Multilingual and Native English-Speaking Student Writers in Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS): A Comparative Pilot Study (original) (raw)
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2015
Abstract: The purpose of this project was to assess ESL clinical investigators ’ learning needs for academic writing for English scholarly publication. We used a qualitative evaluation approach to examine the gap between the current and desired proficiency level for academic writing of seven ESL clinical investigators. We considered the perspectives of these seven ESL clinical investigators and those of three mentors ’ and three writing instructors ’ in this assessment. The findings suggest that ESL clinical investigators do not accurately perceive their writing deficiencies, have little knowledge of criteria for academic writing, and their prior experiences create passive attitudes toward seeking appropriate writing resources. Adequate time is especially needed to develop successful writing skills. We provide suggestions for program planners to develop academic writing services and present useful information for pedagogical practice by adult educators in higher and continuing profe...
2003
The purpose of this project was to assess ESL clinical investigators' learning needs for academic writing for English scholarly publication. We used a qualitative evaluation approach to examine the gap between the current and desired proficiency level for academic writing of seven ESL clinical investigators. We considered the perspectives of these seven ESL clinical investigators and those of three mentors'
Scientific English is a section of academic English which refers to the study of scientific subjects like biology and chemistry rather than humanistic subjects such as history and literature. The teaching of Scientific English can be a demanding task for language teachers since it concerns not only the common instruction of linguistic aspects of the language but also imparting the knowledge of a specific scientific topic. The aim of this paper is to discuss a personal experience about the teaching of Scientific English in an Italian academic context and the assessment of productive skills, writing and speaking. The discussion concerns the activities that are suggested to the students to improve their abilities to speak and write in English at an academic level. The learners' task was basically to prepare an oral presentation and to write an abstract on a topic of their interest. The stimulation of personal interest was essential to increase motivation and participation to the activities since this training may undoubtedly have a practical use in academic and professional contexts. Specifically, the learners consisted of a group of medical students attending a postgraduate school whereas the teacher was an English instructor with a long experience of language teaching at university as well as a medical doctor, thus assuming the double role of linguistic and science expert. In the end, the learning experience was positive, stimulating, and constructive for the improvement of both language productive skills.
Scientific Writing within the Framework of a Microbiology Laboratory
Signo y Pensamiento, 2020
Este artículo aborda las prácticas de escritura en el laboratorio, en particular los problemas recurrentes para la presentación de los informes de laboratorio. Se analizan las percepciones de los estudiantes y los profesores acerca de estos problemas y se proveen ciertas recomendaciones de apoyo para este género de escritura. Se observaron clases de laboratorio y se usó una muestra aleatoria ciega de 20 informes. El análisis de esta muestra se centró en las secciones Resultados, Discusión y Conclusión, que representan las mayores dificultades para los estudiantes. También fueron entrevistados profesores y estudiantes. Los datos recogidos sugieren que el escenario del laboratorio puede promover la enseñanza de géneros como el de los informes y permiten hacer la presentación y discusiones de la información y las ideas dentro de la comunidad de una disciplina académica. Los datos revelan también que las dificultades que enfrentan los estudiantes en relación con su participación en los experimentos, los informes y la interpretación de datos requieren acompañamiento por parte de un profesor y estrategias de retroalimentación. Las implicaciones de este estudio incluyen unas recomendaciones para ayudar a los estudiantes de pregrado en ciencias a entender sus problemas de escrituras como oportunidades de aprendizaje.
A Crash Course in Medical Writing for Health Profession Students
The production of publications is a key component of one's career advancement in medicine. The goal of this piece is to discuss five tips to help health profession students get started in medical writing. First, students should take full advantage of the time-saving resources at the local academic biomedical library. Second, outlining a manuscript is one of the essential first steps for producing a successful, high-quality publication. Third, planning the manuscript and writing efficiently is critical since many young authors are either in medical school or residency and do not have ample time to devote to the writing process. Fourth, communicating complex concepts, thoughts, ideas, and observations in a simple way is important and helps limit redundancies, awkward passages, and improves reader comprehension. Lastly, a student can maximize their chances at publication if they are persistent in how they approach manuscript submission. The chances for successful publication of a project can be increased if young authors consider the tips supplied here.
Nursing Students' Knowledge and Attitude Towards Medical Writing Skills in the English Language
Journal of Language Teaching and Research
Medical Writing skills in the English language is challenging for those having English as their second language. Hence, this study focuses on understanding the knowledge and attitude toward medical writing skills in the English Language among undergraduate nursing students in Saudi Arabia. This study adopted an exploratory study design. It included all nursing students enrolled in the first year of the undergraduate nursing program in Abha (n=80) and Muhayil (n=80) female campuses of King Khalid University (KKU), Saudi Arabia. Those students were administered with a self-structured online questionnaire measuring the nursing students' knowledge and attitude toward English medical writing skills. Out of the total students (N=160), 137 responded to the questionnaire. Most nursing students were able to write medical questions (88.3%), abbreviations (92.7%), patient information (91.2%), reports (85.4%), and prescriptions (88.3%) in English. They felt that English medical writing crea...
Assessing Writing Perceptions and Practices of Pharmacy Students1
1998
This study aims to assess the writing perceptions and practices of pharmacy students. In fall 1996, an anonymous survey of writing self-assessment was administered to 45 second-year pharmacy students in a public health course. Students rated their confidence to communicate successfully for nine specific tasks and to perform 21 writing mechanic skills using a 0-100 scale, where 0 = no chance and 100 = completely certain. Students also indicated the importance of writing in pharmacy practice using a 0-100 scale, where 0 = not important at all and 100 = extremely important. To assess improvement in ability to write position papers, the first and third essays of each student were assessed by a panel of six readers using a holistic scoring procedure, where 1 = weakest and 6 = strongest. Writing ability was the mean of each student's scores on the two position papers. Composite communication confidence and mechanics confidence scores were calculated as the overall mean of all items in the respective categories; simple regression models were tested using these variables individually as predictors of students' writing ability. The composite communication confidence score was 73.2 percent, and the composite mechanics confidence score was 79.0 percent. Students rated writing skills in pharmacy practice as important (75.4 percent). Communication confidence and mechanics confidence were significantly correlated with writing ability (r = 0.334 and 0.419, respectively) and with each other (r = 0.847). Communication confidence explained 11 percent of the variance in writing ability, and mechanics confidence explained 18 percent. Writing scores significantly improved by a mean of 0.60 (SD = 1.13) on the second paper. These findings suggest some strategies for teachers to use in writing-intensive courses. A self-confidence survey given at the beginning of a course can be a productive diagnostic and learning tool. In their responses to student writing, teachers can focus less on correcting surface errors and more on issues of critical thinking, use of evidence, and the nature of disciplinary conventions. Finally, teachers can be confident that a writing-intensive course does make a positive difference in students' ability to improve their writing.
Evaluating the English language scientific writing skills of Saudi dental students at entry level
Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ, 2016
Better knowledge is needed about the effectiveness of preparatory English language courses for the health professions. This study evaluated the scientific writing skills of students finishing their preparatory year of a bachelor of dentistry programme in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014-15 among first-year dental students at the University of Dammam. Students were asked to write a 150-word English language assignment that was analysed for writing statistics and problems using Microsoft Word and plagiarism detection software. Of the 89 respondents, female students used a significantly greater number of words than did male students and their assignments had significantly lower Flesch reading ease scores. Male students had significantly lower odds of using references (OR 0.04) and higher odds of making punctuation and grammar mistakes (OR 2.63 and 3.91 respectively). One course of scientific writing in the preparatory year may not be enough to develop adequat...
Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 2019
Introduction: English is the dominant international language for academic publication, thus mastering English writing is required for a successful career in research. Our objective was to identify facilitators and barriers to English language scientific writing among pharmacy students in Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia (where English is not the native language). Methods: We used face-to-face semi-structured interviews in the Arabic language with fourthand fifth-year students of the college to gain insight into their perspectives. An interview guide was prepared using the Arabic language. The interviews were conducted at the college of pharmacy. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Results: Twenty-three participants agreed to be interviewed and signed the consent form. The mean interview time was 10 min. Two researchers independently analyzed the qualitative data using thematic analysis and agreed on the coding and themes. A third researcher verified the themes on randomly selected transcripts. The analysis showed main facilitator themes of: having rich vocabulary, competency in English language, having new ideas, increased writing activities, and individual guidance. Barrier themes were: lack of vocabulary, incompetency in English language, time constraint, lack of ideas, lack of writing activities, and lack of guidance. Conclusions: Participants of this study showed limited understanding of scientific writing. This study also found that pharmacy students need to develop their writing skills through practice sessions and university courses.