Students' Perceptions of Collaborative Learning in English for Medical Purposes (EMP) Course

The present study explored the trajectories of themes in the English for Medical Purposes (EMP) studies in the Iranian medical education context. Informed with the frameworks of language planning, it juxtaposed the extracted themes with the pillars of English for Specific Purposes (ESP)-needs analysis, learning objectives, materials and methods, and evaluation. It explored the EMP themes in a corpus of 41 documents extracted from Google Scholar, Scopus, ISI, and PubMed databases. Then, the researchers performed a content analysis of the corpus based on a matrix incorporating the title, abstract, introduction, and discussion, keywords, and the field of expertise of the author(s) of the documents. The analysis revealed the themes of learners’ need analysis, language skills, learning strategies, cognitive and affective variables, teaching methodology, teaching materials, material evaluation, use of technology, evaluation of learners and learning, program evaluation, and evaluation of instructors. The juxtaposition of the themes with the mainstream pillars showed that although there was a match between the themes and the pillars, the size of the themes falling under each pillar differed. While utilizing technology and affective variables were the most frequent themes, learning materials, language skills, and learner variables were the least frequent ones. Most of the themes matched with the learning objectives pillar; the needs analysis pillar, on the other hand, had the fewest number of the themes. Notable gaps, particularly in the areas of instructors' needs, administrative needs, learner variables, and instructor variables were discovered. The study also showed that EMP research predominantly focuses on English for medical academic purposes (EMAP) in the absence of studies on English for Medical Occupational purposes (EMOP). The findings have implications for EMP research, policy setting, teacher education, and materials development, providing guidance for future research endeavors and contributing to the enhancement of English language education in the field of medical sciences.

There is a growing interest in learning and teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at tertiary level in countries where English is not the primary language. Due to globalization, there has been a shift from learning and teaching English for General Purposes (EGP) to ESP in universities worldwide, and English for Medical Purposes (EMP), a notable subset of ESP, is no exception. This narrative review aims to contribute to understanding the evolving landscape of EMP development and teaching by highlighting aspects of EMP that warrant revisitation. Through a focused approach, the concept of EMP is investigated first and we argue that it is essential to clarify the applied terms, proposing 'English for Health Sciences Purposes' (EHSP) for multiple healthcare disciplines and reserving 'English for Medical Purposes' (EMP) specifically for medical students and physicians. In addressing the second research question, this paper emphasizes the importance of learning EMP by highlighting its distinct target audience and emphasizing that EMP is purpose-driven, content-based, and tailored to medical contexts, offering learners a competitive edge. The review also underscores the need for new types of needs analyses. In answering the third research question, it has been found that EMP teachers often lack formal medical training but are required to teach specialized content. Despite recent EU initiatives offering professional development for Languages for Specific Purposes teachers, EMP instructors must continually self-educate. Their role requires adaptability, flexibility, and modern teaching skills, as they act more as facilitators and collaborators than traditional language instructors. Hopefully, the findings of upcoming empirical studies will help develop student-centered approaches to EMP and may lead to a supportive environment for the effective teaching of this specialized field.

<p>This study uses Facebook as a platform and arranges certain learning tasks to identify the feasibility of mobile collaborative learning for pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers’ sense of community and perceptions of collaborative learning are investigated. A total of 153 pre-service teachers volunteered to participate in an Intern Mobile Collaborative Learning Facebook Group from July 2015 to October 2015. During participating in the Facebook Group, pre-service teachers were required to achieve various tasks regarding collaborative learning. A questionnaire, consisting of three sections, frequency, sense of community, and perceptions of learning and perceptions of collaborative learning, was developed and validated. All participants were required to fill in the questionnaire at the last week of the project’s schedule. This study concludes that high browsing frequency on Facebook Group could positively facilitate the sense of community and perceptions of collaborative learning among pre-service teachers; while high frequency of posting and responding to messages on Facebook Group merely promotes perceptions of collaborative learning. The conclusion identifies that assigned tasks like posting and responding to messages regarding school field-based experiences are necessary in mobile collaborative learning among pre-service teachers.</p>

This study set out to examine the main challenges of teaching English for specific purposes (ESP) to medical students regarding their current foreign language needs, lacks, and preferences. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews with 140 medical students. The findings indicated that in terms of language skills and tasks, the current English for medical purposes (EMP) courses do not meet the needs of medical students and the participants preferred ESP courses that emphasize all the four language skills. Moreover, they were not satisfied with the presented materials and methodology and favored approaches that deploy visual and multimedia modes of presentation. In the case of ESP teachers, it was found that even though the students were mainly satisfied with their ESP teachers, some significant points that are expected to be followed in ESP courses including considering students' needs and difficulties, introducing target discourse communities, practicing relevant genres, providing supplementary materials, and using authentic materials were not taken into account by ESP practitioners. Students also noted other factors, such as limited time, the number of credit hours, the way credits are distributed, and heterogeneous classes, which get in the way of achieving the goals and objectives behind EMP courses. In conclusion, concerning various challenges in ESP classes, more attention should be paid to the course design, technology can be utilized effectively, communicative approaches can be applied, and efficient use of time needs to be considered.

The present day healthcare means intense international cooperation. Discussion of theoretical and practical matters, ongoing technological development, equipment upgrade and implementation of the newest robotic minimally invasive methods of surgery as well as mutual projects, overseas training, internship and employment become routine reality of the Medical Doctors from the large federal medical centers. It is hereby evident that spheres of medicine, which are better equipped, are ahead of the less technologically developed fields of medical practice. Doctors’ mobility, variants of remote or direct communication with the leading foreign specialists, international consulting in the format of telehealth put the English for Medical Purposes (EMP) competence in the spotlight. English for Medical Purposes (EMP) comprises two registers: English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). According to the Federal Russian standards of EMP teaching, graduates of the Medical Universities have broader objectives than comprehension of the English texts and communication with foreign interlocutors. Modern communicative competence implies application of English language as a tool of professional communication, monitoring, and active analytical activity, ability to do research in a target language, speak in public, and discuss professional matters. In the context of higher medical education English language as lingua franca of the international professional medical community becomes a tool of formation of a new physician who is ready to ongoing personal and professional development. The researchers view EMP competence as a complex category, i.e. a meta-concept, comprising cognitive, functional, social competences of the modern medical practitioner. It can be analyzed through three parameters: language ability, interactional competence, clinical communication. During teaching EMP and EAP, grammar is not viewed as an ultimate goal, it is used as the instrument of cognition, and the system of scaffolding becomes a priority (scaffolding, in this respect, means supporting teaching, which is based on contextual explanation, situational transparency and clarification of difficult phenomena in the format of case studies). The context-based approach to teaching grammar and academic writing is explained on the examples of deductive and inductive ways of grammar rules presentation for the students.

Due to the acceptance of English in twentieth century as international language of science and medicine, a considerable body of medical research and literature has been produced in English. This dominance of English in medical accounts paves the way for emergence of a new ESP branch (English for Specific Purposes) as EMP (English for Medical Purposes). The basic insight into this trend is to offer course design, content and materials by being responsive to target language learners’ own agenda. Therefore, it is necessary to find out first what is specifically appropriate, available and applicable for the target situation and target language learners in terms of their needs. In discovering their needs, needs analysis is regarded as an integral part of decision making processes in EMP. Without conducting a needs analysis process, using a medical English course book might not be enough for a medical student studying in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context like Turkey since most of the medical English course books in use are mostly addressing the needs of students in an ESL (English as a Second Language) context. Accordingly, as a part of a needs analysis process, this study aims to investigate academic English language needs of first year medical students who are attending advanced English course at the Faculty of Medicine at Karadeniz Technical University. The data was collected via a structured questionnaire with 47 items. It covers five different parts focusing on medical students' purposes of learning English, significance of learning English, their preference of learning environment, language learning needs of major language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening), their preference of assessment type. The questionnaire was administered to 169 students at the Faculty of Medicine at Karadeniz Technical University. Descriptive statistics was employed in order to analyze the data.

English for Medical Purposes (EMP) has emerged as a critical domain within English for Specific Purposes (ESP), reflecting the growing need for effective communication in global healthcare contexts. This article traces the historical development of EMP, from its roots in general and specialized English instruction to its current interdisciplinary and technology-enhanced forms. It examines core pedagogical frameworks, including needs analysis, genre-based curriculum design, and task-oriented methodologies, while exploring innovative assessment strategies and the integration of digital tools such as artificial intelligence and immersive simulations. Through a deficit analysis, the study identifies persistent challenges in EMP instruction—ranging from curricular fragmentation and teacher training gaps to technological disparities and intercultural complexities. The article concludes by advocating for a unified, learner-centered EMP framework that aligns linguistic proficiency with professional competence, ethical sensitivity, and global engagement.

English has become the dominant language in science, medicine, and global communication, making its mastery essential for medical students in non-English-speaking countries. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and its subfield, English for Medical Purposes (EMP), are specialized instructional approaches designed to equip students with the vocabulary, communication skills, and listening comprehension required in medical contexts. In Algeria, French is the primary language of instruction in medical education. However, second-year medical students often encounter difficulties with listening comprehension due to the French language dominance, complex medical English terminology, and a lack of effective listening strategies instruction. Understanding these challenges is crucial for improving language teaching in Algerian medical schools and designing more effective ESP and EMP programs. Second-year medical students at the University of Tlemcen are increasingly required to engage with English in academic settings, particularly within medical subjects that incorporate specialized terminology. While French remains the main language of instruction, students frequently need to rely on their English listening skills to understand lectures and analyze materials. Many encounter difficulties regarding fast speech, unfamiliar vocabulary, and limited exposure to spoken English. To investigate these challenges, a structured 30-item questionnaire was distributed to all second-year medical students, with a total of 42 students’ reponses collected. The findings highlighted key areas of difficulty and emphasized the need for more focused listening support in ESP instruction. The study advocates the urgent need for adapting teaching approaches to the bilingual context to significantly improve comprehension and learning outcomes. It recommends several measures to enhance listening skills, including integrating listening-based activities into EMP courses, incorporating multimedia resources, providing pre-listening support and context, encouraging note-taking and repetition strategies, increasing exposure to English beyond the classroom, offering listening practice through online platforms, and organizing regular workshops and listening labs. These strategies aim to help students become familiar with real-life speech patterns, medical vocabulary, and varied accents, while enhancing active listening and concentration skills.

Introduction: Collaborative Learning is an active learning strategy in which students work in small groups to optimize their teaching-learning activities. It encourages the students to help and support each other by working as a team. Collaborative Learning is important in Health Care education since health professionals work as a team to solve complex problems and serve their community. Objective: This study assessed the students’ perception of Collaborative Learning in the Faculty of Health-Care Sciences, Eastern University, Sri Lanka.Methods: A total of 52 Medical undergraduates and 23 BSc Hons (Nursing) undergraduates participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study following a small group discussion. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data by using Google Forms. The questionnaire consisted of five perception statements with a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Results: The majority of the participants preferred collaborative learning over traditional teaching methods. Almost 60% of medical and nursing undergraduates strongly agreed that Collaborative Learning improves their active participation in the classroom. While 98.1% of medical undergraduates perceived that they could build strong relationships with their peers while attending Collaborative Learning, the majority of the BSc Hons (Nursing) undergraduates (>90%) strongly agreed or agreed that Collaborative Learning helps to sustain their attention throughout the lesson. Conclusion: This study revealed that the undergraduates of the Faculty of Health-Care Sciences, Eastern University, Sri Lanka have a positive perception of Collaborative Learning.

Background Collaborative learning is suggested to have a number of advantages over other learning methods; however it can be demanding in terms of self-directed learning and group cooperation. It is known that students’ learning outcomes are influenced by their perceptions of their learning context. Current research findings have shown various aspects that may influence students’ perceptions about collaborative learning. Therefore, to design effective collaborative learning activities, it is necessary to understand students’ perceptions about collaborative learning. Objectives The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the best available evidence on dental and medical students’ experiences of collaborative learning. Inclusion criteria Types of participants The participants of interest were dental and medical students, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity. Phenomena of interest Students' perceptions, beliefs, understandings, opinions and experiences of collaborative learning. Types of studies The qualitative component of this review considered studies that focused on various qualitative designs, e.g. phenomenology, ethnography and action research. However, the search revealed only three types of studies: action research, multiple cases and qualitative descriptive studies. The quantitative component considered all quantitative studies that investigated students’ perceptions of collaborative learning. However, only descriptive cross-sectional studies were found. Search strategy The search strategy included searching databases, e.g. PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, Informit, ERIC and Web of Knowledge, reference lists of all identified reports and a hand search of relevant dental and medical journals. The search was restricted to English language studies, published from 1990 to May 2012. Methodological quality Two reviewers independently assessed studies for methodological quality using the standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Data collection Data were extracted using the standardized JBI data extraction tools. Data synthesis The data synthesis of the qualitative component used the standard JBI approach where findings were synthesized into categories, then aggregated into synthesized findings. Due to the descriptive nature of the study designs for the quantitative component of the review, statistical pooling was not possible. Therefore, the findings of this component of the systematic review are presented in a narrative summary. Results The review found evidence for students’ perceptions of how their learning is supported in collaborative learning contexts. There was also evidence about students’ perceptions of how their learning was negatively influenced in collaborative learning. In summary, it was clear that students valued collaborative learning; however, issues such as managing multiple ideas and group and individual workloads need to be addressed. Evidence regarding students’ understandings of the core elements necessary for learning collaboratively was not identified. The quality of the studies’ design, conduct and reporting was generally limited and some studies did not meet accepted standards, e.g. no ethical approval and poor control of confounding factors. Conclusions From the students’ perspectives, several positive and negative factors that influenced students’ learning were identified. The review identified gaps in the current evidence, which need exploration. More focused qualitative and quantitative studies are essential to develop an evidence base of students’ perceptions about collaborative learning to inform the design of effective collaborative learning.

1 IntroductionIn her introduction to English for Specific Purposes in Theory and Practice (2009: 1), Belcher distinguishes between English generically - for no (Long, 2005: 19) - and it for specific purposes, albeit drawing on the notion that languages are always taught with some kind of purpose in mind. This fine distinction brings to the fore the difficulty in clearly defining what is meant by English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and, within ESP, what is meant by two of its branches, English for Academic Purposes (EAP), on the one hand, and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP), on the other. This latter branch is closely linked with all kinds of professions that originate multiple subdivisions of which English for Legal Purposes (ELP) and English for Medical Purposes (EMP) are two examples.As a consequence of this growing use of English, traditionally nonAnglophone communities have experienced increasing demand for ESP teachers. However, pre-service teacher education programmes in Europe have so far largely neglected this important area (Huttner et al., 2009: 99), which is often individually tackled by academic staff dealing with such students. This chapter draws on our experience as teachers of tertiary-level courses on English language and linguistics and considers particularly the case of legal and medical English.2 The relevance of linguistics in ESP teacher education2.1 Stating the obvious?Insisting on the relevance of linguistics in ESP teacher training may seem pointless. In fact, the language and in particular the foreign language profession bears on several disciplines, and linguistics is one of them (as are psychology, social theory or education). Apart from developing future instructors' knowledge of the language they are going to teach, linguistics enhances their metalinguistic awareness, which is indispensable tool in their job. That is probably why 'applied linguistics' emerged as an attempt to provide a basis for the activities of language teaching (Richards, 2006) and may still be envisaged this way despite the development of broader definitions which consider it the discipline that provides theoretical and empirical foundations for investigating and solving language-related problems in the 'real world' (Davies, 2006).Furthermore, since Swales published his seminal work on EAP in 1990, genre has proven to be a key concept within ESP research and practice. And, despite a long history in Western scientific tradition, it was within discourse analysis and other (applied) linguistic disciplines that this concept has been mostly developed in the last decades. According to Bawarshi and Reiff (2010: 29), it was in particular the Systemic Functional approach to genre that has contributed [the most] to how it is understood and applied in textual analysis and language over the last twenty-five years. Within this framework, genre may be defined as a class of oral or written texts, sharing a communicative and social purpose, presenting the same overall and somehow ritualized structure, and drawing on a similar pool of lexicogrammatical features. From this conception grew a genre-based within the socalled Sidney-school, which aims to offer understanding of how texts are structured and why they are written the way they are in order to provide learners with the means to achieve certain social purposes. This was described by Bernstein (1990: 73) and later on Hyland (2007: 152) as a visible pedagogy and is felt to be particularly important in the case of culturally, socially and linguistically disadvantaged native-speaking students who have to acquire a thicker slice of the cultural capital of their community. Despite the obvious differences between native (LI) and non-native speaking (L2) learners, ESP shares with the former approach the belief that the structural and linguistic features of a text are connected to its social context and function, and the goals of offering learners explicit understanding of the genres they have to know in order to belong to a particular community of practice. …

This descriptive survey research explores students’ perceptions of collaborative learning and its impact on academic achievement. The objective of the study is to examine students' views on collaborative learning practices, identify commonly used collaborative techniques in the classroom, and assess the perceived impact of these methods on their academic performance. The study was conducted among 70 Grade 12 students from three institutional schools in Rupandehi district, Nepal. Data were collected using a structured and adapted questionnaire, administered to participants selected through random sampling. The findings reveal that students hold a generally positive perception of collaborative learning, recognizing it as a method that fosters a supportive, interactive, and engaging educational environment. Students highlighted increased motivation, better peer communication, enhanced critical thinking, and improved academic performance as key outcomes of collaborative learning. Moreover, the results suggest that when teachers effectively implement collaborative strategies—such as group discussions, peer feedback, and cooperative projects—students tend to participate more actively and achieve deeper understanding of the subject matter. These findings underscore the pedagogical value of collaborative learning and imply that its systematic integration into classroom instruction can play a significant role in enhancing students' academic achievement. The study recommends that educators and institutions consider adopting collaborative approaches more intentionally to improve learning outcomes and foster academic growth.

This study explored the English language needs of 156 Saudi fellowship doctors and students of medical majors who are enrolled at medical and training programs in Australian hospitals and universities. Data were collected via a questionnaire adopted from a previous study. Participants’ responses showed the most frequently used language sub-skills were those sub-skills they considered highly important. Results emphasize the findings of previous studies that learners usually attach high importance to any skills that they use frequently to help them achieve the utmost aim of improving their language abilities. In addition, the study findings suggest current college English language courses for medical majors need to focus more on improving language-related aspects like fluency, understanding, accuracy, and structure. Such changes are necessary to prepare doctors and medical professionals for work in medical jobs that depend on heavy usage of the English language and also improving communicative competence aspects to ensure smooth cultural interaction with co-workers from all around the world. The study concludes by pointing that there is a critical need to restructure English for medical purposes programs in Saudi Arabia to make better course design, content, and materials responsive to target language learners’ own future goals. Keywords: Saudi; English language skills; Needs analysis (NA); English for specific purposes (ESP); English for medical purposes (EMP)

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) provides English language instruction that aims to serve learners’ communication needs in English in a certain domain. In fact, addressing learners’ specific goals to use English in a specific area is what distinguishes ESP from English for General Purposes teaching (Hyland in English for Specific Purposes 21:385–395, 2002). While in the 1960s, it emerged as a response to communication needs in English mainly in commerce, science, and technology (Swales in A Source and Reference Book on the Development of English for Science and Technology. Prentice-Hall, New York, 1988), today, ESP encompasses a wide Range of areas including English Academic Purposes (EAP), English for Medical Purposes (EMP), English for Business Purposes (EBP), English for Legal Purposes (ELP), and English for Sociocultural Purposes (ESCP) (Belcher in English for Specific Purposes in Theory and Practice. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI, 2009).

This research explores vocational high school students' perceptions regarding the application of collaborative learning in the context of reading recount and biographical texts. This research uses quantitative descriptive methods to measure and analyze attitudes, experiences and results related to collaborative learning techniques among students. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to vocational school students. Findings indicated that students generally had positive perceptions of cooperative learning, highlighting its increased understanding and engagement with retelling and biographical texts. Additionally, the results show collaborative learning fosters a supportive learning environment that encourages student participation and interaction. These insights are invaluable for educators who wish to implement cooperative learning strategies to improve reading skills in vocational education settings.