Values of Medical Videos in Medical English Instruction

Tian Junying

【Abstract】In recent years， a great tendency towards the use of video in foreign language teaching classrooms has gained great importance. It is obvious that the use of video is a great help for foreign language teachers in stimulating and facilitating the target language. The aim of this article was to introduce the advantages of video use and how to use video efficiently in medical English instruction.

【Key words】Video； Medical English； Instruction

【作者簡介】Tian Junying，College of Foreign Language， Chongqing Medical University.

1. INTRODUCTION

Medical English has its own unique characteristics in terms of syntax， grammar， sentence pattern， etc. The understanding of medical English calls for medical background knowledge. Medical English course are often taught in the third year medical students or non-medical students， hence， there is lack of medical knowledge. It is difficult for the students to understand medical terms. The medical English teachers often have to depend on techniques to facilitate students understanding of medical English. Video is one of the most appreciated materials applied to medical English classroom to motivate learners interest in learning medical English and enable learners to experience authentic language. Video provides visual stimuli and this can generate prediction， speculation and a chance to activate background schemata. The teacher suggests using videos in ESP classroom.

2. Rationale for video use in medical English instruction

It is a well-known fact that audio-visual materials are a great help in stimulating and facilitating the learning of a foreign language. Arthur （1999） claims that video can give students realistic models to imitate for role-play； can increase awareness of other cultures by teaching appropriateness and suitability. Research by Herron， Hanley and Cole （1995） indicates that the visual support in the form of descriptive pictures significantly improved comprehension scores with language videos for English speaking students learning French. Sherman （2003） pointed out that while watching videos there is involvement of two different senses at the same time— seeing and hearing — and stimulates interest in the meaning of words. The learner can concentrate on the language in detail and interpret what has been said， repeat it， predict the reply and so on. The learner can also concentrate in detail on visual clues to meaning such as facial expression， dress， gesture， posture and on details of the environment. Even without hearing the language spoken clues to meaning can be picked up from the vision alone.

3. Using Video in Medical English Classroom

Before using videos in medical English classroom， the teacher should have a good preparation of the videos. First， it should be short in length， best within five minutes）； second， the language spoken should be clear and easy to be understood.

In medical English classroom， many medial terms are hard to understand even if there is word explanation. For example， when reading the sentence “Patients with severe cases of CAD may be candidates for angioplasty， surgical dilatation of the blocked vessel by means of a catheter， technically called percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty （PTCA）.” In this sentence， the medical term angioplasty means surgical dilation of the blocked vessel by means of a catheter. However， the students still have difficulty in understanding its real meaning without other technical means to help them. Therefore， a short video prepared in advance regarding the angioplasty can be played in medical English classroom. Before watching video， the teacher writes the key words or difficult words on the blackboard and explains the pronunciation and Chinese meaning to the students to facilitate their understanding of the video. While watching the video， students can be asked to write down words that seem interesting or incomprehensible to them. Instructor can discuss these points after watching the video. The instructor can also ask the students to repeat the particular words or sentences. After watching the video， students can be asked to sit in groups and ask questions with each other and share their opinions.

4. Conclusion

From the above discussion， its obvious that video is important tools for use in medical English classroom in that it attracts students attentions greatly and makes classroom very interactive. It is recommended that institutions and practitioners encourage the use of videos in medical English classroom.

References：

[1]Arthur，P.“Why use video？ A teacher's perspective”，VSELT 2：4（1999）：4.