Attitudes of Students of Medicine Toward Oral Presentations as Part of Their ESP (English for Specific Purposes) Course

Abstract

This article takes a functional approach to examine the attitudes of medical students toward oral presentations in English for specific purposes (ESP) courses by focusing on the performances delivered by the students to catch the precise attitude in respect of the effectivity. The article reflects on the shift of attention from sole teacher-centered classes via helping learners to communicate in the globalized age of knowledge by means of emphasis on oral presentations. This approach considers the students’ viewpoints about implementing oral presentations in ESP classes. The attitudes, meanwhile, adhere to learners’ problems which hinder them to be active participants and presenters in their classes. However, there are controversies about the appropriateness and constraints of oral presentations by students in an ESP and EFL learning environment. It seems that with meticulous structured planning and organization, oral presentations can lead to valuable for both learners and teachers. While, such activities account for a break away from textbooks, but provide for students such a learning setting that they attend classes with preplanning and excitement. The introduction of oral presentations to ESP classrooms encourages learners in training themselves to have confident presentations in public. This fact is especially true for students of medicine who find themselves in need of taking part at international programs where they need to speak out their research findings and science-based academic developments.