5th Issue – March 2018
Full volume of The Journal of Languages for Specific Purposes (JLSP) – 5th Issue – March 2018
Title: THE TASK TYPE EFFECT ON THE USE OF COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
Author(s): Elvir Shtavica
Abstract: An argument that many foreign language students encounter oral communication problems while they try to express their meaning to their partners has encouraged a number of eminent scholars to analyze the use of communication strategies based on the type of the task activity and the level of proficiency. In this paper, the task type effect and the students’ proficiency levels on the communication strategies employed by Kosovan and Bosnian speakers of English were investigated. The purpose of the study was to determine if the students’ proficiency levels and the task type influenced the choice and the number of communication strategies at lexical degree in verbal communication. The study numbered 20 participants in total; Kosovan and Bosnian languages that use English as a foreign language. The subjects were selected upon their degree of proficiency (i.e. Elementary and Intermediate) levels and were asked to carry out three different types of the tasks: ten minutes of oral communication, picture story narration and photographic description. The data of the assigned tasks came from audio and video-recording. Thus, the current study used the taxonomy of communication strategies employed by Tarone (1977). Likewise, the communication strategies used by both levels of the students were observed and compared in special instances. It was summarized that the task type and the level of proficiency influenced the number and the choice of different communication strategies in verbal performances. To indicate the present observable facts, two main aspects of the nature of the given tasks were pointed out: context in the task and task demands, respectively.
Keywords: communication strategies; task type; proficiency level; language proficiency
Pagination: 7-17
Title: UNDERSTANDING OUR AUDIENCE: THE WRITING OF EMAIL MESSAGES FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION
Author(s): Tharwat EL-Sakran
Abstract: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a business hub for a great number of multinational and international companies that conduct daily communication activities in English, which has made efficient and audience sensitive written communication an essential requirement in today’s workplace. With computer-mediated communication (CMC) taking over face-to-face communication, this has created an essential need for students to learn efficient and appropriate communication styles pertinent to communication via emails. This study presents a pragmatic approach for teaching the how of writing appropriate and effective professional email messages. Comparisons of pre-and post-teaching email messages point to significant improvements in the quality of post teaching email messages.
Keywords: writing email messages, professional business communication, computer mediated communication, audience awareness
Pagination: 19-30
Title: AN ANALYSIS OF CONVERSATIONAL DISCOURSE IN MEDICAL SETTINGS FOR LEARNERS OF GERMAN: LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND PEDAGOGY
Author(s): Ray C. H. Leung
Abstract: The recent sociopolitical circumstances in Germany have led to the popularization of teaching German as a foreign language (Deutsch als Fremdsprache, DaF) within the country. To cater to the different needs or goals of learners, various DaF materials including those for specific occupational purposes have been designed. Assuming that dialogues in contemporary DaF textbooks constitute the important means of socializing learners into the use of the target language in real-life communication, this paper examined 29 conversations provided in an audio recording of a DaF textbook for non-physician healthcare workers. The healthcare sector was chosen because it is the profession in which DaF foreigners are often recruited. The major objective of the current research is to identify any pedagogic values of the dialogues. To this end, the utterances of the medical personnel in the dialogues were analyzed in accordance with Halliday’s (1975) model about the seven functions of language. Attention was also paid to how these functions are linguistically manifested for medical communication as well as the construction of professional identity. The findings underscore the different roles which healthcare employees play in their workplace. These roles include providing or gathering information, building up rapport and regulating patients’ behavior. Besides, the function-form correspondence is evident in the data. For instance, where the “instrumental” function is concerned, the healthcare workers tend to articulate their medical routine as a desire with ich möchte [I want to]. On the other hand, the “personal” function is typically realized by phrases like ich glaube [I believe], which preface the healthcare workers’ medical judgment or advice. Last but not least, the data offer insights into how healthcare workers perform their professional identity during communication. One example is the simultaneous use of medical jargon and its generic equivalent (e.g., Amlodipin [amlodipine] versus Blutdrucktabletten [blood pressure tablets]) to display their expertise without jeopardizing patients’ understanding. Given the findings of this study, DaF practitioners working in the field of Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP)are advised to use the dialogues in textbooks to systematically cultivate learners’ consciousness of how linguistic resources can be mobilized for communication in their profession.
Keywords: German as a foreign language; language for specific purposes; medical communication; conversational discourse; textbooks; professional identity
Pagination: 31-42
Title: GLOBALIZATION, COMMUNICATION, EDUCATION
Author(s): Monica Condruz-Bacescu
Abstract: The paper focuses on the issues of globalization, communication and education. Globalization has become the fundamental theme of political discourse, through its economic dimension, namely by opening up the economic markets in search of new stability points of contemporary developed capitalism; a phenomenon that has led to the free movement of labor, thus involving the social dimension, the circle being closed with the educational dimension because the individual, regardless of the cultural context in which he/she lives, needs training. The global economy cannot be conceived without international communication, which has become a premise of economic success in recent decades. Such communication on which the economic partnerships and multinational organizations are based presupposes an accurate perception and interpretation of the different cultures other than those in which the economic activity takes place and a permanent negotiation of the symbols and reference systems. Education undoubtedly plays an important role in any attempt to address communication networks in these moments of explosive development, networks that mediate communication between people and can thereby help to bring them closer together. Education must directly follow the transformations and new requirements in order to support future changes and professional training. In this direction, education will have as an educational purpose the development of the consciousness of the links between the different components and participants, regardless of the geographic area in which they operate, and on this basis the building of the partnership. Education needs to efficiently and extensively convey that knowledge and information adapted to the new civilization of globalization that does not overwhelm but contribute to the development of people at individual and community level. It must also trace the transformations of the new world that is constantly moving, and at the same time make available to people the tools of guidance with which they can find their way of affirmation and continuous development.
Keywords: globalization; communication; education; economic environment; transculturality; multiculturalism.
Pagination: 43-56
Title: AUTHENTIC MATERIALS VS TEXTBOOKS IN ESP (ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES)
Author(s): Elena Spirovska Tevdovska
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the value of authentic materials and textbooks in ESP English for Specific Purposes) learning and teaching context. The study compares the characteristics of the authentic materials and the characteristics of textbooks designed and selected for the purpose of teaching and learning English as a foreign language in ESP setting. The study defines the role of materials in ESP setting and compares the benefits and possible drawbacks of both types of materials and resources: the authentic materials in English for Specific Purposes context compared to traditional textbooks designed for the purpose of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes. The study identifies the benefits of authentic materials, which include the richness as an input source and the authenticity of the tasks offered to learners, as well as the negative sides of authentic materials, which include the level of difficulty that these materials might present to the learner . Furthermore, the study identifies the benefits of textbooks, which include available sources for the learners and less time consuming class preparation for the teachers, as well as the drawbacks which include the impossibility of finding a textbook which corresponds entirely to learners’ needs. In addition, the article focuses on teachers’ attitudes and opinions regarding the appropriateness and exploitability of each source and their preferences and reasons for material selection. The target population consists of eleven lecturers who teach English for Specific Purposes in tertiary education. The lecturers teach various branches of ESP, including ESP for Computer Sciences, Business, Communication and Legal Studies. Data collection is conducted through a specifically designed questionnaire, addressing the questions of materials selection, teachers’ preferences regarding textbooks or authentic materials and the selection criteria applied by the lecturers. Furthermore, the article attempts to offer recommendations regarding materials selection and opting between authentic materials and/or textbooks in ESP setting.
Keywords: authentic; ESP; textbooks; authentic materials; selection of materials
Pagination: 57-66
Title: A CASE FOR THE USE OF TRANSLATION IN ESP CLASSES
Author(s): Olivia Chirobocea
Abstract: This article is a plea for the use of translation as a teaching method in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class in general and the ESP (English for Specific Purposes) class in particular, by highlighting its advantages, as revealed by recent research in the field. Translation as a teaching method was associated for a long time with the Grammar Translation method, and fell from grace sometime in the mid-20th century, where it remained until recently. Despite this marginalization, in EFL, many teachers have been quietly using both L1 (mother tongue) for explanations and translation as a supplemental teaching method. Its value has been reasserted by numerous recent theorists and their research. They have demonstrated repeatedly, as this paper will attest, that translation exercises have undisputed value if used pertinently and efficiently, and if prepared with specific goals in mind. Thus, for several years now, translation has regained its legitimate place in the teaching of English and has re-emerged as a useful tool in this endeavour. In English for Specific Purposes (ESP), its usefulness is even more appreciated, as this paper will propose. The purpose of this article is twofold. The first part is a presentation of the latest research regarding the use of L1 in the classroom and the issue of translation employed as a learning technique, with a review of the relevant literature. The second part refers specifically to ESP and to the particularities of this branch of EFL, offering a few suggestions for types of translation activities and ways in which they can be useful in such classes. The aim is to bring evidence that translation is neither old nor obsolete, but a valid teaching method that helps learners by consolidating difficult grammar issues, clarifying confusing aspects, enriching vocabulary and generally improving their knowledge of English.
Keywords: ESP; translation; terminology; teaching method; skill
Pagination: 67-76
Title: NEUE WEGE IN DER FREMDSPRACHENLEHRERAUSBILDUNG. EIN PROJEKT AN DER PHILOLOGISCHEN FAKULTÄT DER UNIVERSITÄT ZU BANJA LUKA (BIH) / NEW WAYS OF EDUCATING FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS. A PROJECT AT THE FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF BANJA LUKA (B&H)
Author(s): Radanović Sanja
Abstract: The future teachers of foreign languages are educated at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Banja Luka. Although it is a pedagogical faculty teaching faculty, the curricula have been dominated by linguistic and literary subjects. The studies are oriented towards the philology-model. The pedagogical group of subjects and teaching practice were for many years only a pendant of the studies. However, a few years ago, the importance of teaching practice was acknowledged and the idea was created to devote much more attention to this issue and to organize the practice in a way that will help students much more in preparing for a future teaching profession. In the forthcoming paper, the way of organizing teaching practice at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Banja Luka is presented in detail, as well as the multiple benefits arising from it.
Keywords: future foreign language teachers, foreign language teacher education, philology-model, teaching practice, foreign language courses, competences
Pagination: 77-85
Title: ARZTBRIEFE IM MEDIZINISCHEN FACHSPRACHENUNTERRICHT DEUTSCH. EINE KONTRASTIVE TEXTSORTENANALYSE / THE GENRE OF MEDICAL REPORT IN TEACHING MEDICAL GERMAN. A CONTRASTIVE GENRE ANALYSIS
Author(s): Renáta Halász, Katalin Fogarasi
Abstract:
Medical report represents an important written genre in medical communication including medical history, present symptoms, findings and treatment measures. Medical histories are based on patient interviews and represent a summary of both the previous medical findings and the information gained by asking patients targeted questions. While interviewing them, physicians follow a specific sequence of questions to provide a structure for a logically comprehensible medical history, which facilitates an accurate diagnosis. The current study aims to describe and compare the genre of ‘medical report’ and especially its part ‘medical history’ in Germany, Austria and Hungary as well as to detect phraseological patterns typical of the genre in the three languages. The study was carried out on a corpus of medical reports dating from 2012-2016 and provided by the Clinical Centre of the University of Pécs (Hungary) as well as by hospitals from different federal states of Germany and Austria. Terms and phraseological units were investigated using concordance and statistical analysis.The results of the study prove that knowing the structural norms and phraseological units improves communication between physicians, what is more, it is required for their participation in the discourse community as competent members in both the native and the foreign language. Therefore, Hungarian medical students learning Medical German should be introduced into writing medical reports in German, using authentic samples. The knowledge of generic norms applied in Germany and Austria conveys additional intercultural competence skills, which are essential for the written communication with their foreign colleagues.
Keywords: medical report, genre analysis, function and structure of medical reports, medical report in teaching LSP, LSP phraseologisms, intercultural competence skills, patient history
Pagination: 87-102
Title: SEBASTIAN SUSTECK (Hrsg.) EMPIRISCHE UNTERSUCHUNGEN ZU DEUTSCHUNTERRICHT UND MIGRATION / SEBASTIAN SUSTECK (Editor) EMPIRICAL RESEARCH TO TEACHING GERMAN AND MIGRATION
Author(s): Andrea Hamburg
Pagination: 103-108
Title: IULIA PARA’S BUSINESS DICTIONARIES
Author(s): Ioana Claudia Horea
Pagination: 109-113
Title: HERMANN FUNK / MANJA GERLACH / DOROTHEA SPANIEL-WEISE (Editors) HANDBOOK FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN ONLINE TANDEMS AND EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS
Author(s): Andrea Hamburg
Pagination: 115-118
Title: CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS’ LANGUAGE BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Author(s): Ioana Claudia Horea, Cristian Dorin Horea
Pagination: 119-124
