Teaching Languages for Medical Purposes With Technology: What to Take to the Digital Classroom

Abstract

The article focuses on the experience of online language learning in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic at Sechenov University (Moscow, Russia). Due to the differences in accepted professional communication practices in medical sphere in Russia and abroad there is a need of commenting, propagation and constant focusing on the part of the instructor. The aim of this research was to obtain a clear and a detailed picture of medical students’ attitude towards the change in the mode of delivery in teaching languages for medical purposes, which occurred during the lockdown and triggered a sudden shift in the roles. We analyzed the technologies used, the alterations to the academic content, modes of delivery, and the student’s attitude towards ESP/EMP employing mainly a quantitative methodology of gathering and analyzing data. The survey of the students showed that, though there is a strong preference in favor of technology use and more independent learning, they fully understand the role of the instructor in the process.

Students’ Linguistic Skills and Problems in Learning Medical Vocabulary at a Health Sciences University in the Uae

“…Moreover, the core subject teachers will also have to customize their teaching habits by being more flexible and introducing the medical terminology at the beginning of each topic and giving time to the students to absorb it before delving deeper into the chapter. Since learning a foreign language for medical purposes implies not only understandable and grammatically correct speech but also sticking to certain social and professional conventions it demands continuous participation of an instructor whose role is a permanent assessment of the students' activities, explaining mistakes, and making them another useful tool of learning (Irina Markovina, 2021).…”