Dublin Core
Title
English for Medicine or Medicine in English? Transdisciplinarity in Teaching English for Medical Purposes
Abstract
Although to be able to read and speak English is paramount to future doctors, French medical students have very little time to devote to the learning of English. Therefore, at Pierre and Marie Curie School of medicine, we have opted for an integrated approach whose benefits have been demonstrated by research (Grabe & Stoller, 1997; Wolf, 2003; Hellekjaer & Wilkinson, 2003) and which takes the form of lectures on medical specialities in English but which has also been successfully adapted to the teaching of grammar via biomedical metaphors that serve to explain the functioning of various grammatical tools. Yet, opting for a transdisciplinary approach demands that the language teacher be knowledgeable in both the language and the subject whereas language teacher education in France remains very general and rarely integrates LSP (Language for Specific Purposes), let alone a course in the subject. In addition, designing content-based classes raises issues relative to the part dedicated respectively to the language and the content, and to the structuring of both. This article investigates the extent to which transdisciplinarity can be used as a didactic tool in ESP (English for Specific Purposes) classes, its efficacy in terms of motivation and language acquisition, and its impact on teacher education.
Keywords
Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed
PeerReviewed
Date
2012
Extent
952