Evaluation of Tabriz medical students’ expectations of learning English for specific purposes (ESP): A focus on gender and subject field

Background: Teaching professional English is a field that began in the 1960s simultaneously with the worldwide recognition of English as a common scientific language among scientists and researchers. Learners’ language needs and expectations have received much attention during the last decade. Likewise, within the scope of medical English, understanding the expectations of students is of the utmost importance. This study was designed to investigate the expectations of medical students regarding English language learning and application.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the expectations of 362 medical students in three program groups (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy) in learning professional English during their coursework. A reliable and valid questionnaire was distributed among students who had a specific professional English course in various semesters in the faculty of medicine. Descriptive statistics and inferential analyses were conducted using SPSS software version 16.0

Results: In this study, the most frequent expectation from medical students was for their teachers to translate texts into the Persian language and help them to comprehend medical texts and final examinations, including translating from Persian to English as well. The results also found a difference between the expectations of male and female students, with female students having higher expectations than male students. There was no significant difference among the students of the three program groups (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy) for total expectations or evaluation. However, there was a significant difference between the medical and pharmacy students.

Conclusion: Measuring student expectations is a critical factor in addressing English language learning, including professors’ knowledge and interest, of students’ various abilities in English for specific purposes (ESP).