The Course “English for Biologists” and Web Page ‘APres’

How Modern Communication Technologies Help to Promote Communicative

Competence

Natalya Snytnikova

Novosibirsk State University, 2, Pirogova Street, Novosibirsk, Russia

Keywords: Communicative Competence, Communication Technologies, Academic Presentation, Independent

Learning, Specific Language Skills.

Abstract: The paper deals with the course “English for biologists”, which has been designed and developed for the

students of the Department of Natural Sciences of Novosibirsk State University. The main aim of the course

is to form specific language skills: academic listening and giving oral academic presentations. The course is

described in some detail. During the four stages of the course each student has to give four academic

presentations. The paper considers some of the ways the students use computers and the Internet in

acquiring the course. The skills are studied that are formed with the help of modern communication

technologies. To help the students cope with the course the Web page APres has been created. It provides

useful information and advice for the students and for all those people who want to learn how to give and

comprehend oral academic presentations. The Web page APres is briefly outlined.

1 INTRODUCTION

Biologists study English at the Department of

Natural Sciences (DNS) of Novosibirsk State

University (NSU). In the course of English, they are

to acquire enough knowledge and skills for the

practical use of the language. They are supposed to

learn how to: 1) read and comprehend texts on their

speciality; 2) write reports and papers; 3) give and

comprehend oral academic presentations.

The course “English for biologists” has been

designed and developed in addition to the general

course of English. It allows to form specific skills in

ESP (English for Specific Purposes). Some of them

are academic listening (listening to lectures and

other academic presentations) and giving oral

academic presentations (lectures, reports). The

course consists of four stages and lasts four

semesters. During the course, every student gives

four academic presentations. To prepare for them

students use the texts read during the semester.

The Internet is widely used in the course: the

electronic dictionaries are used to read and translate

texts; the search engines – to find some extra

information on the topics of their presentations.

Word processors are employed to prepare the written

texts of presentations.

The activity of preparing and delivering

presentations is a real challenge for non-language

students. In order to help them cope with the

problem a resource Web page has been created – the

Web page APres (Academic Presentations). It is

aimed to equip students with the necessary language

skills and communication techniques.

2 SPECIAL COURSE “ENGLISH

FOR BIOLOGISTS”

Biologists are trained in their speciality at the

research institutes of the Siberian Branch of the

Russian Academy of Sciences. The professional

training is guided by scientists who tackle major

scientific and engineering problems.

Students participate in practical and scientific

seminars, workshops, and conferences as well as in

writing reviews, reports, and collective papers.

Many scientists co-operate and communicate with

their foreign colleagues in English. Taking part in

real research work the students understand that they

have to learn how to communicate in English.

The course “English for biologists” is an ESP

course. The main objective of any ESP course is to

489

Snytnikova N..

The Course “English for Biologists” and Web Page ‘APres’ - How Modern Communication Technologies Help to Promote Communicative Competence.

DOI: 10.5220/0004350604890492

In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU-2013), pages 489-492

ISBN: 978-989-8565-53-2

 2013 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

help students acquire the linguistic and

communicative skills related to their disciplines, so a

content-based approach is especially useful.

Content-based instruction “employs authentic

reading materials which require students not only to

understand information but interpret and evaluate it

as well ...” (Brinton et al., 1989).

The Internet is a learning tool that fits well in a

content-based ESP syllabus. There are some

important benefits of the Internet use: 1) more

opportunities to interact with the target language and

content area because students spend more time on a

task; 2) increased motivation and participation by

the students; 3) greater integration of reading and

writing skills and opportunities to practice them in

meaningful contexts; 4) more self-paced

autonomous learning that is learner-controlled rather

than teacher-controlled.

The students who study English at the DNS NSU

are mostly low-intermediate students. Being adult

learners they face difficulties in mastering speaking

and listening skills. The fact is that adult learners

can speak about very serious matters and issues in

their native tongue but have very limited means to

express their thoughts and ideas in English. When

teaching we have to take into account both the

language level of the students and their command of

speciality (Hutchinson and Waters, 1992).

The course “English for biologists” is primarily

intended to form the skills of academic listening and

giving oral academic presentations.

The students are taught to communicate. The

Internet is utilized in this process as a research tool,

a conversational tool, and a production tool. Various

language skills can be practised and acquired with

the help of the Internet.

2.1 Oral Academic Presentations at the

and 2

Stages of the Course

The work pattern at the 1

and 2

stages of the

course is the same. Every student chooses a text

from the book suggested for the presentations and

once a semester gives a presentation. Then there is a

discussion. Speaking and listening skills interrelate

and interact very closely here. Reading and writing

are also involved.

For the 1

series of presentations the book Right

Reading (Beginning Level) by Dean Curry is taken.

The texts are short (450-600 signs), easy to read and

understand and related to biology. They outline such

topics as the wildlife, the survival of species in the

process of natural selection, etc. There are five or six

exercises in each chapter and a glossary.

At the 2

stage of the course we take the book Read

On (Intermediate Level) by Dean Curry for

academic presentations. The texts tell us about such

problems as recognition of smells by animals and

people, radar system in bats, etc. The texts and

exercises are more complicated, but short and

related to biology as well.

The techniques of preparing and delivering

presentations are thoroughly elaborated. The

manuals for speakers have been developed. They

are: ‘Listening Strategies’, ‘Speaking Strategies’ and

‘Manual for speakers. Academic Presentations. 1

and 2

Stages’.

2.2 Scientific Conferences at the 3

and 4

Stages of the Course

The work pattern changes at the 3

and 4

stages of

the course. The activity results in two scientific

conferences: “Disease. The Greatest Agent of

Natural Selection” and “Bacteria. The Workhorses

of Biotechnology”.

The 1

conference is held at the end of the third

semester. To prepare for the conference the students

use texts from the book “Clones, Viruses, etc.

Reading and Speaking on Biology and Medicine”

(Snytnikova, 2002; 2006) read in the semester. The

texts are rather long (1,000-1,500 signs) and related

to biology. They are dedicated to such academic

topics as the causes of diseases, the nature of

viruses, etc. The texts are read aloud, translated, and

thoroughly analyzed in class. All the exercises that

accompany the texts are fulfilled. All the four

language skills are acquired here. Subject-specific

lexical items are accumulated.

A number of conversational gambits are studied,

which can be useful in the course of an academic

presentation. The students get to know when and

how to take the floor, how to introduce a topic or

change the subject, etc. (Nunan, 1992).

2.2.1 3

Stage. Conference “Disease. the

Greatest Agent of Natural Selection”

Every student chooses a text that he will use to

prepare an academic presentation for the conference.

Students write the texts of presentations making use

of the key points from the text and special

conversational gambits.

They employ their skills in Multi-Skills Reading

in the process. The following reading skills are

involved: 1) skimming for key words; 2) scanning

for specific information; 3) reading in meaningful

units; 4) recognition of clues, which signal phrases.

CSEDU2013-5thInternationalConferenceonComputerSupportedEducation

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The students use the writing skills they have

acquired and organize the content at the level of the

paragraph reflecting the given information.

Finally, students give oral presentations at the

conference “Disease. The Greatest Agent of Natural

Selection”. The topics are “Disease”, “Virus”,

“Cancer”, etc. Some new speaking skills are

involved here: 1) using appropriate conversational

formulae and filters; 2) skills in taking short and

long speaking turns. New Oral Communication

Skills for Academic Purposes are formed: 1) an

acceptable degree of fluency, and 2) transactional

and interpersonal skills. All students prepare one or

two questions on the topic of each report. They are

asked in the discussion after the reporter has given

his presentation.

2.2.2 4

Stage. Conference “Bacteria. the

Workhorses of Biotechnology”

The conference “Bacteria. The Workhorses of

Biotechnology” is the ultimate aim of the course. It

is held at the end of the 4

semester. The material is

the article from National Geographic named

Bacteria. Teaching Old Bugs New Tricks (Candy,

1993). The article is big – 30,000 signs. It is studied

thoroughly during the semester both in class and at

home: it is read aloud, translated, and discussed.

Then the students are offered a list of

presentation topics. The themes relate to various

modern biotechnologies using bacteria. For

example: 1) Microbes as factories making

pharmaceuticals, pesticides, solvents, and plastics;

2) Using bacteria for bioremediation, etc.

To prepare for the presentation every student has

to look through the whole article again, find all the

information concerning the given topic, analyze it,

decide, which part of it to include into the report.

After that he writes his report and presents it at the

conference. While presenting he is to use

Conference Lexicon properly.

Everyone also makes up a list of questions on all

topics in advance. After the presentation there is

always a question-answer session and a discussion.

The whole group takes part in it.

2.3 How the Internet and Computers

Are used in the Course

“English for Biologists”

In their work with the course “English for

biologists” students widely use computers and the

Internet.

While reading and translating the texts they

make use of electronic dictionaries but not the paper

ones. It is faster, more comfortable, and cheaper.

You can also find transcriptions of any words on any

speciality in on-line dictionaries whereas English-

Russian special paper dictionaries do not give

transcriptions. Many on-line dictionaries provide not

only quick search, but also high quality sound. So

one can read the word, hear it, and pronounce it

properly after the computer.

When preparing for the conferences at the 3

and

stages of the course my students and I regularly

exchange e-mail letters. The students send me rough

copies of their conference reports. Having checked

and corrected them I send them back. It allows me

to carry out individual distance teaching providing

my students by a feedback channel.

One of the students is chosen to be the secretary

of the Conference. He is responsible for the printed

materials. All students send him e-mails with the

titles of their reports and some other necessary

information like their names and surnames in

English spelling, etc. He, then, makes up the

conference program and prints it out.

We publish conference proceedings. Reports to

be included into the proceedings are often e-mailed

too. The students write all this outside class. Thus,

they always have some extra practice in English.

Some of the skills acquired with the help of the

Internet and other modern communication

technologies are: reading (reading for detail,

reviewing and predicting); writing (copying parts of

information, expressing opinions); speaking (talking

about current scientific news), etc.

The information in the Internet is obtained

immediately, which provides strong motivation for

careful reading. You can even write a letter to the

author of the article or the editor of the journal

(Teeler, 2000).

Students use a word processor to prepare the

texts of the presentations in written form. It helps

them develop writing and editing skills.

3 WEB PAGE ‘APres’

Modern communication technologies greatly extend

language-learning opportunities. The Internet is

suitable for any language course designed around the

specific needs of a particular group of students.

The Web page APres (Academic Presentations)

is aimed to provide useful information and advice

for students who take the course “English for

biologists” and for everyone who wants to learn

how to prepare and deliver an academic

TheCourse"EnglishforBiologists"andWebPage'APres'-HowModernCommunicationTechnologiesHelptoPromote

CommunicativeCompetence

491

presentation. It equips students with the necessary

language skills and communicative techniques.

APres consists of eight sections: 1) General

information; 2) Conference lexicon; 3) Presentation

techniques; 4) Conferences; 5) Photos; 6) Poster

guidelines; 7) Notes for writers; 8) Feedback.

Section 2 contains the necessary conversational

gambits. Section 3 is dedicated to the ways of

preparing and delivering academic presentations.

Section 6 teaches how to make a good poster. Other

sections are equally relevant. All the sections are

linked together.

The Web page APres is most purposeful and

effective as it is learner-centred, based on authentic

communication and connected to a larger goal –

developing academic skills. It is a multimedia

resource and communication tool, which both

supports class-based learning and helps to develop

independent learning skills in students and improve

their language competence.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The course “English for biologists” is an ESP

(English for Specific Purposes) course. The aims of

the course are to help students to form linguistic and

communicative skills related to their discipline. The

course is based on the content of the subject and on

the use of authentic materials. The students’

linguistic needs and learning styles are considered

carefully.

Every student gives four academic presentations

during the course. Presentations are popular with the

students. All the four language skills (listening,

speaking, reading, and writing) interrelate and

interact very closely here. The students also acquire

communicative competence. They learn to be

effective while communicating on professional

topics.

The given course can easily be transformed into

a course for ecologists, chemists, etc., if you change

the content, as the course is content-based.

The technologies of computer-aided learning,

such as the Internet and e-mail, help the students

greatly in acquiring necessary linguistic and

communication skills here.

The Web page APres has been created as a

supplement to the course. This Web page is a kind of

blended learning environment, in which modern

technologies both support class-based learning and

help to develop independent learning skills in

students. It also helps to promote their

communicative and language competence.

REFERENCES

Brinton, D. M., Snow, M. A., and Wesche, M. B., 1989.

Content-based second language instruction, Heinle

and Heinle. Boston.

Candy, T. Y., 1993. Bacteria. Teaching old bugs new

tricks. In National Geographic Vol. 184, No. 2.

Hutchinson, T., Waters, A., 1992. English for Specific

Purposes. A learning-centered approach, Cambridge

University Press. Cambridge.

Nunan, D., 1992. Designing tasks for the communicative

classroom, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Snytnikova, N. I., 2002. Clones, viruses, etc. Reading and

speaking on biology and medicine, Novosibirsk

University Publishing House. Novosibirsk.

Snytnikova, N. I., 2006. Clones, viruses, etc. Reading and

speaking on biology and medicine, Vostok–Zapad

Publishing House. Moscow, 2

edition.

Teeler, D., 2000. How to use the Internet in ELT,

Longman.

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