Pronouncing medical English

INTRODUCTION AND COURSE OVERVIEW

• Having a good pronunciation helps us not only to be better understood, but also to understand natives more easily. It is important to know that even if our audience understands what we are saying, an incorrect pronunciation may be perceived as funny, irritating, or may cause our listeners to become distracted or even stop paying attention to what we are saying. Moreover, views and opinions about our ability to speak English depend very much on the impression our pronunciation makes on the people we are talking to: if our pronunciation is poor, our English will be judged as poor, even if we are proficient in grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing.
• For the many interpreters and translators working in the medical sector, it is crucial to communicate clearly and effectively, otherwise their reputation and credibility could be undermined. For this reason, they have to master the language not only from a syntactic and lexical point of view, but also from a phonetic one.
• During the lessons the following topics will be covered:
  • • sounds and meaning
    • pronunciation dictionaries and IPA symbols
    • medical English dictionaries
    • consonant sounds of BrE and AmE
    • vowel sounds of BrE and AmE
    • relationship between spelling and sound
    • accentuation and rhythm
    • weakening and coarticulation processes
    • intonation and meaning
    • English accents
    • pronunciation of words and expressions from the world of medicine and nursing
     

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Thanks to this course, participants will:
• learn the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and the pronunciation of contemporary British and American English
• learn the contemporary pronunciations of a wide range of terms and expressions related to the medical language
• express themselves more clearly and effectively.
 

COURSE ORGANISATION

• The lessons will be organised in small groups to allow participants to receive personalised feedback from the course tutor. There will be group practice during the lessons and students can propose terms and expressions to the course tutor to be analysed and discussed together
• The course will consist of 12 hours of teaching (3 lessons of 4 hours each)
• The course will take place on three consecutive Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to the following schedule:

• Saturday 07 May 2022
• Saturday 14 May 2022
• Saturday 21 May 2022

• The lessons will take place online in synchronous mode
• The course will be delivered in English
• Absences will be made up
• A certificate of attendance will be issued upon completion of the course.
 

REQUIREMENTS

• The course is mainly aimed at interpreters and translators working to and from English. However, it is also open to anyone interested in learning more about medical and scientific English pronunciation and who has a good command of the English language
• Participants are not required to have extensive knowledge of the medical field
• Participants do not need to have any prior knowledge of phonetics or linguistics
• A stable Internet connection is required and the use of a headset and microphone is recommended