[Edling] English is the language of science — but precision is tough as a non-native speaker

Fri Apr 9 14:09:05 UTC 2021

Sorry, I attached the wrong article yesterday—for those who don’t have access to Nature.

From: "Francis M. Hult" <fmhult at umbc.edu>
Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 1:44 PM
To: Educational Linguistics List <edling at lists.mail.umbc.edu>
Cc: Margaret van Naerssen <margaret.vannaerssen at gmail.com>, Mary Curry <mjcurry at Warner.Rochester.edu>
Subject: [EXT] Re: [Edling] English is the language of science — but precision is tough as a non-native speaker

I definitely didn't share it because I agree with the premise.  ☺  I did find it interesting to see the language ideologies being reproduced by a scientist under the prestigious banner of Nature.  It's a glimpse of the emic perspectives on language by those working in STEM.  Suresh Canagarajah and colleagues have written some great pieces on this recently:

hhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/modl.12464<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__onlinelibrary.wiley.com_doi_abs_10.1111_modl.12464&d=DwMFaQ&c=kbmfwr1Yojg42sGEpaQh5ofMHBeTl9EI2eaqQZhHbOU&r=_rMj7-Pgoc9IWqUnTVAZ6aLZ1r8V9PaRLjSW-DQVx4E&m=qtDFGlrbarMiuuEp9Xx7rx6DEeakrrlvgCIJbhqoU8k&s=oAlKMRehPM5-m8xZno82ZVAaqMHJHnR4f_9br6ZVytY&e=>

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13670050.2020.1768210<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tandfonline.com_doi_full_10.1080_13670050.2020.1768210&d=DwMFaQ&c=kbmfwr1Yojg42sGEpaQh5ofMHBeTl9EI2eaqQZhHbOU&r=_rMj7-Pgoc9IWqUnTVAZ6aLZ1r8V9PaRLjSW-DQVx4E&m=qtDFGlrbarMiuuEp9Xx7rx6DEeakrrlvgCIJbhqoU8k&s=ra9clS_5jBDhjBieHeBKW8OHmJATYs-w9QzjQZf0hkw&e=>

It makes me think about how as a field we might both draw attention to the sociopolitical implications of equity in knowledge production and knowledge access that follow from the dominance of English in STEM while also decentering the dominant language ideologies of our own field (applied linguistics or ESP/EMI specifically) in ways that respect the agency and autonomy of STEM scholars.

Best,
Francis

--
Francis M. Hult, PhD, FRGS | Professor
Department of Education
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Editor, Educational Linguistics Book Series<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.springer.com_series_5894&d=DwMFaQ&c=kbmfwr1Yojg42sGEpaQh5ofMHBeTl9EI2eaqQZhHbOU&r=_rMj7-Pgoc9IWqUnTVAZ6aLZ1r8V9PaRLjSW-DQVx4E&m=qtDFGlrbarMiuuEp9Xx7rx6DEeakrrlvgCIJbhqoU8k&s=_9BSFTozzU54y6bt3DV7hBFsj5CgLhkVegTQaRCHp14&e=>
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[https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1fisFF2r5HmuH2StP__rWJ0Um428jss1K&revid=0B3gZQJj4wrwIcGR6Yzc5a1VuQ1NGUExQZkJpL0ZJb2xrUkgwPQ]

On Thu, Apr 8, 2021 at 1:29 PM Margaret van Naerssen <margaret.vannaerssen at gmail.com<mailto:margaret.vannaerssen at gmail.com>> wrote:
The importance of scientists being able to express themselves effectively in English
is not a new concern. The field of English for Specific Purposes began with the need
for scientists and science students who needed to access scientific journal written in
and for them to be able to contribute to such journals--and eventually attend conferences
in their fields.  I have worked in this area for many years and published articles in this area.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to access the Nature article that was posted on Edling as the journal
required cookies for access--and I was not willing to open up my computer to having cookies attached
just to see the article--Especially since the article sounds like it is introducing new ideas about
the long-known importance of English in science and technology. But perhaps I'm wrong--I would
be interested in the article.

A number of applied linguists have written in this area. Here is information about one online Overview.
One of the Professional Communities in  TESOL International is the English for Specific Purposes
Interest Section. Its home page is under MyTESOL.
https://my.tesol.org/communities/community-home?CommunityKey=4be1f546-1b6a-46f0-8070-74576e6704cb<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__my.tesol.org_communities_community-2Dhome-3FCommunityKey-3D4be1f546-2D1b6a-2D46f0-2D8070-2D74576e6704cb&d=DwMFaQ&c=kbmfwr1Yojg42sGEpaQh5ofMHBeTl9EI2eaqQZhHbOU&r=_rMj7-Pgoc9IWqUnTVAZ6aLZ1r8V9PaRLjSW-DQVx4E&m=qtDFGlrbarMiuuEp9Xx7rx6DEeakrrlvgCIJbhqoU8k&s=ky0NT2-1KjkfK_hoOUseKZTBg_IZnOSuKShD4ABzSEE&e=>
Under the Statement of Purpose is a link to a Power Point developed by some ESP IS members.:
English for Specific Purposes: An Overview for Practitioners and Clients
(Kevin Knight, Anne E. Lomperis, Margaret van Naerssen, and Kay Westerfield).
Margaret van Naerssen

Ooops I have just received a message from TESOL that TESOL is upgrading it technology
from 12 - 14 April. During that period MyTESOL will not be accessible. But i hope you will check
out the link and view the Power Point.

On Thu, Apr 8, 2021 at 6:37 AM Francis M. Hult via Edling <edling at lists.mail.umbc.edu<mailto:edling at lists.mail.umbc.edu>> wrote:
Nature

English is the language of science — but precision is tough as a non-native speaker

English is the international language of science, for better or for worse, but most of the world’s scientists speak it as a second language. We shoulder an extra career challenge: not only must we gain command of our science, but we must also be able to write to professional standards in a foreign language to communicate that science.

Full story:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00899-y<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_d41586-2D021-2D00899-2Dy&d=DwMFaQ&c=kbmfwr1Yojg42sGEpaQh5ofMHBeTl9EI2eaqQZhHbOU&r=_rMj7-Pgoc9IWqUnTVAZ6aLZ1r8V9PaRLjSW-DQVx4E&m=qtDFGlrbarMiuuEp9Xx7rx6DEeakrrlvgCIJbhqoU8k&s=qOsKrTff0ohNbpN1PO4nyzIcIZhFnwPu3QgsAHjShDo&e=>

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