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…

Discusses an English for science and technology course at Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela in which students were allowed to choose reading activities and alternative forms of assessment were implemented. Results of a questionnaire used to evaluate the course are provided. (Author/VWL)

Describes the aims, design, and outcomes of a modular socio-cultural, negotiated curriculum in Scientific and Technical English for non-English-speaking background science and technology students in universities or industry. This curriculum is intended to provide language and acculturation bridging programs for overseas qualified personnel. (33…

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…

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)

Addresses the need for teaching gender-neutral English in the Indian context, and shares the mixed response of undergraduate science students in a functional English course. (Author/VWL)

Examines the economic merits of teaching Research English to English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) student researchers, particularly in the fields of science and technology. It is suggested that a lack of sociopragmatic skills in the predominating reporting medium of English represents a potential barrier to entry into the international market of…

Discusses the first-year English program at Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela. The program is composed of three courses designed by language department professors to meet the needs of students who will major in different areas of science and technology.(Author/VWL)

Biologists at Center for Biological Research found ways to improve their scientific writing without benefit of an English-language program. By tapping Internet biology forums for comprehensible input, and using computer-assisted retention strategy to profit from error correction, writing improved. Scientific dialog on Internet has helped group…