This paper concerns the teaching of English to learners who are studying, or will soon study, engineering and who are expected to do at least part of their studying through textbooks written in English. Such students, especially in universities in developing countries, often find themselves very poorly equipped by their secondary education for…

The analysis of 2,979 subject-verb pairs in an American science magazine to determine the relative frequency of inanimate subjects with active verbs found that such usage was more prevalent than the use of inanimate subjects with passive verbs, especially when the subject was abstract, typically to show causality or to explain. (22 references)…

Attempts to outline the necessary design considerations for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course. A more adequate descriptive base for course design includes theoretical justification for including an ethnographic perspective, and a case example of the design of a communications skills course for computer practitioners in Oman. (Author/CB)

This article analyzes four categories of English-language maritime telex service communication: (1) standard, system- generated messages; (2) standard procedures for transmitting messages; (3) nonstandard messages related to maritime mobile radio service (MMRS); and (4) nonstandard messages related to the organization, procedures, or equipment of…

Focuses on a particular teaching experience where a contemporary fiction work featuring high tech has been used as a source material in English for science and technology courses, and how this approach has had a positive impact on students' motivation to learn English as well as on their overall performance in the foreign language. (Author/VWL)

Explores frequency and use of adjectives in five advanced scientific texts on biochemistry and analyzes the semantic implications of the observed occurrence. The aim is to provide a better understanding of the role of adjectives in research articles and to suggest how to guide Spanish-speaking students to effectively comprehend, read, write, and…

This article describes an analysis of English-language needs of an oil company in the Middle East, exploring the role of ethnography in carrying out the holistic research necessary to obtain a clear picture of the company's needs. It includes a discussion of the project's findings and recommendations for language training. (11 references) (MDM)

Describes a theme-based language course for science students at a South African university. Suggests that acquisition of language for science and technology should be regarded as acquisition of a range of literacies of science rather than acquisition of skills or grammatical features. (Author/VWL)

Textbooks designed to serve the needs of non-native speakers of English are needed in the field of English for science and technology public communication. Suitably modified language textbooks using the Aristotelian approach to oral presentations are readily available. However, for professional speaking practice, discipline-specific texts are…

Presents a study of technical lexical structures with the aim of assisting students of English as a Second Language in processing and deciphering the lexico-grammatical realization of technology in the field of plastics. The analysis aims to show that technical terminology is closely related to grammar, and that technical lexis and grammar should…

A classroom implementation of strategy and self-regulation instruction examined whether instruction would help students to plan and revise their essays and if students had the competence to regulate their writing. Also sought to determine if such instruction would improve their attribution, self-efficacy, and self-determination.Suggests that…

Analyzed matched writing samples of 100 native Arabic speakers' writing on writing for science and technology (WST) topics in English and Arabic. Findings indicate that, though students have studied English-as-a-foreign-language writing for 8 years, and are judged to be good at the mechanics and lexis and grammar, they still have trouble with WST…

Provides a rationale for considering English for specific purposes in terms of "appropriate technology"; surveys the philosophical and intellectual underpinnings of the appropriate technology movement; defines key terms and clarifies them with language teaching examples; and briefly considers some objections to the notion of appropriate…

Reviews "C-testing" in theory and practice and discusses its application in baseline and progress testing of the English of postgraduate students of engineering, technology, and management attending pre-master's programs in Bangkok, Thailand. A problem related to the reliability of pre-and post-course testing arose and the tests were…