Teaching English for Medical Purposes: Myanmar Context

Abstract

English has been taught in different higher education institutions over the
last decades to meet professionals and students' academic needs. The aims
of this research were to investigate and assess the English language needs
of Myanmar medical students in order to account for their academic
dissatisfaction, and to provide a basis for the development of medical
English courses and teaching approaches in the Myanmar context. The
faculty of medicine in Myanmar has a long tradition of learning and teaching
English for medical academic purposes. English was considered extremely
important for medical students' academic and professional life. English
syllabus was based on an integrated approach to the four language skills
(reading, listening, speaking, and writing), although writing was
emphasized as the most demanding and valuable skill. This study explored

the English language needs of 156 medical students who were enrolled at
medical universities in Myanmar. Data were collected via a questionnaire
adopted from a previous study. The question of teaching English for Medical
Purposes has been significantly researched over the last few years. English
is today's lingua franca of medical international communication; therefore,
it is an essential prerequisite for a medical career, even more so as a large
number of medical professionals intend to emigrate to English-speaking
countries. Consequently, teaching medical English should be adapted in
order to meet the specific academic and professional needs of the students.
This research was focused on the key issues in course design and my
intention was to bring forth the insights gained from my professional
experience developing the curriculum for Medical English.