Assistant Professor, Department of English, PSG College of Technology, India
Online published on 12 January, 2017.
The world of English for science and Technology (EST) has always been flooded with debates and deliberations both on the appropriacy and effectiveness of instructional procedures and materials for teaching English. While reading techno scientific texts which generally contain dense technical content, the learners are faced with two barriers i.e., the language and the content barrier. Language teachers resort to various pedagogical practices and approaches in classroom to enable readers comprehend these texts. This article explores the unique nature of technoscientific texts which pose difficulties in comprehension and also critically analyses the different instructional procedures and materials used in EST classrooms. Further, it also highlights the need for taking into account both the content and language value of a text while choosing the right set of materials or method for classroom use.
Technoscientific texts, comprehension, simplification, technical texts, literature
