BMJ

Teaching English For Specific Purposes

Author(s): Magda Kourilova
Source: The British Medical Journal, Vol. 2, No. 6187 (Aug. 18, 1979), pp. 431-433
Published by: BMJ
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BRITISH

MEDICAL

18 AUGUST

JOURNAL

431

1979

Matters

Style

for specific

English

Teaching

purposes

MAGDA KOURILOVA

British Medical

Few
to
first

would
learn

and

dispute

the need
The

English.

for

students

of

of English
is essentially

teaching

language
need

scientific
to

disciplines
whose
scientists

utilitarian.
their

The

work

efficiently

the

is
language
as a cultural

and
in mind,

or

As
social
its name,
for
experience.
suggested
by
English
covers
both
the common
nucleus?the
purposes
specific
(ESP)
basic
and patterns
of communication
and structure
of
categories
to the specific
the English
use.
relevant
variations
language?and
Furthermore,
different

the
countries

the

make

country

separately.

to which

uses

different

to consider

it essential

required

Professional

of

variety
and

degrees
each

English
of

group

is put

requirements

sociolinguistic
setting.
For Czechoslovak
doctors
English
that is, the student must
understand

a library language?
is primarily
to gain access
to know
enough
in textbooks
and particularly
in periodicals
and journ
ledge contained
to extract
data and theories,
and
als, in order
information,
interpret
latest advances.
All this is one-way
communication
keep abreast with
the printed
page.
through
Fifteen
the relative
of sources
years ago I investigated
importance
of printed
information
in endocrinology
1370 citations
by analysing
in 20 major
The
distribution
of relevant
journals.
geographical
was merely
a by-product
information
of
the investigation,
but
it
on the leading
as a
information
role of English
provided
important
came from the USA,
of science:
54?0 of the papers
language
15%
from the UK,
7% from Germany,
6% from France,
4% from the
from
and 2-4?0
from
other
USSR,
3-5?o
Scandinavia,
Japan. No
more
contributed
than 2%. But this analysis
shows only the
country
: actual papers
of origin of the paper
in English made
country
up a far
than just the sum of papers from the USA
and UK,
higher percentage
are being pub
since an ever-increasing
number
of scientific
papers
all over the world. Over
lished in English
the 15 years that have passed
since the investigation,
even further
the pattern must
have changed
in
as the language
favour of English
of scientific writing.
The
second most
for Czechoslovak
part English
important
plays
as an international
doctors
is its position
of conferences,
language

School
phd,

of Medicine,

senior

lecturer

Komensky

University,

and

in

proficiency
of users
in each

The field of activity?in

this case medicine?defines
the basic shape
of the professional
of the learners. Nevertheless,
these
requirements
to the professional
will
status
and
vary greatly,
mainly
according
of the user, and they are also limited by the geographical
and
specialty

of Languages,
Department
Czechoslovakia
Bratislava,
MAGDA
KOURILOVA,

means
to be able to
which
that they need
seminars,
in these
participation
spoken
language. Active
specialised
an ability
to communicate
also demands
with
however,
meetings,
as skill in the specialised
of medicine
As well
language
colleagues.
of everyday
this also demands
language.
knowledge
to comprehend
the written
word
The
requirement
professional
concerns
but only
all Czechoslovak
about
doctors,
15%
virtually
The proportion
of doctors who
in international
meetings.
participate
in English-speaking
countries
is even
go to study or practice medicine
on teaching
concentrate
so at university
medical
level we
smaller,
to
to understand
The
skills needed
written
how
students
English.
"medical"
and more
(at
English
specialised
English
speak everyday
such as doctor-doctor,
different
doctor-nurse,
levels,
doctor-patient
as the skills needed
as well
for writing
reports,
communication)
etc have to be disregarded
completely.
diagnoses,
prescriptions,
symposia,
understand

is not
English
as a means
of doing
English
of furthering
their
education,
specialist
a general
educational
aim
taught with

learners
not

1979, 2, 431-433

Journal,

Basic

competence

not only affect

circumstances
and sociolinguistic
Our geographical
but also have an impact on the students'
the professional
requirements
to
The main
efforts
when
of English
command
they enter university.
schools.
One
in the
take place
teach English
secondary
foreign
or French)
the extent
is compulsory,
of
German,
(English,
language
two classes a week
for four years. The
general
being mainly
teaching
in secondary
schools
has in
is provided
that
in English
instruction
as a basis
at
for use of the language
cases proved
most
inadequate
of what
the students'
command
levels. Moreover,
education
higher
at secondary
but is generally
school varies
greatly
taught
they were
low.
we start with
that our
the assumption
these shortcomings,
Despite
a basic
in the language.
Their
have
students
competence
acquired
actual level with regard to their future professional
will,
requirements
tests.
have to be established
by specially
designed
however,

Learner's

needs

needs.
So far we
in ESP
is the learners'
aspect
of the students
characteristics
from the estimated
but our informal
has
approach
occupation,
prospective
information
and evaluated
accumulated
Objectively
inadequate.
proved
to the more
considera
as a background
is essential
directly
linguistic
Such infor
of the course and its objectives.
the content
tions affecting
to narrow
down
the area of
the course
enables
mation
designer
to the learner.
relevant
Ideally,
language use and to prepare materials
the identified
should
of our course
the objectives
needs,
fully reflect
level of com
limited by the existing
but in our case they are strongly
next
The
have deduced
and of their

crucial
them

at the beginning
of the course, by the curriculum,
and, above
petence
time available.
all, by the restricted
in English
low lever of competence
the generally
Not
only does
but we also have students who possess
affect our objectives,
alarmingly
learnt about grammar
but
uneven
skills : students who have
linguistic
on
cannot apply it ; students who know how to pair the two languages
but fail to grasp the whole meaning
translation
using word-by-word
their appropriate
words
the individual
because
assign
they cannot
even more
become
to context.
These
difficulties
according
meanings
to paragraph
and passage.
sentence
we move
severe when
from
the supporting
to find the main
idea and identify
are unable
Students

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

432
to recognise
to distinguish
between
ones,
logical categories,
important
or to determine
to realise the author's
and unrelated
purpose,
details,
context.
of the
the significance
at our school
to teaching English
has been reduced
The
time allotted
to a single
term?that
four terms
from
is, there are 14 90-minute
course. A common
of ESP
21-hour
sessions?a
complaint
language
time that we
those with
six to ten times the teaching
teachers?even
the
have to master
of time that students
the limited amount
have?is
texts. Our
task is made
scientific
and understanding
skills of reading
in the third term, when
harder by the fact that we now teach students
so that the
is practically
of medicine
their knowledge
non-existent,
English

Teaching

and

the medical

reading

syllabuses

cannot

be

linked.

skills

a reconsideration
new
demand
of
circumstances
these
Clearly,
The
and testing procedures.
methods,
materials,
emphasis
objectives,
skills to teaching
has to shift from teaching
skills,
receptive
productive
has to be given priority.
and reading
comprehension
cannot
contact
be
increased
with
the
students'
Since
English
we are primarily
with
concerned
the question
of what
quantitatively,
their acquisition
of receptive
skills.
In
influence
variables
qualitative
has little to tell us about
is sparse. Applied
this area research
linguistics
a reading
course. There
is not even a
an effective
way of conducting
re
on the concept
in a foreign
of reading
consensus
language. Much
there
whereas
from first-language
is extrapolated
search
investigation,
a first and a second
between
are many
differences
crucial
learning
is not
for understanding
just a
Nevertheless,
reading
language.
used it can be an exciting
mechanical
process.
skill, a decoding
Properly
text has
since even a scientific
avenue
to learning and communication,
as communication.
to be viewed
we
three purely mental
entails
processes.
Firstly,
reading
Basically,
we choose
which
then become
the
the key words
selectively:
is a process
of
elements.
of the other
Secondly,
reading
supporters
:we organise
that tells us about the agent of
information
classification
is a process
of
the object of the process.
the action,
Thirdly,
reading
we
and characterisations
that
look for the restrictions
specification:
include?that
elements
and classified
the selected
is, the semantic
on the real world.
new information
obtained
information
produces
are almost
of the mind.
activities
simultaneous
These
three processes
ismade
basis. A piece of written material
The first two have a semantic
to each
structures
that are related
elements,
up of chains of linguistic
a chain of this kind
to certain
rules. To understand
other
according
to analyse
and the relationships
means
these
elements
able
being
structure.
to a semantic
For
them conform
them that make
between
which
of these processes,
a reader in a second
the usefulness
language
out almost
are carried
reader,
by a native
unconsciously
depends
read

on their being made

conscious.
to ill-equipped
to teach reading
no effective method
available
we have tried a combination
Faced with
the
of approaches.
students,
our
out the linguistic
task of straightening
first-order
complexities,
exer
a mere
of supplementary
extension
have often become
classes

precisely
With

of language
control
structures,
improvement,
the reading
of sentence
connectors,
etc, with
sentences.
The
the
of model
material
goal of cultivating
the thought-getting
has been
of critical
process,
reading,
technique
tailored
take positive
and we must
steps to build a method
jeopardised
and postgraduates.
to the actual needs of our undergraduates
for
cises
technical

Vocabulary

vocabulary
explanation
as a source

and

structure

of the comprehensive
A rough evaluation
process
presents
reading
areas:
lexical
three
(a)
(b)
factors?vocabulary,
major
problem
Without
factors?structure,
(c) logical factors?content.
grammatical
to
to belittle
of vocabulary?though
I object
the importance
wanting
a word-centered
the primary
task is to teach
consider
approach?I
instead
contextual
in context,
word
including
guessing,
recognition
but constit
since we do not read words
of lists of unrelated
words,
of
uents. This
illustrated
is well
by the fact that the first 500 words
recorded
in the
list have
14 070 meanings
Thordike's
frequency
to
to get the students
We
used
also have
English Dictionary.
Oxford
and
definitions,
paraphrases,
through
understanding
meanings
terms
in their native
rather than equivalent
language. The
synonyms
terms also has to be tackled because
technical
of pronouncing
problem
and Latin
of Greek
words
varies greatly
the English
spoken version
in Slovak.
from that used
is a product
of the complex
second
The
area, structural
problems,

BRITISH MEDICAL

JOURNAL

18 AUGUST

1979

that so often
characterises
For
syntax
unsimplified
English
writing.
adults
this
is particularly
because
difficult,
although
they are still
to learn new words
accustomed
and concepts
in their own
language,
structures
;
they have long since lost the habit of learning new syntactic
in our native
un
and sentence
patterns
language we absorb
phrase
our vocabulary
but increase
consciously
consciously.
Although
Eng
lish syntax
in the spoken
has been described
not
in detail,
language
much
has been
said about
the critical differences
the struc
between
tures of the spoken
and written
We
have to develop
the
languages.
awareness
student's
of written
sooner
of the syntax
since
English,
or later the student will find himself
a kind of English
that
reading
no one speaks. For example,
are very prevalent
verb phrases
complex
assume
in certain kinds of writing.
We
also cannot
that our students
the differences
understand
between
restrictive
and non-restrictive
are often used
to indicate
in writing
types of relative
clauses, which
attitudes.
Certain
kinds of writing
in which many
ideas or
important
events must
be presented
and interrelated
use
tend to make
frequent
of free modifiers
that are not embedded
in noun or verb phrases
but
as a whole.
more
in the sentence
order of words
The
within
loosely
constituents
is relatively
but constituents
themselves
rigid in English,
be moved
around with
and sometimes
may
considerable,
confusing,
a useful
freedom.
The
inversions
device,
resulting
provide
stylistic
but such sentences may prove extremely
for the foreign
difficult
reader
to understand.
structures
We must
the problem
since our
identify
a conscious
students will not have acquired
of the way the
knowledge
structures
sentences
within
the complex
of advanced
really work
written
English.
Besides
these problems
of structure
and vocabulary
there are other
items that deserve
increased
attention?for
the use of the
example,
differs greatly
in English
and Slovak;
functional
voice, which
passive
to verb and vice versa ;
shifts occurring
without
formal change?noun
of tenses ; the contrast
between
and imperfect
in the
sequence
perfect
Slovak
that is absent
in English,
verb system
where
it is supplied
by
lexical
the contrast
between
and
items, and, conversely,
progressive
in English,
which
is expressed
mostly
non-progressive
by lexical items
or Greek;
in Slovak;
derived
from Latin
plurals
special
prefixes,
suffixes;

Logical

phrasal

verbs;

prepositional

phrases;

and false

cognates.

relations

and structure
both vocabulary
have to be mastered
if we
Although
are to understand
in treating
what
is written,
the problem
of content
we face a far broader
connections
between
range of factors,
including
the organisation
of longer sections,
sentences,
structure,
paragraph
seems
to be a trend
an
and many
other
elements.
There
toward
that might
be called discourse-centered,
and the experience
approach
to
take the student
of it will
lists and verb forms
beyond
vocabulary
more
into language use. The necessary
skills, particular
lasting insights
of expository
involve
discourse,
ly in the reading
logical
recognising
as well
as lexical and structural
ones. The
number
of
relationships
are created
devices
is limited but they
by which
logical relationships
an unlimited
can be combined
or manipulated
to achieve
number
of
to the student
to know
it is reassuring
variations.
that
Nevertheless,
are limited
he encounters
in his reading
in
the logical
relationships
a
number
and recur constantly,
and that if he learns to recognise
definite
list of logical functions
that create
he is likely
relationships,
to be able to cope with
the relationships
he will find in all his reading.
A set of workable
of functions,
by no means
categories
complete,
include:
answer,
cause,
classification,
addition,
alternative,
evalua
contrast,
conclusion,
definition,
effect, emphasis,
comparison,
tion,
evidence,
example,
expansion,
explanation,
generalisation,
idea, purpose,
illustration,
inference,
opinion,
parallel
hypothesis,
related
statement,
restatement,
sequence,
action,
result,
question,
time.
are formal
and phrases
that serve
criteria or markers,
words
There

would

as logical connectors
to express
these relationships,
very often
though
are presented
When
without
these categories
any formal markers.
they
func
them
do occur,
however,
(and so the rhetorical
understanding
is so important
for extensive
in contextual
which
tions) helps
guessing,
is to draw
connectives
But the primary
of teaching
purpose
reading.
a piece
to the process
is
of language
attention
the reader's
by which
as discourse.
can be done by various
This
approaches,
interpreted
state
check
such as comprehension
opening
completing
questions,
some clues, and supplying
items performing
with
synonymous
to
same function.
forms
The
is to relate surface
language
point
in the
function
and so to show their communicative
logical operations
to specific
clues
in a context,
and to attune
the student
passage,
that carry a
features
his awareness
of recurring
sharpening
linguistic

ments
the

highly

context-determined

semantic

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

load. The

student

will

probably

BRITISH

MEDICAL

18 AUGUST

JOURNAL

1979

433

know one or even more meanings

of such words
; but he is less likely
to recognise
contexts.
the value
that such words
take on in different
at least four
For example,
"as" has six different meanings
signifying
:because,
different
in the same way,
in
when,
while,
logical categories
accordance
with what,
for one
considered
as; and "once" may mean:
indefinite
time, only, at some
time,
if, as soon as, at all, not even for
one time. The
students' mistakes
often show a strong bias towards one
to the exclusion
of a word
of the other meanings.
particular
meaning

and

Content
It might
Many

aims

be

can

be

if we
ing processes
herent
organisation

ions.

and

The

intellectual

the

should
nising
key

determining
of
function

and

selection

to

teach

and

summarising
and

our

students
these

perform

skills,

co

finding

possible

overgeneralisa
single
paragraphs
the significance

recognising

to recognise
they will

and more
rapid
thorough
comprehension
to understanding
and come
closer
writing
it to be understood.
the writer
intended

of

these
types
a more
gain
of scientific

of a piece
the language

as

used

student

read

skills.
sequence

details;
single

paragraphs;
grasping
the main
idea
finding

of

locating

paragraphs
the
rhetorical
a paragraph;
the main

finding
paragraphs;
sentences
and
topic

; locating

information

supporting

devise

skills which
study
to learn : recog

unrelated
; outlining

between

com

skill.
list of

to read?to

identifying
clues

a paragraph;

and

sentences
deter

ideas;

in Adult Language Learning, p 29.

Richterich,
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ed D L Lange, p 79. Skokie,
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Horn, V, in The Art of Tesol, p 216. Washington,
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Pleasure

for

and

component
a teaching

into

random

learn

details;
informational

Reading

these

can

Bibliography

of

handling
various

into

if we

the ultimate

conceptual

Celtic

tions,
distortions,
omissions;
and larger units
of material;
as a whole.
the content

programme.
and
read

useful

to be ordered

towards

containing

down

pedagogically
to reach
which

determining
relationships
idea of larger
selections
or phrases

the

and

skill?comprehending
be broken

is a somewhat

important
words
and

as

former

classifying

detecting

manage
information

information;
identifying
in in
author's
purposes
be
the relation
article;
seeing
statements
the
author's
by

(use of different
tenses);
in logic; finding
fallacies

certainty

implications;

of

the

so as to report,
and
experience
explain,
as recognising
and
the organisa
judging
this selected
of facts,
and opin
ideas,
body

through
then have

following
the
help

purposes;

of

accuracy

realising
the whole

of

stones

?stepping
The

the

the

If we

of a reading
the writing

skills

between

and

latter

material?may
which
become

exercises

tween
degrees

of

the

relevance

viewpoint;
and
sections

dividual

course

drawn

consider

of
purpose
ultimate

ponents,
exercises
valid
These

to list

relevant

parallels

evaluate,
tion and

a reading

of

the
mining
the author's

non-Celtic

nostalgia

DEWI DAVIES

British Medical

my
reading
where
Wales
to move

out

that, after
inWales.
it with
of
with

friends

books

living
I hope

a modest
who

a selection

profit

from

in England
to use this
collection
use
may
from my

the

from

dating

my

for nearly

schooldays.
40 years,

The

other

in England.

was

a house
I bought
to furnish
I wanted

and
periodically
for my benefit
both
of books,
went
books
it. The
school
in,
home

to Wales

Return

a considerable

has

evidently
in their

thrillers

1979, 2, 433-434

on reading
Crime
effect
habits.
to pack a few
of others
tendency
events
Two
influenced
have
holiday
baggage.
in
in the past year. The
that the farmhouse
first was
sold and I had
had lived for 95 years was
my mother

Environment
writers

Journal,

and

that

together

a flavour
have
Just as books
I was
farm where
up
brought
moors

on the banks
below,
the Teifi
To me
often.

valley
more
other

shows

to carve

out

consultant

on

physician

on

so do houses.
The
own,
a high
the
with
plateau
I loved
the song
of the

names.

of

the Teifi,
is the finest

other

a house

sun

where

the

river

in Wales

One

character.

of

where
it flows
places,
with
sheer
sides
in the

shines
and

no
is

its habits

still, and deep pools when

are
small
lakes
and
they

wide,
like
look

In

of

changes

in choosing
in the

So

it changes

in
given
it has
slowly,
In sum
rocks.

out deep
canyons
gouged
to this narrow
channel
and the water
is confined
the stream
mer,
I readily
believed
that as a child
and deep
is so still and black
was
at Henllan
immeasurable.
the bridge
under
that
its depth

hood.

1PB

so many
enormous

These

direction.
dividual

reread

I have

NG5

their

behind.
Though
gently
rising
rain and the drizzle.
the driving
I disliked
and I now
have
I went
for softness
home

curlew,
a new

turn
Nottingham
City Hospital,
DEWI
md, frcp,
DAVIES,

of
was

The

of

the

Both
country

two

matters,

first was Welsh

on

life

in this

it had

not

changed
by that

books

century?and
were
identified

as gems

Maurice

Country

Wiggin

in

Upbringing

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of Wales
part
much
in my
perspicacious
the Sunday

by D

at

the

child
writer
Times.

Parry-Jones