Abstract:

Over the past several decades, English for specific purposes (ESP) researchers are also concerned with the professional needs of students as well as knowledge of specialist discourse. It is recognized that ESP teachers are specialists who are ‘often needs analysts first and foremost, then designers and implementers of specialized curricula’ [1]. In the 21st century, there is growing importance in the use of the English language in specific professional contexts worldwide [2]. In this connection, Medicine is one of the most sought-after degrees in the world. Thus, ESP teaching and its subdivision, English for medical purposes, receive a higher relevance for teachers and students in secondary and tertiary education. According to Studyportals [3], there are over 18.000 Medical degrees taught in English. Among these programs, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, provides two study programs in the English language. If a student from abroad decides to study Medicine, he/she can enroll in the six-year program at Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin. This program includes theoretical education and practical training. In the first year of their study, students have to take classes in Medical Terminology. The students have to take four written credit tests and a final exam at the end of the second semester. The aim of this study is to present the results of continuous monitoring of students' learning results during classes of Medical Terminology over two years, as well as the errors observed at the phonological level. The analysis of written tests showed that students from abroad studying in English at Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Slovakia, had made specific errors while translating Latin and Greek into English. The authors classified typical mistakes according to the type of errors, offered an analysis of the causes, and proposed pedagogical methods for overcoming them.

References:
[1] (2006). English for specific purposes: Teaching to the perceived needs and imagined futures in worlds of work, study and everyday life. TESOL Quarterly 40.1, 133–156.
[2] Cabrita, Eduarda Melo, Isabel Ferro Mealha, and Rita Queiroz de Barros. "Challenges facing pre-service ESP teacher education: Legal and medical English." English as a foreign language teacher education. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2014.
[3] https://www.mastersportal.com/articles/2953/where-to-study-medicine-in-english-in-2022.html

Keywords:

English for specific purposes, English for medical purposes, Medical terminology, Latin and Greek, Mistakes in translation.