Exploring the effectiveness of English for Medical Purposes course in Tlemcen University

Abstract

Nowadays learners’ are interested in using language because of some oriented purposes; a case in point English for Medical Purposes. Doctors are required to update their knowledge about medicine by reading articles written in English and attending international conferences. The present dissertation is an attempt to investigate the needs of the medical learners on the use of English for specific purposes at the faculty of medicine in Tlemcen University. The primary purposes of the present of the research is to ask for implementing English in the medical field and designing ESP courses for medical students. The sample populations used for this case study are the students enrolled in the 4th year and doctors practicing, in different departments, in Tlemcen University Hospital Center. Two research tools were designed to describe the current situation. The first one is a questionnaire survey with students and the second tool is a semi-structured interview with doctors. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected data revealed that the majority of the sample believes that English language is important in their academic studies; they like to learn English for medical purposes. However, the current ESP courses do not fulfill their target and learning needs. According to the analysis and results obtained, the participants need to develop the four skills and their communicative competencies, as well as enriching their medical terminology.