HUE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

ESP ASSIGNMENT

Instructor: PhD. Truong Bach Le

Postgraduate: Doan Ton Bao Phuc

Thua Thien Hue, 31 March 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 I. Introduction
1. Statement of situation .. 1
2. Needs analysis . 2
3. View of language learning in ESP .. 2
II. Sample lesson plan ... 4
REFERENCES 8
APPENDICES ... 9
on Tn Bo Phc
ESP Assignment

LESSON PLAN FOR MEDICAL DOCTORS

I. Introduction
The role and the importance of health care systems in the quality of life and social
welfare in modern society have been broadly well recognized. English is now the global
lingua franca because the increasing numbers of people in the world is acquiring English
as an additional language and the growing number of native speakers is rising
tremendously. It is also used as a crucial role in a particular community and as in the case
of the medical professions and this will help those who want to become a healthcare
professional. Consequently, the growing demand for both teaching and learning English
in the medical doctor field is an example of English of Specific Purpose (ESP).
Therefore, the central objective of this paper is to create a course proposal for the doctors
from Nha Trang Hospital that are going to attend a practical training in Australia next
September in order to help them learn the medical field not only general purposes but
also specific ones.

1. Situation of problem
The learners of the course is a group of 15 young doctors who are going to attend the
training in Australia in September 2017. Though they have joined many classes at
English centers, their English skills or proficiency is relatively limited and need to be
highly facilitated in order to effectively converse well with the foreigners in the imminent
training.
The course is considered conducting with 45 periods and there will be 4 periods per
week and it comprises four major components: Listening & Speaking, Reading &
Medical Terminology. At the end of the course, there will be 2 periods for consolidation
section and an end-of-term examination so as to evaluate the learners acquisition during
the course. A teacher of English will be in charge of lecturing the course for the purpose
of providing the learners with a number of useful lessons that are highly beneficial for not
only their careers to effectively tackle with daily conversation but also their oral
proficiency with medical terminology or expressions. It is inevitable that a needs analysis
must be made in order to make the course become obtainable.

1
on Tn Bo Phc
ESP Assignment

2. Needs analysis
Needs analysis has a significant role in the process of designing and carrying out any
language courses. Bowers (1980) states that "The first step in any language teaching
project must surely be to design a syllabus that will reflect the language needs and wishes
of the learner concerned, and that will accord with a responsible theory of language
learning". According to Bowers definition, identifying the learners learning targets at the
beginning of the course is really indispensable for the purpose of helping the learners
obtain their objectives during the learning process. Therefore, it is indisputable that the
teacher can decide what she needs to focus in the syllabus, what the primary information
to include during the course and what pedagogical methodology needs to be applied
during the teaching process.

There are a number of methods in which information can be gathered to identify the
learners needs and the most frequently used is questionnaires. In this pre-course design
stage, the purpose of using questionnaire is to focus on the learners background
knowledge, their learning style, their targets of learning English, etc. In addition, group
interviews with various open-ended questions will be carried out in order to obtain
information from the learner response and evaluate their oral proficiency and listening
skills.

The data from questionnaires and interviews then will be analyzed for the purpose of
identifying their current language levels, goals of learning English or which skills are
most preferable, etc. Consequently, these kinds of information will be tremendously
useful for the teacher to design a course syllabus, choose appropriate content or activities
during the course or make any minor or major adjustments if necessary.

3. View of language learning in ESP

From perspectives about ESP from a handful of researchers such as Nunan (2004),
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998), Holme (1996), Barnard and Zemach (2003),
Basturkmen (2010) states that "ESP courses are narrower in focus than general ELT

2
on Tn Bo Phc
ESP Assignment

courses because they center on analysis of learners' needs. Therefore, it can be

understandable from Basturkmens statement that language learning in ESP must be in
collaboration with the authentic materials and language usage that are highly appropriate
for the hands-on working environments. In other words, ESP will put emphasis on the
essential language skills for the purpose of helping the learners to work or study
efficiently in their real environment. (Basturkmen, 2010).
The content and activities of the course will be aimed at achieving targets and
learners needs as in the following framework.
According to the abovementioned introduction, the course will focus on developing
the learners communicative competence and their knowledge of the medical field. The
group of doctors shoulder their primary responsibilities pertaining to diagnosing
symptoms, monitoring and administering medication, undertaking patients physical
examinations or organizing workloads. Consequently, it a good idea to integrate a theme-
based lesson with task-based syllabus. The course will be aimed at assisting the learners
in their career and everyday activities at the hospital such as conversing with foreign
people or partners from other countries when having a press conference or dealing with
different matters concerning to medical examination or case histories.
The course also comprises a number of teaching techniques such as individual work,
pair work or group work with various activities like discussion, presentation, interviews,
etc.
From the ideas above, I would like to design a sample lesson plan for my
illustration.

3
on Tn Bo Phc
ESP Assignment

LESSON PLAN

Date of design: Date of teaching:

Class: Young doctors at Nha Room: BIII.2
Topic: PHYSICAL
Trang Hospital
Lesson 1: Reading EXAMINATIONS

4
 Time allotted: 45 minutes

Objectives: By the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to achieve learning
skills in terms of three following aspects:
Learners will enlarge new vocabulary through the pictures and given
examples
Learners will be able to enhance their speaking skills by discussing the
patients symptoms and put forward appropriate solutions in two or three
sentences
Develop critical and logical thinking skills
Teaching aids: PowerPoint, flashcards and handouts.
Materials:
Career Paths: Medical textbook of Virginia Evans, Jenny Dooley and
Trang M. Tran
Various short clips on YouTube are used as illustration during warm-up
activity

Procedure:



Time/ Stage Teacher activities Learners
activities
- Greet the class
- Introduce the activity by using the - Learners will
Total Physical Response method and listen to the word and do

explain the instructions exactly what the T is doing.
- The purpose of this activity is to
1. Warm-
warm up the class and let learners perform
up

(5 mins) the teachers actions and this will help the
Clues
learners guess the name of the lesson.
Lead-in questions diagnose/ diagnosis/
GUESS 1. Can you ignore the early-onset
health centre/ first aid/
THE NAME OF symptoms of your illnesses?
medication, etc.

4
 THE TOPIC 2. Do you think that physical
examinations are vital for your
health condition? Give the reasons.
This will help the
learners practise their
brainstorming skills and let
them freely express ideas.
Provide new vocabulary for Learners will guess the
students through pictures meaning of new

with complete sentences and vocabulary based on the
ask them to guess the pictures and the given
2. Pre- meaning of new words sentences.
reading Learners will learn how to
based on the pictures.
(10 mins)
pronounce these words

based on given
Vocabulary:
phonetics.
1. Symptom (n)
2. Organ (n)
3. Stethoscope (n)
4. Abnormal (a)
5. Pulse (n)

For example:

5
 A second nurse takes my
blood pressure and checks
my pulse.
Ask the class to repeat each word two
times after the teacher.
Let learners work in groups of four to Learners
ACTIVITY 1 complete the Activity 1 in 3 minutes. work in
The purpose of this activity is to help
pairs to
Matc students clearly understand the match the
h The meaning of new words. words in
Words Answers
1-c 4-a column A
in 2-d 5-e with their
Colum 3-b
definition in
n
column B to
A with thoroughly
Their understand
Definit all new
ions in vocabulary
Column B in the
lesson.
Let the learners work in groups of Learners do this
ACTIVITY 2 four the Activity 2 to complete the exercise in groups

Complete sentences with the words in Activity of four to fill in the

the sentences 1. By doing this, learners will know blank and complete

with the words/ how to use new words properly and the sentences by
accurately. using the words in
phrases in
the previous
Activity 1
Answers activity
1. Pulse
2. Abnormal
3. Stethoscope
4. Organ

6
 5. Symptoms
Introduce to the students two Students pay attention
important strategies to boost up to two crucial reading
3. While-
their reading: Skimming and strategies and find out
reading
(15 Scanning. the main differences
Give students examples for each
mins) between these skills.
strategy to clearly illustrate these Students work in pairs
two reading strategies. to locate the answers by
Let students work in pairs to answer using the two reading
five questions. strategies.
4. Feedback Invite two students to read and One student will ask a
(3
answer the questions. question and his/ her
mins) The purpose of this activity is to
partner will read the
review the contents of the passage. answer.
Tell the class that they are going to Learners work in groups
5. Post-
watch a short cartoon clip about of four to discuss the
reading
physical examination. importance of regular
DI Let learners work in groups and physical examination.
SCUSS each group will present their
ION perspectives through the video.
(8
mins)

Remind students to review new vocabulary and make three
6. Homework
sentences for each word.
(4
Assign students to write a 150-word essay about the benefits and
mins)
drawbacks of regular physical examination.

REFERENCES

Bowers, R. (1980), The Individual Learner in The General Class. In H.B. Altman
adn C.V.

7
 James (eds.), Foreign Language Teaching: Meeting Individual
Needs, pp. 66-
80. New York: Pergamon Press.

Basturkmen, H. (2010). Developing courses in English for specific

purposes. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

APPENDICES

Handout 1: THE READING TEXT

The Purpose of an Annual Physical Exam

A physical examination helps your Primary Care Provider (PCP) to determine the
general status of your health. The exam also gives you a chance to talk to them
about any ongoing pain or symptoms that you are experiencing or any other
health concerns that you might have.

A physical examination is recommended at least once a year, especially in people

over the age of 50. These exams are also a good way to check cholesterol, blood
pressure, and blood sugar levels. These levels may be high without you ever

8
 showing any signs or symptoms. Regular screening allows your PCP to treat these
conditions before they become severe.

How Is a Physical Examination Performed?

Before meeting with your PCP, a nurse will ask you a series of questions
regarding your medical history, including any allergies, past surgeries, or
symptoms you might have. They may also ask about your lifestyle, including if
you exercise, smoke, or drink alcohol.

Your PCP will usually begin the exam by inspecting your body for any unusual
marks or growths. You may sit or stand during this part of the exam.

Next, they may have you lie down and will feel your abdomen and other parts of
your body. When doing this, your PCP is inspecting the consistency, location,
size, tenderness, and texture of your individual organs.

Your PCP will also use the stethoscope to listen your heart to make sure there are
no abnormal sounds. Your PCP can evaluate your heart and valve function and
hear your hearts rhythm during the exam.

Your PCP will also use a technique known as percussion, tapping the body like
it is a drum. This technique helps your PCP discover fluid in areas where it
shouldnt be, as well as locate the borders, consistency, and size of organs. Your
PCP will also check your height, weight, and pulse.

Handout 2: MATCHING WORDS

Activity 1: Match the words in column A with their definitions in column B

A B
1. Symptom a. Very different from what is usual
2. Organ b. An instrument that doctor uses to
listen to your heart or breathing
3. Stethoscope c. Something wrong with your body

9
4. Abnormal d. A part of the body such as the heart or
lungs
5. Pulse e. The regular beat that can be felt

-------------------------
Handout 3: GAP FILLING
Activity 2: Complete the sentences with the words/ phrases in Activity 1

1. A second nurse takes my blood pressure and checks my _______

2. Peter has _________ levels of sugar in the blood.
3. A popular family doctor has hung up the ___________ and written his final prescription.
4. The chosen hospital dispatches a team of doctors to remove the _________
5. We have suggested that the experience of physical _______ of anxiety result from stress.
------------------------------
Handout 4: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. What does PCP stand for?

2. How many stages in a typical physical examination? What are they?
3. How can you infer when the writer says the physical exam is advised to be checked once
a year, especially in the people over the age of 50?
4. What does physical exam look at?
5. How can you understand the word fluid in the last paragraph?

10