On Teaching and Learning
Technical English
淺談科技英文教與學
郭志華教授
November 12, 2010
Speech Outline

I. Personal Experience
 II. Teaching Technical English
A. Why Do We Teach Technical English?
B. Syllabus Design
C. Materials Development
D. Classroom Teaching
E. Teacher Training
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Speech Outline

III. Learning Technical English
A. General English vs. Technical English
B. Learning Needs and Motivation
C. Learning Difficulties
D. Learning Strategies

IV. Suggestions
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Personal Experience

A. Teaching at Chiao Tung University
 B. As a textbook review committee member
at National Institute for Compilation and
Translation
(國立編譯館教科書審查委員)
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Teaching Technical English

A. Why Do We Teach Technical English?
1. Definition of EST
EST is the area of study of English for science and
technology. It emphasizes purposeful and
utilitarian learning of English. The communicative
needs of the learners are important consideration
of course design. EST is concerned with both the
oral and written discourse of English for academic
or professional, occupational or vocational
purposes. EST mainly deals with learners at the
tertiary level for whom the learning of English
takes on a service role for their specific needs in
study, work or research.
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Teaching Technical English

A. Why Do We Teach Technical English?
2. Nature of EST
*Utilitarian
*Needs-oriented
*Learner-centered
*Customized
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Teaching Technical English

A. Why Do We Teach Technical English?
3. Reasons for teaching technical English
-Students are familiar with the subject content.
-The learning objectives meet students’
communicative needs.
-The materials and activities promote students’
learning motivation.
-Learning is purposeful and beneficial.
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Teaching Technical English

B. Syllabus Design
1. Register approach
2. Rhetorical approach
3. Skills-based approach
4. Content-based approach
5. Genre-based approach
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Teaching Technical English

C. Materials Development
1. Procedure
(1) analyzing learner characteristics and learner
needs
(2) determining course objectives
(3) evaluating/selecting available materials
(4) deciding on an appropriate approach
(5) designing/adapting/producing materials
(6) testing materials
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Teaching Technical English

C. Materials Development
2. Adapting materials
(1) at lexical level

subject content: introducing advances in
microprocessor interfacing techniques
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Teaching Technical English

(Original) A complete interface board is today shrunk
into a few LSI chips. The price paid, as in the case of
a microprocessor, is that the architecture is frozen
inside the LSI chip.

(Adapted) A complete interface board is today shrunk
into (today becomes as small as) a few LSI (Large
Scale Integration) chips. The price paid, as in the case
of a microprocessor, is that the structure of computer
components becomes fixed and can no longer be
changed.
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Teaching Technical English

C. Materials Development
2. Adapting materials
(2) at sentence level
Subject content: acid rain may harm people who
suffer from asthma, bronchitis, and heart
disease
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Teaching Technical English

(Original) That scientists have developed little firm
evidence linking acid rain to human illness does not
prevent them from fearing that breathing acidic
pollutants can harm people who already suffer from
asthma, bronchitis, and heart disease.

(Adapted) Although scientists have not found much
evidence linking acid rain to human illness, they fear
that breathing acidic pollutants can harm people who
already suffer from asthma, bronchitis, and heart
disease.
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Teaching Technical English

C. Materials Development
2. Adapting materials
(3) at rhetorical level
Rhetorical purpose: introducing the rhetorical
structure of comparison and contrast
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Teaching Technical English

(Original) Scientists at the Academy of Natural
Science in Philadelphia spread a film of No.2 fuel oil
over water and exposed it to light wavelengths similar
to those in the sun’s high-energy spectrum. They
found that light produced toxins that killed
microorganisms in the water. Oil kept in the dark
remained stable and had no apparent effect on the
organisms.
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Teaching Technical English

(Adapted) Scientists at the Academy of Natural
Science in Philadelphia conducted two experiments
comparing oil exposed to light and oil kept in the
dark. They spread a film of No.2 fuel oil over water
and exposed it to light wavelengths similar to those in
the sun’s high-energy spectrum. It was found that light
produced toxins that killed microorganisms in the
water. By contrast, oil kept in the dark remained stable
and had no apparent effect on the organisms.
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching (example)
1. Target learners:
-graduate students majoring in chemical
materials and engineering
-undergraduate students majoring in applied
foreign languages
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching
2. Syllabus: content-based + skills-based
approach
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching
3. Textbook: English for Science and Engineering
(by Ivor Williams, Thomson, 2007)
A content-based textbook, consisting of 5 units,
30 lessons in total, with audio CD
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching
3. Textbook
Unit 1
Lesson 1 Congress and the National Science Foundation
Lesson 2 Measuring and comparing R&D activity
Lesson 3 Coordinating the members of the team
Lesson 4 Working out a logical sequence
Lesson 5 Gradually increasing expenditure
Lesson 6 Developing a new product
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching
4. Teaching vocabulary
Type of vocabulary
% of coverage
1st 1000 words
71.4%
2nd 1000 words
4.7%
Academic Word List (570
words)
10.0%
Others (technical voc.)
13.9% (5%)
Total
100.0%
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching
4. Teaching vocabulary
-vocabulary in context
-sub-technical vocabulary
-collocation of words
-incidental learning vs. explicit teaching
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Teaching Technical English

Example: teaching compounds
compounds in the lesson:
adjective compounds -- low-cost design, highquality product, hand-held device
noun compounds -- design value, design options,
software design
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Teaching Technical English
Example: teaching compounds
1. ask students to derive rules about the formation
of compounds by using examples in the lesson
2. use interesting examples to highlight key ideas
about compounds (e.g., bird house/house bird,
data test/test data, sleep-inducing drug/druginduced allergy)
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching
5. Teaching grammar
-forms and functions of grammar
-special usages in technical or academic contexts
-sources of difficulties
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Teaching Technical English

Example: teaching voice (I)
Compare the following pairs of sentences:
(1) People speak English in London.
(2) English is spoken in London.
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Teaching Technical English

Example: teaching voice (II)

A scanner moves along the printed text and photographs
the words. _____ The computer analyzes the signals
according to programmed rules for pronunciation, and
sends a command to a speech-producing device for coded
speech units.
(1) A minicomputer then converts the words into electronic
signals.
(2) The words are then converted into electronic signals by
a minicomputer.


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Teaching Technical English

Example: teaching voice (III)
A plant is a living organism. Different parts, each with
particular purposes or functions, make up the plant. Some
parts of the plant may be removed without harming it.
Food is stored in the roots of plants such as beets, carrots,
and potatoes. Other plants are able to take nitrogen from
the air and add it to the soil. Scientists call these plants
legumes. If they are plowed under, they make the soil more
fertile.
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Teaching Technical English

D. Classroom Teaching
6. Teaching skills
e.g., identifying main ideas and scanning for
specific information in a lesson
e.g., listening to definitions of terms and
listening to signal words in a lesson
(interview)
e.g., describing graphics in a lesson presenting
graphs
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Teaching Technical English

Example: teaching how to describe graphics
1. indicate the importance of graphics in technical
communication
2. explain types of graphics and the characteristics
of each type
3. show ppt
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Teaching Technical English

E. Teacher Training
1. Problems
-Most English teachers receive teacher
training only for teaching general English.
-Teachers lack background knowledge in
science and engineering.
-Teachers have low motivation to teach
EST.
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Teaching Technical English

E. Teacher Training
2. Professional development
-Self-development
-Teamwork
-Workshop
-EST teacher training programs
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Learning Technical English

A. General English vs. Technical English
– e.g., Some people often try to find out how to
crack software on the web. (COMPUTER)
– e.g., The use of a light-weight steel would
improve fuel efficiency.
– e.g., Production and sales rise slowly at first,
and then more rapidly, finally getting to a
plateau. (describing a graph)
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Learning Technical English

B. Learning Needs and Motivation
1. Know what you need for the future career
2. Know what you are required to do for the
courses
3. Know what you want to learn
4. Set short-term and long-term goals
5. Form discussion groups with peers
6. Discuss your wants and problems with teachers
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Learning Technical English

C. Learning Difficulties
1. Low English proficiency
2. Low motivation
3. Bad past learning experience
4. Lack of time for study
5. Inability to concentrate on study
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Learning Technical English

D. Learning Strategies
1. Read extensively (general science materials)
ex. Young Scientist, Scientific American
2. Link textbook lessons to real-world industry
materials
ex.1 “funding for scientific research” 
National Science Council, Science Park
ex.2 a group oral presentation project
“introducing a well-known company”
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Learning Technical English

D. Learning Strategies
3. Make good use of online resources
http://lc.stut.edu.tw/s212/05%20English%20Co
rner/Internet%20Technology.htm
4. Train yourself to concentrate when studying
ex. Prepare cognitively demanding questions
and search for or think hard for answers
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Learning Technical English

D. Learning Strategies
5. Focus on a single topic/goal for a period of
time
ex. Read an article in a consumer electronics
magazine each week
6. Maximize learning effects
ex. Reflect, assess, and improve
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Suggestions

A. Different focuses of EST at various
levels of education should be clarified.
 B. EST teachers need to enrich themselves
with knowledge and information from
related disciplines or professions.
 C. Teachers could work as a team to design
appropriate EST courses and develop
materials for their target learners.
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Suggestions

D. Teachers should design realistic tasks
and activities based on real-world
situations.
 E. Teachers should adopt the teaching
methodology that can fit the learning style
of their students.
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Suggestions

F. Teachers should try to develop affective
teacher-student relationship.
1.show enthusiasm in teaching EST
2.show high expectation of students’ potential
and achievement
3.promote students’ confidence
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Suggestions

F. Teachers should try to develop affective
teacher-student relationship.
4.share interesting personal experience in
learning English with students
5.establish remedial and counseling channels
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Thank you !
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