Medicine is a science dealing with uncertainty and the art of judging probability. For effective communication, doctors, researchers, or health sciences writers, need to master the use of modality whereby unreal situations can be discussed. How modal verbs -- the most commonly used type of modality applied in the writing of health and medical…

Recent years, most universities and colleges have been reforming the English as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum system in China. Some reformed EFL curriculum into English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, for instance, while some conducted a graded teaching model in EFL teaching. However, the effect of this reform was not so good,…

Averil Coxhead is widely known for developing the Academic Word List, a list of 570 word families associated with great frequency in academic texts. This list has been particularly useful to teachers of English as a Second Language as well as independent learners in tertiary education. She has also developed a Science-based word list (Coxhead and…

This article examines the effectiveness of English language courses offered in the engineering colleges in India. Many engineering graduates in India are found to be unemployable due to their poor communication skills and lack of confidence. There have been a lot of research papers that have reiterated the importance of improving engineering…

This microethnographic case study discusses the effects of translating and revising documents for an English-medium master of science in engineering programme in terms of workload and value for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teacher development, integration, and enculturation. During the changeover from the diploma to bachelor-master…

The purpose of the present study was twofold. Firstly, it tried to investigate the relationship between the technical English proficiency of the students of Mechanical Engineering in the universities of Iran and their technical translation proficiency in translating technical texts of Mechanics. Secondly, it attempted to evaluate the effectiveness…

The policy to change the medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics and Science from Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language) to English in 2003 is an important innovation affecting not only the students but also teachers of Mathematics and Science. However, how far the changes affect the teachers is the issue addressed in the paper. In fact the…

Outlines a way of dealing with vocabulary in English for academic purposes instruction in light of insights provided by empirical observation. Focusing on collocation in the context of English for special purposes (ESP), and more specifically, English for information science and technology, shows how the results of the contrastive study of lexical…

Presents and discusses results of study on the specific linguistics needs of Italian scientists who must use English for science and technology for study and work purposes. Writing and listening were considered to be the most difficult skills to master. Questionnaire appears in Appendix. (LMO)

Argues that hedging devices are a major pragmatic feature of effective scientific writing, and that students of English for special purposes should be taught to recognize and use them in their own work. The article examines the frequency, functions, and realizations of hedges and discusses a range of strategies for familiarizing students with…

Argues for an ethnographic reorientation to needs analysis and syllabus design in English for specific purposes in advanced postgraduate centers of science and technology. The seven-stage framework (specify learners, analyze needs, specify enabling objectives, select materials, identify teaching/learning activities, evaluate, and revise) used to…

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…

The English composing processes and products of a group of Spanish researchers at the University of Cordoba, Spain, were studied. The group (1) has a good grasp of the information structure of the English scientific article; (2) rarely undertakes structural revision; and (3) is primarily concerned with precise expression of their thoughts.…

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)

This report aims to show how an emphasis on vocabulary can contribute to courses in English for Specific Purposes (ESP), using the data from two lexical studies. The first study attempts to discover to what extent there may be a general language of science, or semi-technical vocabulary. This type of vocabulary would seem to offer a useful…