RYAZAN STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

NAMED AFTER ACADEMICIAN I.P. PAVLOV

LANGUAGES FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS: CURRENT TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVES

Presented by: Marina V. Maslova

Voronezh N.N. Burdenko Medical University

10/04/2019
Why is English a lingua franca in medicine?
According to statistics, English is the most widely-spoken
second language in the world

The Chinese grammar and writing system are prohibitively

difficult for potential learners

English medical terminology is based on Latin, so for medical

professionals who did learn some Latin, learning English
vocabulary would not be entirely unfamiliar to them

More than half of the world's medical and scientific

periodicals are in English
 •

Proficiency in English
This means that
is low amongst
most medical
Russian speakers, This often leads to
students do not have
including health resistance to
the necessary
professionals. acquiring English
foundations for
Sometimes, even proficiency, because
English, so this
Russian teachers of students feel insecure
prevents them from
English do not have a in their language-
being successful in
sophisticated learning journey.
learning medical
understanding of the
English.
language.
 20 medical
professionals
18 nursing
90 people students
52 medical
students
LEVELS OF PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH IN A
MEDICAL ENVIRONMENT

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
nursing students medical students medical professionals
A1-A2 (basic user) B1-B2 (inderpendent user) C1-C2 (proficient user)
 THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH IN MEDICINE

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
medical professionals medical students nursing students

not important (0-3) rather important (4-5) important (6-8) vital (9-10)
REASONS TO IMPROVE ONE’S ENGLISH

16%

8% 41%
reading scientific articles
and books
communication and
collaboration
writing articles and self-
35% development
study and work abroad
PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE LEARNING ENGLISH

learning English not learning English

0%

65%
77%
100%

35%
23%

NURSING STUDENTS MEDICAL STUDENTS MEDICAL

PROFESSIONALS
 LEVELS OF ENGLISH

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Study English Voluntarily Do not Study English Voluntarily
A1-A2 B1-B2 C1-C2
 HOW ENGLISH CAN BE
IMPROVED

move to an English-speaking
country
find an English-speaking partner
1
watch videos

read books and articles

do grammar exercises

learn new vocabulary

0 20 40 60
 REFERENCES

1. COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES

(CEFR).
2. IMPORTANCE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN MEDICINE // MODERN
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES AND INNOVATIONS. 2017. № 2 [ELECTRONIC
JOURNAL]. URL: HTTP://WEB.SNAUKA.RU/EN/ISSUES/2017/02/78089