• Contribute to the development of the general communicative competence in English (within levels B1 - B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference)
• Familiarise oneself with the textual and grammatical structures that are characteristic of a formal register.
• Develop the knowledge of the lexicon, especially in connection with academic, scientific and professional English within the field of health sciences.
• Acquire the necessary skills to understand and produce oral and written texts, basically in a formal register, on topics related with the field of health sciences.

Strategic competences of the UdL

• Speaking and writing correctly
• Good command of a foreign language (English)

The course aims to oral and written skills in English, as well as to usage of the English language and vocabulary related with medicine practice and studies. It will be based on a textbook (see bibliography) and a students’ centred methodology (see course requirements in the methodology section). The textbook units are:

1. Emergency Medicine                          7. Dermatology
2. Accidents                                              8. Surgery
3. Sports Medicine                                   9. Cardiology
4. Obstetrics                                             10. Respiratory Medicine                            
5. Psychiatry                                             11. Tropical Diseases
6. Geriatrics                                              12. Technology

The approach followed will be communicative and student centred. It will integrate the four skills just as it happens in real life. If necessary, support and extension activities will be provided.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Scientific English for Medicine is a 6-credit course in which the student is expected to devote between 10 and 11 hours per week (including 5 hours of class during 12 weeks). (150 hours / 14 weeks)

2. Students are expected to have studied English previously and have a level within the B1 band from the Common European Framework of Reference for Language.

3. Students are expected to attend and actively participate in classes. Activities may be started in class and finished at home. 

4. Reading and writing (b)log - The Reading and writing (b)log aims at promoting reading and writing skills while focusing on a highly communicative task.  (Please note that the word “blog” is a blending of the expression “web log”

PROCEDURE – Group work

1. Form a group of 7 members. Each group opens a blog (blogspot, wordpress...). Each group member performs the following steps individually.
2. Looks for a reading passage interesting for an English course aiming at Medicine students. Make sure that it can be read in approximately half an hour (minimum length 1000 words). Keep its complete reference (i.e. author(s), publication year, heading, book or journal where it was published, editorial or issue –depending on whether it is from a book or from a journal– page numbers and e-link, if available).
3. Create a post in your group-blog writing the reasons why you chose that passage and one or more questions related to the passage; these questions should aim at opening a debate on the passage and on the topic it deals with. Make sure you write your name and you include the passage chosen with its complete reference and e-link, if available. Keep a copy for your records.
4. Read the posts published by your group-mates and write at least a comment for each. Your comments should add information and depth to the topic the post passage deals with. To do so, think of the questions posed by the leader of that post and try to answer them while trying to keep the debate going. You are also invited to introduce new ideas related to the topic, and to mention other passages if you feel they are interesting to back up your point. Relevant experiences (be them personal or not) may also be worth to help you explain your points. Please remember to reason all your comments. Also make sure you write your name on it. Keep a copy for your records with the complete reference of the reading passage it is related to.
5. Each group decides on the procedure followed to display posts. A suggestion is to open a post every week. In this way the group will have one week to deal with each post.
6. The author of each post will have to write a concluding passage to close it. In that passage you will have to conside
   1. … the comments your classmates have written in relation to that passage, the debates the questions have raised, your own feelings about the passage and your classmates’ comments to write an evaluative passage related to the ‘reading blog’ at hand.
   2. … the whole experience to write an evaluative paragraph for the group reading and writing activity.
7. On April 25^th (or before if ready), each person will upload to <SAKAI><Activitats><R & W Blog> a document with:   
   1. The names of the R&W-Blog group members and the link to the actual blog
   2. The introduction and the closure written for the passage s/he chose for his/her post
   3. Three of the comments you produced in relation to step d.

(Evaluation criteria to be handed out) 

5. Home activities’ portfolio – The portfolio will include all the activities done at home. When an activity involves group work each student will hand in a copy of the outcomes; such copies will have to acknowledge the name of each student member of the group. The final printed version (written activities) or recording (oral activities) will be handed in at the end of the course. The portfolio should also contain the student’s improvements after the assignments have been checked through by the instructor or a colleague during the course. Oral recordings will be uploaded to SAKAI (“espai compartit”). (Further instructions to be handed out) 

6. Oral presentations – Students will have to prepare in pairs or groups of three an oral presentation on the reasons why a film (originally produced in English) is the film that best displays, describes... the effects, the symptoms... of a physical or mental illness. (Instructions and evaluation criteria to be handed out.) 

7. Final exam – The final exam will consist of five parts: listening, usage, vocabulary, reading, writing

WEEKLY SCHEDULE (GROUPS AND CLASSROOMS)

See Timetable in the Catalan section

Textbook

• McCarter, S. (2010) Medicine 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Complementary bibliography

• Basterrechea Moreno, J.P. (2001) Curso de inglés para profesionales sanitarios. Madrid: Harcourt
• Glendinning, Eric H. & Holmström, Beverly A. (1998 2^nd edition) English in Medicine. Cambridge University Press
• Gotti, M. (1984) English for Medicine. Zanichelli
• Greenhalgh, T. (1993) Medicine today. Longman.
• James, David V. (1992) Medicine. English for Academic Purpose Series. Prentice Hall
• Luttikhuizen, F. (1996) English for Academic Purposes (Health Sciences). Edicions Universitat de Barcelona
• Maclean, Joan (1975) English in Basic Medical Science. English in Focus Series. Oxford University Press
• Master, P.A. (1986) Science Medicine and Technology. English Grammar and Technical Writing. Prentice Hall Regents
• McCarter, S. (2009) Medicine 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Tiersky, E. & Tiersky, M. (1992) The Language of Medicine in English. Prentice Hall Regents.
• Willis, Marjorie C. (1996) Medical Terminology. The Language of Health Care. Williams & Wilkins
• Check your English vocabulary for medicine. London: A. & C. Black, 2006

• Collins Cobuild Dictionary.  (alternatively, any other learner’s dictionary)
• Simon and Schuster’s International Dictionary, English/Spanish, Spanish/English
• Longman Language Activator.
• Collin, P.H. (1993) Dictionary of medicine. Middlesex: Peter Collin
• Jablonski (1998) Dictionary of Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations. Philadelphia: Hauley and Belfus, Inc.

Internet resources

http://www.quantumleap.cat/intro/ (online learning environment for English language learning at university level)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ (audio, exercises, glossaries and other material based on the World Service broadcasts)

http://www.cnn.com/videoselect (CNN news reports with videos)

http://www.english-forum.com/interactive (interactive exercises on grammar and vocabulary)

http://www.eslbee.com/  (advanced composition skills for non-native speakers)

http://www.ruthvilmi.net/hut/help/grammar_help/ (interactive exercices)

Multimedia

The Human Body [Enregistrament vídeo] Publicació London: BBC TV, 2001, 1998 (a DVD version is also available)