature is for those working in the field of EAP in a global context. In 2023, BALEAP funded a collaborative research study to investigate and explore this matter further as an EAP community.