English for Veterinary Sciences

English for Veterinary Sciences, Elementary, is a reading textbook for

students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) who have a basic knowledge of

English. It is designed primarily for veterinary-science students, veterinarians,

and other professionals with an interest in learning veterinary-science English.

English for Veterinary Sciences, Elementary, is made up of twelve

thematically-based units, each of which contains one reading. skillbuilding

and vocabulary-building activities accompany each reading.

An important goal of English for Veterinary Sciences is to help students

become confident readers by increasing their vocabulary base and improving

their word-comprehension skills. It engages them in the process of reading

thoughtfully and encourages them to move beyond merely passive reading. To

accomplish this, the book addresses the reading process in a direct manner, and

various reading and vocabulary skills are presented as part of that process. The

instruction and practice with reading skills help students increase their reading

fluency, and equip them with skills they need for academic achievement.

Focus on vocabulary-building promotes their language acquisition and

academic advancement. Also, the lexical and syntactic content of the readings

has been controlled. The tasks are varied, accessible, and engaging, and they

provide stimuli for frequent student-teacher and student-student interaction.

Student awareness of reading and thinking processes is further encouraged

in many parts of the book by exercises which require students to work in pairs

or small groups. In discussions with others, students formulate and articulate

their ideas more precisely, and so they acquire new ways of talking and thinking

about a text. These activities present opportunities for real-world contact and

real-world use of language. Students are asked to write, and then to read each

other’s work so they can experience the connection between reading and writing.

Traditionally reading classes are based on one of two approaches: in

one approach, class time is primarily spent with students doing individual

reading and exercise-completion; in the other, class time is devoted to group

discussions of the reading and exercise-completion. Because both approaches

are important, this book integrates them by alternating reading activities with

speaking and writing activities.iv

Within each unit, students will not only practice reading, but they will

also receive instruction in various skills and strategies incorporated into the

reading process.

The basic format of each unit in English for Veterinary Sciences is as follows:

Before Reading

These pre-reading questions serve to introduce the topic of the reading

and get students thinking about that topic. Activating prior knowledge

allows students to tap into what they already know and then build on

that knowledge, and stirs curiosity. The questions are based on relevant

pictures, posters, or diagrams and allow students to interact with each other.

Vocabulary Preview

A number of key words and phrases which are common in veterinaryscience

English are explained in simple English and illustrated with

appropriate pictures. These are followed by a fill-in-the-blanks exercise to

make sure that students understand the words and can use them in context.

Understanding is crucial to language acquisition.

Scanning and Skimming

In this section, students are asked to scan the reading for specific

information, or to skim it for main ideas and other general information.

After Reading

In this section a variety of skill-building and vocabulary-building

exercises is introduced: determining the main idea; understanding reading

structure; guessing meaning from context; recognizing contextual reference;

finding topics and topic sentences; understanding signal words; making

an outline; understanding cause and effect; understanding antonyms and

synonyms, etc. These dynamic skill and vocabulary acquisition exercises

ensure that students will develop and acquire the important reading skills and

vocabulary needed to make them good readers.

Each unit concludes with discussion questions designed to encourage

students to think about, distil, and exchange views about the information they

have been presented with throughout the unit. Following the discussion, the

students are requested to write down answers to the discussion questions, a

place for students to reflect in writing on the learning in the unit.