English Grammar (Medical)

English Grammar for Health Professions, Elementary Level, is a developmental skills text designed for health-science students of English as a Foreign Language pursuing a medical and paramedical qualification at universities, colleges, or institutes. It presents fundamental structures and vocabulary appropriate for health-science students at an elementary level. The book provides ample opportunities for practice through extensive and varied exercises. While focusing on grammar, the book actively promotes the development of writing skills (and by extension reading skills) as well as situationally-appropriate language use in the medical and paramedical fields. It helps students write correctly and thus enables clear and effective communication. Notes to the Teacher Level English Grammar for Health Professions, Elementary Level, is designed to meet the needs of health-science students at the elementary level. It is the first in a series of two EFL grammar texts. The second in the series is directed towards lower-intermediate and intermediate students. Presentation of Grammar Each unit is presented using tables of examples accompanied by explanations. The examples are mostly intended to be almost self-explanatory. Explanations are simplified as much as possible, with a minimum of technical terminology. Still, the students may not be able to immediately grasp some parts of the tables by themselves. The intention is that you use the tables as a springboard in class. You may wish to discuss your own examples drawn from the immediate classroom context and relate them to the examples in the text as preparation for usage exercises. At times you may wish to begin a usage exercise immediately, then discuss form and meaning during the course of the exercise, and finally return to the appropriate table for the purpose of summarizing the points being studied. The grammar tables are intended 1) as starting points and 2) for later reference, rather than as out-of-class homework assignments. Vocabulary The book views vocabulary as integral to the development of structure usage ability. Vocabulary is introduced and reinforced regularly. At times you will find it necessary to spend time in class discussing new vocabulary during exercises, given the medical and scientific nature of the exercises. The introduction of vocabulary is controlled so that it can be understood in the classroom. So students should not have to spend a great deal of time at home looking up words in their dictionaries. Some exercises are specifically designed to promote vocabulary acquisition while the students are practising structure usage. Exercises The exercises aim at helping students to talk about medical and paramedical situations as soon as possible using the target structures. In general, the exercises in any given unit move from ones that focus on manipulation of form and meaning to ones that demand more independent input and involve a combination of skills. There is a variety of exercise types including multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, sentence-combining, verb-form correcting, asking and answering questions, etc. The exercises lead students from recognition to production. Most exercises, other than the oral exercises, are intended for students to complete outside the class and in the class. Typically, a teacher might discuss the grammar in a table, have the students do the first three or four entries of an exercise in the class, and then assign the rest of the exercise to be done for the next class. Usually students benefit more from doing exercises at home than they do from going through them in class. Exercises that the students have done at home take less class time to discuss and lead to more fruitful discussion. CONTENTS UNIT 1: Identifying Medical Professions UNIT 2: Indicating Possession UNIT 3: Identifying Medical Items UNIT 4: Describing Location UNIT 5: Expressing Time UNIT 6: Expressing Possession (1) with Have UNIT 7: Describing Possession (2) UNIT 8: Expressing Possession (3) UNIT 9: Expressing Possession (4) UNIT 10: Describing Medical Conditions (1) UNIT 11: Describing Medical Conditions (2) UNIT 12: Describing Facts and Habits UNIT 13: Giving Instructions UNIT 14: Describing Actions UNIT 15: Describing Activities in Progress UNIT 16: Describing States and Situations UNIT 17: Expressing Past Activities and Situations UNIT 18: Expressing Past Habits and Situations UNIT 19: Expressing the General and the Specific UNIT 20: Expressing Quantities (1) UNIT 21: Expressing Activities and Situations in Progress in the Past UNIT 22: Expressing Future Activities and Situations UNIT 23: Expressing Ability UNIT 24: Expressing Possibility UNIT 25: Expressing Permission UNIT 26: Expressing Request UNIT 27: Expressing Sequences UNIT 28: Comparisons UNIT 29: Comparatives UNIT 30: Superlatives