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Shehu Isida,
Lecturer at Polytechnic University of Tirana, Faculty of Mathematical Engineering and Physical Engineering,
Center of Foreign Languages PhD Candidate in Linguistics E-mail: [email protected]
The importance of LSP and differentiation of word/term in a foreign language for engineering students
Abstract: The need to focus on language for specific purposes for engineering students who are required to learn a foreign language in Albania. LSP textbooks used at PUT to help students learn the terminology of their future profession in a foreign language. Concentration on terms and the importance of differentiating words from terms.
Keywords: foreign languages, LSP, words, terms, engineering students.
In Albania, the process of learning/teaching a foreign language has always been from the '90s of great importance for the youth and the students undergoing different qualifications and trying to enter the labor market. All students accomplishing a master or doctorate degree are required to have an internationally recognized certificate of English language. The standard used in classifying the linguistic competencies is based on the description of the common European Framework of References for Languages [1, 10-5.]
Learning foreign languages is essential, especially for the students of professional fields such as engineering who always have to stay updated with the latest engineering developments. All this information is acquired by means of foreign literature which is mainly found in English, even though Albanian students and specialists are well-acquainted to other European languages like French, German and Italian. When speaking of engineering student in Albania I refer to the students studying different branches at the Polytechnic University of Tirana (PUT) such as mechanical engineering students, geological engineering students, students of electronic engineering, telecommunication engineering, informatics etc. Apart from the professional knowledge and competencies in the specific fields of study, one other key quality or important component for
the students is good knowledge of one or more foreign languages.
The teaching/learning of foreign languages for specific purposes at PUT (Polytechnic University of Tirana).
The teaching of foreign languages at the Polytechnic University of Tirana is done for specific purposes since the target groups are engineering students. This is the reason why nowadays LSP textbooks are being used instead of other textbooks of general English. We as a Foreign Languages Center operating at PUT with over 20 years of experience are one of the state foreign languages center teaching English for specific purposes. Throughout the years, the center has tried to fully fulfill the needs and requirements of engineering students related to the acquisition of the foreign languages in conformity to their fields of study.
From general language teaching to LSP (Language for Specific Purposes).
It is obvious that in such fields of study, the teaching process offoreign languages is mainly concentrated on the teaching of vocabulary or more precisely, in the teaching of new terms related to their future profession. The first foreign languages being taught in Albania were Russian and English. Previously, the main activities concerning the teaching and learning of a foreign language were focused
on the vocabulary, teaching/learning of the new words. The students were very good at acquiring the vocabulary but needed more time and effort to put it into practice. They encountered difficulties in building sentences of their own in as well as using the new vocabulary in spoken language, communication. They were good at one of the four language competencies, reading, but not impressively good at the other very important language skill such as speaking, resulting in poor everyday communication skills let alone communication skills in supposed work environment in which they might be required to have a conversation with a college. But despite this the early years in which Albania, an ex-communist country, was exposed to the foreign cultures and languages, it was general language the one taught and learned at school/university. With the passing of time, the situation regarding the teaching of foreign languages changed. Nowadays it is professional language on which schools and universities rely on since the aim is to fulfill the needs of the students. Engineering students need to focus on and improve a foreign language that will help them with their communication skills in the work environment and their career. Thus, at PUT we focus on languages for specific purposes and in my case, as a lecturer ofEnglish language, it is ESP (English for Specific Purposes) or as some linguists name it Engineering English [2, 9-1] or Technical English (important to students of technical or vocational education). This is the ideal one to engineering students who want to learn how to use English in real-world engineering settings. We teach the English language used by a narrow group of people, the terminology of which is mainly understood by the professionals and sometimes not that clear to the non-professionals. Thus, it is the specialized lexicon, the terminology that distinguishes ESP or Engineering English compared to General English.
The implementation of Bologna Process and textbook changes in teaching foreign languages at PUT.
Albania adhered to Bologna process in 2003, thus it applied a new educational system by signing up the Bologna Accord and becoming a member of Higher European Educational Area. Among the many changes brought by the newly implied system such as the overall number of academic years per student, the three degrees of qualification (Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate) etc, was the adaptation of textbooks and methodology of teaching. The main purpose was to meet the students' needs and requirements. More specifically, previously at PUT, the teachers used general language textbooks in
English, Italian, French, German, Russian, even though they had general foreign language at high school. Regarding English, years ago, the Center of Foreign Languages at PUT used the Oxford University Press textbook 'Technology 1 & 2' by Eric H. Glendinning that used a technical English language ideal for students with a future career in technology. Nowadays, different engineering branches use English textbooks of the related field of study. For example, the branch of mechanical engineering uses 'Mechanics' [3, 5] (textbook) published by Express Publishing; electronic engineering uses 'Electronics' [4, 2]; Information Technology engineering uses 'Information Technology' [5, 3] textbook; the faculty of architecture uses 'Architecture' [6, 4]; the branch of electrical engineering uses 'Electrician' [7, 1] etc. 'Engineering' [8, 6] is the basic educational resource used in different branches of engineering for future engineering professionals and it consists of passages and exercises from almost all branches of engineering. The purpose of adopting the textbooks to the fields of study is to help the student get more acquainted with the terminology (each book contains 400 terms and phrases) of one's future profession and master one's communication skills in the classroom and in the future workplace with other engineers from different countries of the world.
All the above-mentioned textbooks consist of the four key language components: reading, listening, speaking, and writing but with changes in topics. For example 'Information Technology' addresses topics like computer components, web design, Internet Security etc; 'Electronics' textbook addresses topics like transistors, circuits, electrical safety etc. It is the use of professional language and exact terms that help the student use the foreign language for one's purposes.
It is essential to engineering students to learn and know the word or better say the terms of the related field of study in the foreign language being learned, in our case English. One learning ESP should get well-acquainted with the designation of the new objects or services in English so as to be able to understand a passage and discuss. The main activities undertaken in an ESP class regarding vocabulary are: matching of the word/terms with the definitions; putting the word/term in the correct sentence; replacing the word/term with other word/terms or definitions; placing words/terms next to pictures (very helpful in understanding very specific and complicated terms/word the concept or meaning of which cannot be fully understood by means of the definition). The students themselves (after being taught
general foreign language at high school) want to learn the terminology and expressions in the foreign language used in their specific field of study to help them for their future career.
The importance of differentiating words from terms for engineering students.
At a university level, especially a polytechnic one as PUT where I teach, we (lecturers and students) are no more concerned on Language for General Purposes since students have already covered that at the high school, but we focus on Language for Specific Purpose. During the English classes, it is necessary to stop and highlight the key words/terms of the passages and give the definition or provide the Albanian equivalent. What I have noticed is that sometimes students get confused and cannot distinguish words (a sound or group of sounds that express a meaning and form an independent unit of a language) [9, 7-1374] from terms (a word or phrase used as the name of something, especially connected with a particular subject or used in a particular type of language) [10, 7-1232]. As a guiding or explanatory material they use a professional and technical language, which to them is unknown. All this leads to misunderstanding and mistranslation of the passages.
One concrete case of mistranslation is the word/term 'conductor'. As most of the words in English, even the word 'conductor' has many meanings: 1. 1. A person who directs and the performance of a group of people playing or singing music, etc especially by standing in front of them and making gestures with her or his arms (in Albanian 'dirigjent'), 2. A person who collects fares on a bus (in Albanian fatorino'). Whereas in the third meaning of the word we pass on to the terminological meaning of engineering used in the field of electricity. 3. a substance that conducts heat or electricity (in Albanian 'percues' [I rrymes]'). Thus, in electrical engineering, the word 'conductor' is a term and it expresses one clear concept, that of a substance that conducts heat or electricity, and in this case it will be translated in Albanian only as 'percues' not as ' dirigjent' or 'fatorino'.
The same is with the English word/term 'earth'. When students encounter in texts the term earth they cannot translate it properly because they do not know that apart from the meanings such as Earth [U, sing] 1. This world; the planet on which we live (the Albanian
equivalent 'bota') 2. [U, sing] land; the surface of the world contrasted with the sky or sea (in Albanian 'toka') 3. [U] soil (in Albanian 'dhe'); 4 [U] the hole of a wild animal (in Albanian 'strofke'), it expresses a clear concept in the field of electricity that is 5 [C usu sing] (esp Brit) (US ground) a wire that provides a connection with the ground and completes an electrical circuit, and as such it cannot be translated otherwise. The Albanian translation for this is 'tokezim' and in the sentence below it should be translated as 'tokezohen'. The front metal panels must be soundly earthed- Panelet metalike ballore duhet tw tokezohen mirw.
The solution to this problem is to first let engineering students know that even when learning a foreign language in our case English, they should differentiate, just like they do in Albanian when they deal with a word or a term. They should be reminded that they are being taught professional English, not general one and apart from these, the most important thing is to encourage them to use bilingual terminological dictionaries (e. g. English-Albanian) of respective fields of study. It is terminology that engineering students concentrate on, even when learning a foreign language. By consulting the dictionary, they learn the term and the set phrases contributing thus to the enrichment and enlargement of the vocabulary and recognition of the Albanian equivalent. For example: earth resistance (rezistence tokezimi); earth tester (mates tokezimi) [11, 8-141] etc.
Conclusions
The accurate teaching/learning of the terms and terminology when teaching/learning a foreign language for specific purposes lead to a good understanding of information and updates acquired by means of a foreign language in a specific field and most importantly it leads to an accurate and professional communication among engineering students in a class and among specialists (or future specialists) in a workplace. Thus, it is very important for engineering students learning a foreign language to be taught and learn LSP and consequently having excellent knowledge of the terminology of one's field of study in the foreign language being studied/learnt. They achieve a good understanding of the materials by differentiating common words used in general language from terms used in specific fields of study which express a precise concept, usually known only by the specialists of fields.
References:
1. Evans, E, Dooley, J, O'Dell, T - Electrician, Express Publishing. 2012.
2. Evans, E, Dooley, J, Taylor, C - Electronics, Express Publishing. 2012.
3. Evans, E, Dooley, J, Wright, S - Information Technology, Express Publishing. 2012.
4. Evans, E, Dooley, J, Cook, D - Architecture, Express Publishing. 2012.
5. Dearholt, J - Mechanics, Express Publishing. 2012.
6. Lloyd, Ch, Frazier, J- Engineering, Express Publishing. 2011.
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