Integration of English into Medical Education: The Time Is Now

將英語融入醫學教育已是刻不容緩

羅倩嫈(Emily J. Lo) ； 羅崇杰(Chong-Jeh Lo)

《Journal of Medical Education》 13卷1期 (2009/03) Pp. 15-23

https://doi.org/10.6145/jme.200903_13(1).0003

摘要

目的：語言的障礙一直是許多非英語系國家無法建立國際化的醫學合作之主要原因。如何提升醫學生的英文能力應是新的醫學教育課程必須努力的方向。本研究的目的是探討目前在國立成功大學醫學院為提升醫學生的英語程度所做之努力的成效評估。研究方法：成大醫學院的課程在近年來有許多的改變包括結構性的醫學英語教學。同時高年級的學生在暑假期間有機會到美、英國家的醫院見習一個月。我們依據醫學生的標準化之課程評估表與出國見習的成效自我評估問卷結果分析探討醫學英文教育之成效。研究結果：學習了一個學期的醫學英語課程後，大部分的學生感到更有信心地使用英語表達。同時學生的閱讀與聽力也都有成長。出國見習的學生在國外的其間使用英語溝通與表達都有顯著的進步，尤其是在醫院的學習環境最為明顯。結論：要真正提升醫學生的英語能力，必須建立優質的學習語言的環境讓醫學生在課堂或臨床上能多使用英語。同時學校也應該鼓勵更多的學生出國見習。

關鍵字

醫學英文 ； 課程評估 ； 臨床見習 ； 台灣

並列摘要

Objective: For many people from non-English-speaking countries, language barriers are major obstacles impeding the development of international medical alliances. The solution to these communication problems may lie in the introduction of English early on in medical training. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of current efforts to improve the English language skills of students at the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Medical School in Tainan, Taiwan. Methods: The curriculum reform the NCKU Medical School, which was initiated during recent years, introduced a structured Medical English course to incorporate more English in the classroom. In addition, senior medical students were given the opportunity to travel overseas for month-long clerkships in English-speaking countries. Standardized questionnaires and course evaluations were sent to medical students for their feedback on the English courses and overseas clerkships to evaluate the extent of the improvement in their English language skills. Results: Following a semester of Medical English, students reported feeling more comfortable with conversing in English and answered that their reading and listening abilities had also improved. The students who participated in the overseas clerkships showed the greatest improvement in their use of the English language in the hospital environment. Conclusion: Since the introduction of the new curriculum, medical students at all levels of English proficiency reported improvement in their language skills, which suggests that these preliminary efforts to integrate English into the classrooms have proven to be worthwhile. In addition, the positive feedback from the students who participated in overseas clerkships indicates that immersion into the culture is key in learning how to use the language competently and confidently. Thus, in the future, steps may be taken toward creating an English-friendly learning environment in the classrooms and in the clinics that will help students feel more comfortable using English in their daily life.

並列關鍵字

medical English ； curriculum reform ； clerkship ； teaching ； assessment ； Taiwan

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