| The purpose of this study is to explore how EST (English for Science and Technology) students can acquire their awareness of language in science for academic writing. The paper limits the discussion to the basic level written explanation.
A recent increase in the number of EST courses among Japanese universities reflects students' needs of acquisition of the linguistic conventions, especially of writing of their specific fields for their future academic life. However, students in my EST class feel difficulty with their writing, since scientific language looks fairly different from that seen in other non-academic contexts. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) provides one possible solution to the EST difficulty. SFL views language as a multistratal semiotic system, where language is the realization of two dimensions of context (genre and register). This view of language tells EST teachers and students that the written language in science is affected by the written register and genre in science. In other words, the students' contextual awareness of scientific writing is of vital importance for them to improve their writing. Through a rough examination of EST students' awareness of scientific language, the paper will provide some pedagogical suggestions of preparing students to engage in EST writing. |