Describes ongoing research aimed toward finding a minimum discourse grammar to help Brazilian students learning English for special purposes to cope with the sort of texts they have to read in their own disciplines. The research has involved review of scientific philosophy, a reading miscue study, and a comparison of English and Portuguese…

Describes a student-centered reading comprehension course for advanced English-as-a-Foreign-Language students of science and technology. In the course, student interest in and knowledge of content-area subjects are used to create: (1) motivation to read; and (2) an authentic task to accomplish (the preparation and presentation of an oral report).…

Describes a self-instruction procedure designed to provide students of science and technology at the tertiary level with a basic vocabulary in a foreign language of around 1,000 items. The technique represents an efficient method for bridging the gap between the vocabulary that beginning L2 students possess and that required to read L2 scientific…