Task “Pronto soccorso”

Not available

Lecturers
Students

Medicine & Nursing

Classroom Context

Italian

Italian

B1

Activity/task

Vocabulary
Grammar
Pragmatics

Listening
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Writing
Reading

This resource was created by Ilaria Borro within the framework of the scientific activities of GRAAL (Action Research Group on Language Learning) at the University of Rome 3. As indicated in the introduction to the resource, the target group of this task is Italian L2 students enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine whose courses are taught in English but have to do their internship in an Italian hospital.
This is a B1 level task. The main objective of the group work proposed in class is to improve the understanding of the linguistic input in the hospital context with particular reference to the language spoken in interaction and the language used in the hospital modules, to become familiar with the documents written by the doctor in the emergency room and to learn the vocabulary related to the proposed clinical case.

This study resource was submitted for evaluation to a group of 4 medical students who are in Italy on a European exchange program. In order to verify its potential for use in independent study, it was complemented by links to supplementary resources such as online dictionaries, support materials on useful linguistic structures. Specific adaptations were made to best serve its purpose, e.g., reference files for self-correction, breakdown of work in individual and group study stages, etc. At the end of the assessment process, a detailed evaluation was requested including positive feedback, suggestions on features to be enhanced or negative findings. Feedback obtained showed a great appreciation for learning based on real-life and problem-solving tasks. In this sense, a number of valuable features were emphasised, such as: the effectiveness in allowing medical learners to become familiar with the necessary disciplinary vocabulary and in use forms; the ability to involve them on several perceptive levels and thus provide an all-encompassing view of the proposed communicative situation; the intrinsic environmental sustainability of the study with digitalised resources. The students’ report on aspects that called for improvement included the absence of audio file transcripts or a related subtitled version which would allow for more in-depth comprehension and vocabulary work. Overall, the feedback pointed in the direction that the task would have a much better impact if implemented in the classroom, as envisaged by the author.

In this task, learning takes place through practical experience, reflection on practice and relating theory to practice. The guidelines provided for the teacher are clear and well structured. The integrated use of oral and written language seems particularly appropriate and is of particular value in the specific academic field. Knowing how to communicate one's expertise is a distinctive objective of the LSP learning. Authentic listening in the target task can allow for further discursive and lexical development. Comparison with other dialogues with doctors and patients may also provide further insights. Some of the visual resources are not visually appealing and could be improved.