Medical English textbooks for Italian university students. Do they meet the Miur educational instructions about scientific English learning? Three works under investigation

Abstract

The ever increasing diffusion of English as the language of communication and scientific literature worldwide has made EMP (English for Medical Purposes) learning an integral part of medical students’ syllabuses. In medical English courses, teachers generally make use of textbooks which through a variety of activities usually involve all linguistic skills and provide students with the necessary means to communicate effectively and properly in their professional field. If we agree that a basic knowledge of general English should be assumed when undertaking any EMP course, then it follows that this specialist learning requires familiarity with a) specialised lexis and b) the morphosyntactic structure of scientific discourse. Specialized communication in English, especially the written variety, prioritises linguistic phenomena such as nominalization and premodification more frequently than general English does. Medical English textbooks for undergraduates are thus designed to develop the four skills of reading, speaking, listening and writing in a way that encourages students to acquire linguistic competences in both specialized oral and written communication. However, the space and significance attributed to each skill in coursebooks will vary according to the specific volume in question as specific authors show preferences for one skill over others.