Specialist Language Courses

SLC present at Medical English conference in Krakow

Written by Chris Moore

It was a pleasure to talk at the small but perfectly formed conference, ‘Languages in Medicine: Teaching, Testing, Practice’, at Krakow’s prestigious Jagellonian University, especially considering this was its inaugural edition.

Chris Moore in Krakow

Jagiellonian University Medical College Language Centre

I’ve known Iwona Misztal, the Director of the Jagiellonian University Medical College Language Centre, since we discussed a potential collaboration around the Medical English tests produced under the EU-funded sTANDEM project back in 2018. There’s an interesting article on the project and ESP certification in general here.

Although the conversation didn’t progress, I came away with a strong impression of Iwona’s expertise, professionalism and commitment to the Medical English sector. It was no surprise to discover that the university now write and deliver their own C1 level Medical English Test, nor to hear that Iwona felt that OET Medicine was a little ‘easy’ for her students. High standards indeed!

Conference programme

There was a wide range of presentations and workshops at the conference, covering topics from using the lexical approach (an old love of mine), learner motivation, AI tools, course design, intercultural communication, and using body movement to stimulate learning.

There was also an excellent plenary on the ‘art of listening’ from Ros Wright, focusing on those often very sensitive conversations had in veterinary practice. Ros wrote SLC’s Essential and Advanced Grammar in Healthcare courses and always brings an intelligent, fresh and lively perspective to anything she works on.

Chris Moore and Ros Wright

Talk on designing online materials

My talk centred on ‘Designing online materials for today’s learners – five key principles’, drawing on 10 years of experience publishing digital English for Healthcare materials for students and professionals around the world.

In a landscape characterised by digital overwhelm, I attempt to lay down five guiding principles for anyone looking to create digital materials for their students:

  1. Get clear
  2. Engage quickly
  3. Think small
  4. Build in adaptability
  5. Connect with the ecosystem

I’ll write a more on these principles in a separate post so they actually make some sort of sense. In the meantime, here’s a link to the presentation.

The talk seemed to be well-received and sparked a number of conversations I’m hoping to continue over the coming weeks and months.

Krakow Medicine University

Congratulations to the team

Languages in Medicine: Teaching, Testing, Practice took place over two full days, was well-organised, and included great conversations with fellow participants, excellent food throughout and a tour of the beautiful and historically rich city of Krakow.

So, many congratulations to Iwona and her team! I’m already looking forward very much to the next edition.