Learning Medical English Language: Background for Successful Professional Education

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to consider the most common difficulties faced by teachers of English for specific purposes from Chuvash University (Russia) in developing an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course for medical students and in the learning process. The objectives of the research are the challenges to ESP teachers that might impact the quality of the teaching process and hence the learners’ academic achievements unless these challenges are removed. The authors not only reveal the difficulties in the learning process but offer possible solutions to overcome them. The study showed that the most common problems interfering with the efficacy and the quality of learning are the lack of updated teaching materials, the lack of cooperation of ESP teachers with fellow teachers conducting classes in medical disciplines and a low level of general English of students majoring in medicine. The possible solutions to these problems based on the data collected during the survey are proposed. The results represented in five-step ranking mode are summarized in the form of two tables, the first representing the hierarchy of difficulties and the second showing the willingness of ESP teachers to take a special training course. The authors believe resolution of the problems may facilitate the transition of ESP for medical students to digital ecosystem.