Zapotochna L.I.

Bukovinian State Medical University, Chernivtsi

The use of Grammar-Translation and Audio-Lingual Methods

in teaching Medical English.

Many schools around the world are using Grammar-Translation and Audio-Lingual Methods for teaching Medical English. These traditional approaches to English language training have done well to meet the needs of medical students. Today's global economy requires career-specific language that includes workplace culture, effective delivery of professional services and the ability to coordinate research and treatment across borders. Current methods of instruction most commonly used today for health professionals focus on English language grammar rules in combination with the health care terminology in the lessons. These teaching strategies of lessons include medical terminology and simple dialogues about visits to the doctor's office and minor illnesses. Medical English is taught from the perspective of medicine and health care first and vocabulary acquisition, grammar and structure secondly. Goals are set to prepare students for continuing studies in English and for English language competency at work that is career-specific.

The Grammar-Translation Method focuses on developing students' appreciation of the target language's medical literature. Students are presented with target-language reading passages and answer questions that follow. Other activities include translating literary passages from one language into the other, memorizing grammar rules, and memorizing native-language equivalents of target language vocabulary. Class work is highly structured, with the teacher controlling all activities. Grammar is usually learned deductively on the basis of grammar rules and examples. Students memorize the rules, then apply them to other examples. They learn paradigms such as verb conjugations, and they learn the native language equivalents of vocabulary words.

The Audio-Lingual Method is based on the behaviorist belief that language learning is the acquisition of a set of correct language habits. The learner repeats patterns until able to produce them spontaneously. Once a given pattern – for example, subject-verb-prepositional phrase – is learned, the speaker can substitute words to make sentences. The teacher directs and controls students' behavior, provides a model, and reinforces correct responses. New vocabulary, structures presented through dialogues, which are learned through imitation, repetition. Drills are based on patterns in dialogue. Students' correct responses are positively reinforced; grammar is induced from models. Reading, writing tasks are based on oral work. Acquisition is a process that occurs subconsciously and results in the actual knowledge of a language. Harmer points out that acquiring language is more successful and longer lasting than learning. He also notes that currently foreign language teaching seems to concentrate on getting the adult student to consciously learn items of language. Harmer believes language acquisition is the theory of choice for teaching English for Specific Purposes. Harmer [2; 99].

Grammar study is one of the most important and difficult type of activity in the process of learning a foreign language. It is well known that grammar forms are the basis of studying language. But it is very hard to study grammar only by cramming rules and doing written exercises. You can learn something, but not always for a long time, because some information obliterates from your mind. But when you “draw” some pictures in your mind and fix them with the help of dialogues, short conversations, discussions it remains with you for a long time. It may happen sometimes that first you remember the situation and then the grammar material that was used to create such situation.

The main factor which regulates the use of different grammatical structures in speech is a factor of communicative task, which is defined by the goal of expression and a factor of situational conditions, which are regulated in the form of linguistic context or speech situation that is represented directly or visually. That’s why all new grammatical structures should be represented to students in the context or situation. Situation in which new grammatical structure is demonstrated should be apprehended by ear (except those structures which are used mainly in the written form). The forming of grammatical habit begins with an introduction of a new grammatical structure. Students of foreign language on the intermediate level can acquaint with new speech material in auditory lessons under the guidance of a teacher or independently. The solving of this question depends on the character of the language material. Complex grammatical material, especially situational caused structures must be introduced under the guidance of a teacher, for example, the majority of structures with modal verbs of the English language. This will ensure the creation of correct basis of future language activity, on which depends the successful doing of the action.

The main task of auditory lessons is the activation of learned grammar structures in connected speech of students. As it is known, to provide the use of learned grammatical structures in the act of connected speech is possible with the help of educational situations. For teaching grammatical structures of oral foreign language the most effective are the situations, borrowed from original phonetic materials mainly with dramatic character. Exercises, in which students’ expressions with necessary use of certain grammatical structure are based on the oral situation are called “situational grammatical exercises on the auditory basis” [1;40].

In contrast to reproduction exercises, situational grammatical exercises on the auditory basis have the productive basis. In productive exercises of this type speech reaction of a student is a contextual unity – the expression with the complicated logical structure. While doing exercise, students first of all listen to the situation that gives possibility to make clear idea about active characters and their relations. After that the concrete communicative task is set before them, for example, to express reproach supposition, etc. If this communicative task can be realized with the help of synonymic speech forms, the choice of the form should be to a certain degree limited ( for example, to show that reproach should be reflected with the help of appropriate modal verb). The student should also be informed about the role of active character of the listened situation he would play. Here is the example of the situational grammar exercise on the auditory basis which has the productive character.

Nora: Hi, Tom and Mary!

Mary: Hello, Nora!

Nora: It is nice to see you! Harry’s out at the moment, but he’ll be back very soon. Come in and see our house. It’s nearly tea-time, and there is kettle boiling … This way …

Tom: Let me see, when did we come over last time, Nora?

Nora: Last summer, wasn’t it?

Task. Imagine you are Nora. You want Tom and Mary to frequent your place. Speak up your wish. Substantiate it. Address Tom and Mary. Mind that fulfillment of your wish fully depends on them. Use proper structure with the verb “to wish” in a complex sentence. The possible expression of the student: “Dear Tom and Mary it’s unkind of you to come to our place so seldom. I wish you would visit us at least once a month, and not once a year. You are our closest relatives. We love you both dearly and miss you too. Do come to see us as often as you can. Will you promise?”

Situational grammar exercises on the auditory basis can also have receptive character, they can recall the understanding of students the communicative meaning of learned structures, which is listened isolated, in language example. The task for the student is to create the speech situation, typical for using the structure learned. Situation created by the student shows how correctly he understands the communicative meaning of given structure and situational conditions of its functioning in language. As in case of learning constructions with modal verbs medical students are supposed to listen to the dialogue, determine the constructions of modal verbs explain the cases of their usage and create their own dialogues with the proper use of these verbs.

Example of the dialogue:

Dr. Murray: Good morning.

Mrs. Thurston and Mark: Good morning.

Dr. Murray: So, Mark, how are you feeling?

Mark: Pretty much the same, Doctor.

Dr. Murray: OK. Well, Mark, we have the lab results and as we suspected, it appears that you have diabetes.

Mrs. Thurston: Oh, no! That’s what my father has. Does this mean that Mark will have to give himself injections? And my dad has all these other problems that they say come from diabetes.

Dr. Murray: Don’t worry too much, Mrs. Thurston. Each case is different and we have made a lot of progress in the last few years.

Mark: Does this mean I won’t be able to play sports anymore?

Dr. Murray: Not at all, Mark. You will be able to lead a completely normal life. You can eat more or less the same food as all your friends. No one will even know you have diabetes.

Mrs. Thurston: But he’ll have to give himself injections, won’t he?

Dr. Murray: Not, necessarily. There are some new gadgets that you wear that do away with injections.

Mark: Yeah, there’s another kid at school who has one of those. But he has to take blood samples.

Dr. Murray: Yes, that’s right; you have to check the amount of sugar in your blood.

Mrs. Thurston: Don’t worry, Mark. I’m sure everything is going to be OK.

Dr. Murray: That’s right. Thank you, Mrs. Thurston. But please remember, Mark, diabetes is a serious condition and it can have long-term consequences if you don’t follow a very careful treatment plan. OK? Now, let’s go through everything step by step[3;98]. On the basis of this dialogue medical students make up their own conversations that will help them to use modal constructions, enrich their vocabulary and carry up positive psychological attitude during medical exanimation between a doctor and a patient. With the help of dialogue students “draw” some frames in their minds and fix them. They even may remember the content of the conversation first and then the grammar material that was used to create such situation.

Reference.1.Барабанова Г.В. Методика навчання професійно-орієнтованого читання в немовному ВНЗ: Монографія.- К.:Фірма «ІНКОС», 2005.-180 c. 2. Harmer, J.The practice of English language teaching, Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers, Longman Publishers, USA, 1996 3. Martin Milner “English for Health Sciences”. – Thomson ELT, Boston, Massachusettes. –p. 98. 4. Michael Lewis, Gimmy Hill “Practical Techniques for Language Teaching”, Hove 1992, England. – p. 85, 118-121. 5.R ebeca L. Oxford “The Tapestry of Language Learning the Individual and in the Communicative Classroom”. – Boston, Massachusetts, USA, - 1992- p.30, p. 166-175