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LangLit 
An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal
 
 
72
 
 
 

TEACHING OF VOCABULARY TO MEDICAL STUDEN
IN ESP COURSES
Alina Pachonska
Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
 
Abstract 
 
Teaching specialist vocabulary in ESP context is a vital part of English 
language teaching at a university level. The purpose of ESP classes is to 
prepare university students to communicate effectively in their target work 
setting and during their clinical practice abroad. The first part of this paper 
provides a theoretical basis for the presentation of a variety of exercises 
aiming at the teaching of Medical English. In the second part, the authors 
of this paper present the examples of activities designed for their students 
and performed in ESP classes conducted by them. These exercises 
effectively help the students in acquisition and long-term memory storage 
of the scientific vocabulary related to their field of studies. 
Since 1960s English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has become a vital activity within 
the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or English as a Second Language 
(TESL). ESP is an approach in which English language teaching is tailored to the specifi
learning and language use needs of identified groups of students (Hutchinson and Waters, 
Evans and St John (1998) define ESP in terms of “absolute” and “variable” 
characteristics. Absolute characteristics are: it meets specific needs of the
use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves, it is centered on the 
language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, 
Variable characteristics include the following: it may be related to or 
designed for specific disciplines, it may use, in specific teaching situations, a different 
methodology from that of General English, it is likely to be designed for adult learners, either 
nstitution or in a professional work situation, it is generally designed for 
intermediate or advanced students, but can be used with beginners.
Fig. 1. Classification of ESP courses