Chur-Hansen A, Barrett R J
Department of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, South Australia.
Med Educ. 1996 Nov;30(6):412-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1996.tb00860.x.
Lack of fluency in the language of instruction can form a barrier to medical education. There has been an effort within Australian universities to teach English to students from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB), but little systematic attention has been given to the teaching of informal or colloquial English. This paper provides evidence that colloquial language is a pervasive and important aspect of doctor-patient communication. It describes a teaching project for NESB medical students which aimed to introduce them to colloquial English, and to provide them with a contextual approach to learning this form of language. Forty-four first year medical students enrolled at the University of Adelaide were required to gather examples of colloquial language by interviewing a native English speaker. Ninety-four examples of colloquial sayings were recorded. These were compiled in the form of a handbook which served as a student resource. Student evaluation of this exercise was positive. The benefits of an interactive method of teaching local and setting-specific language are discussed, and the implications of this approach for clinical teaching and for medical practice are explored.
教学语言不流利可能会成为医学教育的障碍。澳大利亚的大学一直在努力为非英语背景（NESB）的学生教授英语，但对非正式或口语化英语的教学却很少给予系统关注。本文提供了证据表明口语化语言是医患沟通中普遍且重要的一个方面。它描述了一个针对非英语背景医学生的教学项目，该项目旨在向他们介绍口语化英语，并为他们提供一种学习这种语言形式的情境化方法。阿德莱德大学的44名一年级医学生被要求通过采访一位以英语为母语的人来收集口语化语言的例子。记录了94条俗语例子。这些例子被汇编成一本手册，作为学生资源。学生对这项练习的评价是积极的。讨论了互动式教学当地和特定情境语言的好处，并探讨了这种方法对临床教学和医疗实践的影响。
