English for academic purposes(EAP)is the linguistic representation of academic research.Current EAP research focuses on the analysis of the linguistic characteristics and generic structures of academic discourse,aiming to provide pedagogical instructions for EAP courses.Such an approach views EAP as a set of static rules,assuming that learners can grasp EAP through studying those rules.The relationship between language and knowledge is interactive.EAP can be acquired through the inquiry process;language is the by-product of such a process.Such a dynamic approach to EAP sheds new light on the EAP research and classroom instruction.