English for Science, Elementary Level, Third Edition

Welcome to the third edition to English For Science, Elementary Level! This new edition is the product of constant revision and evalution, not only by myself, but by the many instructors who, along with their students, have used the previous edition and have contributed valuable suggestions and comments. The success of the previous edition has been due, in large measure, to the honest and careful appraisal given by instructors and their students. English For Science, Elementary Level, is the first book in a twolevel course especially designed for learners of English as a Foreign language who study basic science courses. It facilitates the leap from basic English to academic English, and prepares students to comprehend and use science material at an elementary level.

English For Science, Elementary, is an integrated text organized around specific rhetorical functions: general and specific information; classifying; defining; chronological order; cause and effect; comparing and contrasting; and describing a process.

Unit Organization

The book emphasizes and integrates the basic skills of speaking, reading, and writing in the context of academic usage. The introduction of grammatical items is graded and sequenced in accordance with the principles of elementary language acquisition. However, grammar explanations, arising from the content of reading passages, are limited so as to aid consolidation of the above basic skills.

The units are organized around the rhetorical functions used in scientific study. Each rhetorical function is introduced in a short reading passage and developed further in relevant exercises. As far as possible, reading and writing skills are introduced as they relate to the rhetorical function.

Topics have been carefully selected from the general science curriculum (biology, botany, chemistry, physics and mathematics) to serve as vehicles for presenting the rhetorical functions, syntactic constructions, and vocabulary used frequently in scientific discourse. They reflect an appropriate level of language. They are arranged in ten units which consist of vocabulary and gap-fill passages, skimming and scanning exercises, and further activities to develop effective reading strategies. Specific grammatical points from the reading passages lead on to writing and speaking exercises. EFL students may be familiar with the science concepts that are covered in here but not know how to express and discuss them in English.

The focus of the book, however, is always on language rather than science, and there is no attempt to cover any scientific topic thoroughly. No previous science knowledge is needed by the teacher or student to be able to use this volume effectively for studying and improving their English.