Mastering the Writing Skills in Medical English for Academic Purposes

Abstract

The article examines the mechanisms for improving the academic writing skills while studying English for Professional Purposes. The authors present their experience of implementing a comprehensive approach in teaching the course in professional English for PhD students and academic staff at higher medical educational institutions. The authors developed their own concept of presenting the training material. The proposed approach has been tested in the development of the textbook “Medical English for Academic Purposes” (2018), which was written in the context of current trends in internationalised higher education, involving the training of specialists who will work in the modern English language educational and scientific environment. The authors suggested a cycle of training tasks, aimed at improving the academic writing skills in teaching Medical English for Academic Purposes. The methodical algorithm for the proposed cycle of tasks has been substantiated: revising the grammar material, control of the level of mastering the lexis, creating didactic conditions for developing business correspondence skills, writing case histories, discharge summaries and other genres of English medical discourse, as well as preparing for international exams Cambridge English and IELTS. The study of common challenges in mastering the professional written use of vocabulary and specialised terminology at a medical university is important for developing the guidelines to eliminate possible mistakes and avoid misunderstanding in medical communication. The proposed approach is aimed at developing the communication skills necessary for successful international communication and cooperation. The research will be useful for translation studies, teaching English as a second language, and developing multilingual competence of future doctors.