Challenges of Teaching English for specific purposes in Algeria :the case of English in medicine

Abstract

This paper investigates the challenges encountered in the teaching of ESP in Algeria, and the main deficiencies  encountered by the learners due to inadequate programmes used in the faculty of medicine.Medical students need English for various reasons since today scientific research is based on English.The implementation of such programmes requires a lot of effort and needs the contribution of the administration, the medical staff and both teachers and students.We suggest to offer English courses to students of medicine.Thus , we are trying to design a course directly related to the needs of medic’s students, and at the same time to provide a practical training so that to equip them with the necessary tools to communicate.Thus the main question is the following :What are main difficulties of teaching English for medical purposes ? And what are the problems encountered during both the teaching and the learning process ? In this paper,we will try to answer these questions.The findings reveal that inadequate preparation of the materials used, lack of well-trained teachers of ESP and lack of motivation are the main problems. Key words : ESP, medicine, needs, authenticity, syllabus,