The UniCamillus Medical English Pronunciation course ‒ the first of its kind in Italy ‒ is specifically designed for university lecturers and is part of the CPD programme offered by the UniCamillus Language Centre (UCLC). The course starts next week (on 2nd and 6th of October) and focuses on English phonetics. For our University, which has a strong international focus, it is crucial to have a teaching staff with an advanced level of English language proficiency. Moreover, as is explained in the course’s programme, it is essential that teachers understand what their students are saying. This is one of the innovative aspects introduced by this two-month long course.
The course has been developed by Alessandro Rotatori, who is also in charge of the teaching. Mr Rotatori, who is the Director of the UCLC, explained: “English is not all the same and not all native speakers speak it the same way. We are used to thinking only in terms of British English and American English, but there are also many other varieties, such as Indian English, for example. Each variety has its specific sound system, and that must be learnt. Unfortunately, English phonetics is still too often neglected by teachers in school, university and private schools”. It is undeniable that views and opinions about our ability to speak English depend very much on the impression our pronunciation makes on the people we are talking to: if our pronunciation is poor, our English will be judged as poor, even if we are proficient in grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing.
For healthcare professionals it is crucial that they are able to communicate clearly and effectively with patients and colleagues, or their reputation and credibility might be undermined. Similarly, but perhaps even more so, this also applies to teachers, often considered by students as their role models: they need to master English not just from a syntactic and lexical point of view, but also from a phonetic one.
“Thanks to this initiative UniCamillus will be regarded as a pioneer in the field of Medical English Pronunciation”, Mr Rotatori added, “and it will help participants to better understand not only the meanings of medical terms but also how they are pronounced in contemporary English”. This goal perfectly aligns with the philosophy of our University.
87 participants have signed up for the course. Classes will be held weekly for a total of 4 hours a week and participants will be divided into two groups. This will allow to avoid traditional lectures as much as possible and focus on individual practice.