OPTIMIZING FRENCH FOR HEALTH SCIENCES: A NEEDS-BASED APPROACH TO COURSE CONTENT
OPTIMIZING FRENCH FOR HEALTH SCIENCES: A NEEDS-BASED APPROACH TO COURSE CONTENT

Summary/Abstract: Optimizing French for Health Sciences: A Needs-Based Approach to Course Content. Since the release of John Swales' seminal work, Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings (1990), the notions of genre and genre analysis have significantly influenced teaching methodologies in language for specific purposes (LSP). Through genre analysis, LSP professors can determine the structure of genres and what the most important oral and written genres in a specific professional field are. In 2006, McGill University started offering elective French courses to students from different areas of the Faculty of Health Sciences. Many McGill students are native English speakers from various regions of Canada and the United States, as well as international students whose first language is not necessarily English. In Quebec, students who did not complete their secondary education in French are required to pass an exam demonstrating a minimum B2 proficiency level in French, according to the CEFR, to be eligible to work in the province. Keeping this reality in mind, the question that arises is which genres should be taught in French for healthcare. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to determine the most important written and oral genres in French for healthcare and which ones are the most relevant for McGill University learners. To accomplish this objective, a review of the literature was conducted, followed by an analysis of relevant textbooks. Finally, a group of healthcare professionals was interviewed. At the conclusion of this paper, recommendations are made for the most important written and oral genres in health sciences that should be incorporated into the syllabus of our B2 level French for health sciences courses.

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