The move from teaching general English (GE) to teaching EMP (English for Medical Purposes) requires, this presenter believes, adopting a new mindset about one’s role as a teacher and acquiring a deep understanding of the topics to be taught. During a decade-long journey, the presenter has transformed himself from a teacher of English to a teacher for whom English is just the tool for helping pharmacy and medical students to learn about relevant content. The presenter’s journey has involved reading hundreds of medical books and keeping abreast of medical news. It has required lesson preparation that takes days, weeks or sometimes months, and not minutes or hours. For example, just the background research for a lesson on diabetes took the presenter over two months. Some researchers suggest that EMP practitioners do not require specialist knowledge to do their job; however, for the presenter, it would be inconceivable to enter a classroom to teach topics of such importance as, for instance, drug side effects or dementia, possessing the knowledge of a layperson. Using findings from his research and examples from his lessons, the presenter will recount his motivation for reinventing himself as the teacher he has become and what he did to accomplish this reinvention. While the focus is on EMP, this presentation will be of value to those interested in other types of content-based instruction.

Authors:
Mark Rebuck, Meijo University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Mr Mark Rebuck is currently at Meijo University in Japan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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