The current state of teaching specialized English for chemistry and improvements

Jin-Liang+Zhuang

【Abstract】The globalization of world economy makes the learning of Specialized English for Chemistry more and more important. In this paper， we have discussed the current state and problems of this cause. Finally， several suggestions have been brought to improve the teaching of this cause.

【Key words】Specialized English for Chemistry； Teaching Improvement.

The globalization of world economy makes the rapid expansion of the science， technology， and information. Not only the regular English education， but also the specialized English learning and education become more and more important. Chemistry as a modern science， there is no doubt that it has become a part of life. No one could live without the products of chemistry. The developments of China's economic depend on the development of chemical industry， although it faces enormous environmental pressure currently. This is exactly why the ‘Teaching of Specialized English for Chemistry is widely carried out in many domestic universities.

The aim of Specialized English for Chemistry course mainly focus on the reading and writing scientific literatures， training specialized skills， and improving the international communication ability. However， remarkable differences of teaching achievement in many universities have been reported. Particularly， the actual teaching results in many local universities and colleges are not satisfied. Therefore， figure out the current state of teaching specialized English for chemistry is important for the future improvements.

1. Problems in Teaching Specialized English for Chemistry

Currently， the cause of Specialized English for Chemistry has become a regular subject in most colleges and universities， even in many local ones. However， many problems cannot be ignited， for example， the purposes of this cause are not clear， the teaching methods are still old， lack of skillful teachers and excellent textbooks， and many students pay little attention on this cause. One of the most popular teaching modes， currently， is so called “Words + Translation + Reading”. Because it barely involves the international frontier in chemistry， therefore， no professional and comprehensive language skills can be expected.

2. Characteristics in Teaching Specialized English for Chemistry

It is clear that the Specialized English for Chemistry contains plenty of professional， specialized， and technical terms for Chemistry. In scientific papers， it focuses on science and technology objective or phenomenon， which is not familiar with our daily life. Compared with the regular literary English， it is more difficult to improve the skills of students due to the lack opportunities in international communication. Moreover， teachers for this cause without out-of-state credentials issued in the general subject area “Science” are also problems.

3. Solutions for Teaching Specialized English for Chemistry

Suitable learning materials should be adapted， and it should cover the basics of chemistry discipline. Contents should include inorganic chemistry， organic chemistry， analytical chemistry， physical chemistry and other chemistry related disciplines.

In order to increasing the interests of students， supplemented by audio materials are essential. Many videos， such as MIT's Open Course （MIT open courses， the use of foreign open class resources） are available from internet. Some frontier chemistry related topics， such as the global chip maker Global Foundries AMD produced “From sand to chip” of such high-tech science video， will be an excellent studying materials for freshman or second grade students.

Since the aim of this cause is not only requires the students to learn the terms of elements， inorganic and organic substances， the formation rules of chemical substances， but also brings them the scientific views for the frontier topics in chemistry and chemical engineering. Thus， it demands more than in teaching regular English for those teachers who teaching the specialized English. In addition， these teachers need to update their knowledge for chemistry， to expand visions in frontier chemistry， and to read more and more scientific papers.

In summary， to achieve great results in Teaching Specialized English for Chemistry， is not easy， particularly， in local universities and colleges. However， by recognizing the problems in this cause， by increasing the interests of students， and by improving the skills of teachers， the improvements of this cause can be expected.

References：

[1]席艷君，劉泳俊.廣東化工，2009，36（191），88-89.

[2]韓萍，朱萬忠，魏紅，外語界，2003，2，24-33.