LÚRIO UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

MEDICINE COURSE

This subject aims to enable the students to acquire knowledge to survive in an English speaking
world. The subject is a major tool to function in the world of English speakers (for both first and
second English users). The students will have the opportunity to explore the Reading, Writing,
Speaking and Listening skills through the various activities done face to face in class.

ENGLISH LEVEL III

Objectives.
1. Talk using your linguistic competence attained throughout general schooling formative
years;
2. Write simple and complex sentences;
3. Build your capacity to use the basic English technical vocabulary in your daily specific
tasks;
4. Develop your communicative abilities from presentations as well as taking part in various
Professional communicative activities;
5. Read and interpret texts.
6. Discuss issues related to their profession.
Study areas

1 Speaking practice

2 Describing the Respiratory system

3 Grammar structure. Reporting statements

4 Types of examination

5 HIV/AIDS

6 Anatomy & Physiology-body building

7 Physical Disabilities

7 Conjunctions

8 Women and Health

1. Speaking practice

By the end of this unit, students must be able to:

- Change given nouns to verbs by adding given suffixes
- List the senses
Talking points
Re-cap on nouns from previous knowledge on English
Students list nouns they know

Discussion
Show differences between nouns and verbs
Construct sentences to demonstrate the differences

Writing practice
Make nouns from the following verbs using –ment, -ion, or not changing on the verb
Verb Noun Verb Noun
Judge Inform
Cross Transport
Move Film
Amaze Treat
Act Eliminate
Repare Make
Tax Try
Report Punish
Colonise Use
Inject Reason
Improve Increase
Empower Appoint
Narrate Educate
Translate Expand
Care Qualify
Complete the following sentences using one of the words above, verb or noun form.
1. We need to ______________________________ the University so it becomes bigger.
2. I saw an interesting __________________________ on TV.
3. Students always want a Portuguese ___________________________ of English.
4. If the government gives money for women to start projects, that’s women
_____________________________
5. AIDS has _____________________________ nut no cure.
6. Christians believe Jesus was sacrificed on the __________________________.
7. _____________________________ in our bodies is made possible by our bones
8. What ________________________ is your car? It is a Toyota Corola.
9. Every month I have to write a ___________________________ to give to the boss about
how my job went.
10. I told him to _____________________________ the volume of the radio.

a) Functions of the Human body

- Describe body functions

Talking points
Talk of the parts of the body learnt from English I
For each part of the body say the function

Writing
Match the following body parts with their functions.

Body part Function

Mouth Hearing
Hands Eating
Ears Tasting
Stomach Clapping
Tongue Food storage
2. Describing the Respiratory system

By the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- Identify part of the body associated with taking in air
- List gases exchanged in breathing
- Define words given
- Spell words
- Read a comprehension text
- Answer questions

Talking points
Talk of the respiratory system
Identify the parts of the body associated with respiration
Which diseases can be caused by air pollution?

Discussion
In groups discuss the words inhale, breath and respire
Also list gases exchanged in breathing
Present to the class your group’s findings.

Reading and Listening

The Respiratory System - Taking in Air.

All your body cells need oxygen. Without oxygen, your body cells cannot produce energy. The organs of the
respiratory system bring oxygen into your body for your cells. They also get rid of the wastes given off by the
cells. The main organs of the respiratory system are the lungs. How does the respiratory system work?
To breathe, you need the help of your muscular system. A large muscle called the diaphragm controls your lungs.
When the diaphragm moves up, air is forced out of the lungs. Air usually enters the body through the nose; tiny
hairs clean the air by catching dirt and other particles. The air is also warmed as it travels through the nose.
The clean warm air moves into the tube in your throat called the windpipe. The air is warmed still more in this
tube. The windpipe divides into two smaller tubes. The tubes continue to divide in the lungs. They get smaller
and smaller and end in tiny air sacs. The lungs are made up of 300 million of these air sacs.
Writing practice
Answer these questions using information from the text. (5)
1. What does breathing bring into the body? ______________________________________
 2. Which is the main organs of the respiratory system? _____________________________
3. What is the purpose of the diaphragm? ________________________________________
4. Which other words can you use for the process of taking in and out air?
________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the windpipe? _____________________________________________________

Vocabulary practice
Find a word in the text that means the same as the word below. (5marks)
Small
Function
Capture
Release
Filth
The Lungs

Structure
The lungs are paired, cone-shaped organs which take up most of the space in our chests, along with the heart.
Their role is to take oxygen into the body, which we need for our cells to live and function properly, and to help
us get rid of carbon dioxide, which is a waste product. We each have two lungs, a left lung and a right lung.
These are divided up into ‘lobes’, or big sections of tissue separated by ‘fissures’ or dividers. The right lung has
three lobes but the left lung has only two, because the heart takes up some of the space in the left side of our
chest. The lungs can also be divided up into even smaller portions, called ‘bronchopulmonary segments’.
These are pyramidal-shaped areas which are also separated from each other by membranes. There are about 10 of
them in each lung. Each segment receives its own blood supply and air supply.
How they work
Air enters your lungs through a system of pipes called the bronchi. These pipes start from the bottom of the
trachea as the left and right bronchi and branch many times throughout the lungs, until they eventually form little
thin-walled air sacs or bubbles, known as the alveoli. The alveoli are where the important work of gas exchange
takes place between the air and your blood. Covering each alveolus is a whole network of little blood vessel
called capillaries, which are very small branches of the pulmonary arteries. It is important that the air in the
alveoli and the blood in the capillaries are very close together, so that oxygen and carbon dioxide can move (or
diffuse) between them. So, when you breathe in, air comes down the trachea and through the bronchi into the
alveoli. This fresh air has lots of oxygen in it, and some of this oxygen will travel across the walls of the alveoli
into your bloodstream. Travelling in the opposite direction is carbon dioxide, which crosses from the blood in the
capillaries into the air in the alveoli and is then breathed out. In this way, you bring in to your body the oxygen
that you need to live, and get rid of the waste product carbon dioxide.
Study tips
Learn how to draw the respiratory system and show the functions of the parts
Practice drawing the human lungs, show the parts and write their functions.
3. Grammar structure. Reporting statements

By the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- Identify direct and indirect speech
- Form sentences in reported speech
- Talk on topics done so far using reported speech
- Answer given questions

Reporting sentences

Reported Statements

Subject noun or pronoun Reporting verb Conjunction Reported speech clause

She Said that she wanted a cookie.

When do we use reported speech? Sometimes someone says a sentence, for example "I'm going to the cinema
tonight". Later, maybe we want to tell someone else what the first person said.

a) She said that she is going to the cinema

b) He says she is going to the cinema

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. If this verb is in the present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and
then the sentence:

• Direct speech: I like ice cream.

• Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.
•

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for
example. We also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.

(Often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English)

But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

• Direct speech: I like ice cream.

• Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.
 Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech

present simple I like ice cream She said (that) she liked ice cream.

present continuous I am living in London She said (that) she was living in London.

past simple I bought a car She said (that) she bought a car.

past continuous I was walking along the street She said (that) she had been walking along the street.

Ccomplete the sentences.

1 I met Clare last week. She said she was enjoying her new jpb.
2 Emma didn't want anything to eat. She said...........................................
3 I wanted to borrow Mike's ladder, but he said........................................
4 Hannah was invited to the party, but she said........................................
5 Susan told me she didn't want the picture. She said.........................
6 Martin has just gone away on holiday. He said.....................................
7 I was looking for Robert. Nicola said............................................................
8 'Why did David stay at home?' 'He said..................................................
9 'Has Mary gone out?' 'I think so. She said.............................................

Write say/said or tell/told.

1 H e said. He_________________________________ was tired.
2 What did she___________________________________ you?
3 Anna _______________________________________________ she didn't like Peter.
4 Jack ______________________________ me that you were ill.
5 Please don't_______________________ Dan what happened.
6 Did Lucy _________________________________________ she would be late?
7 The _______________________________________________ woman she was a reporter.
8 The woman _____________________________________ us she was a reporter.
9 They asked me a lot of questions, but I didn't __________________ them anything.
10 They asked me a lot of questions, but I didn't ______________________ anything.

4. Types of examination
By the end of this unit, students should be able to:
- List types of examinations
- Read short texts
- Identify a part of body
- State the examination done on that part

Discussion
What do you think is patient examination?

Talking points
In pairs list types of examinations you know.
In groups study pictures in next pages and explain what is happeneing

Activity
Demonstrate using a short play the different examinations you know in groups.

Neurology
What is neurology?
Who is a neurologist?
How is neurology connected to the nervous system?

Study the pictures that follow:

5. HIV/AIDS
By the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- Define the topic

- Relate to HIV/AIDS and the society
- Read and pronounce new words
- Match words from the text
- Answer questions

Discussion questions

1. What do the letters HIV and AIDS stand for, and how are they related to one another? What can HIV do to
the body?
2. HIV isn’t spread through casual contact (like shaking hands or coughing), what are the ways that people
can get infected with HIV? How do peple know if they have HIV?
3. If someone is HIV positive or has AIDS, what can be done to prevent prevent it from spreading to others?

Activity for students

HIV Awareness T-shirt

Objectives:
Students will;
- Learn about HIV prevention.
- Share HIV prevention information with others
- Design a really cool T-shirt so that other students will want to wear it.
- Use images and words that capture people’s interest while informing them about how to prevent the spread of
HIV.

Use the image on the following page for your activity.

Also do the Quiz after designing your T-shirt.

More reading

What is HIV and AIDS

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is a virus that takes over certain immune system cells to
make many copies of itself. HIV causes slow but constant damage to the immune system. AIDS stands for
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is the condition diagnosed when there are a group of related
symptoms that are caused by advanced HIV infection or when someone has less than 200 CD4 cells (immune
cells). AIDS makes the body vulnerable to life-threatening illnesses called opportunistic infections. Normally, the
human immune system is the body’s protection against bacteria, viruses, etc. it acts like a coat of armor. When
HIV enters the body, it starts poking holes in the armor. Eventually, the armor becomes very weak and unable to
protect the body. Once the armor is very weak or is gone, the person is said to have AIDS.

An AIDS diagnosis is generally made when either the body’s protective T-cells, crop below a certain level, or the
HIV positive individual begins to experience opportunistic infections. An opportunistic infection is an infection
that would not be life-threatening to an otherwise healthy person. Oftentimes, it’s these infections that are the
cause of illness or death in HIV-positive individuals – not the virus itself. If people do not get any treatment for
HIV disease, it takes an average of 8-10 years to progress from HIV to AIDS.

HIV is transmitted through four body fluids; blood, semen (and precum), vaginal fluid, and breast milk. In order
to pass HIV from one person to another, HIV is usually transmitted through sharing needles, unprotected anal,
vaginal, and sometimes oral sex, and from mother to infant before or during delivery or while breastfeeding.

1. Write these abbreviations:

a) HIV ___________________________________________________________________
b) AIDS __________________________________________________________________
2. When do we say someone has AIDS? _________________________________________
3. What usually kills an HIV positive person? ____________________________________
4. AIDS is a disease. T/F. ____________________________________________________
5. In how many ways can HIV be spread? ________________________________________
6. HIV converts immune cells into HIV viruses. T/F ________________________________

Vocabulary
Match the words taken from the text above

1.Abstain Getting
 2.Contracting Openings
3.Vulnerable Represents
4.Constant Child birth
5.Stands for Susceptible
6.Symptoms Protection
7.Fluids Stop having sex completely
8.Essential Liquids
9.Delivery Important
10.Armor Not changing
11.Holes Signs

6. Anatomy & Physiology-body building

By the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- Define the term anatomy
- Define the term physiology
- Read and discuss the text
- Demonstrate verbs in the handout
- To talk of body building
- Answer questions about the topic

Discussion questions

1. Have you ever heady about Anatomy?

2. What is it?
3. Why is it an important area of study for Medicine student?

Talking points

In groups of four students prepare a short presentation about Anatomy and present to the class in English.

More discussion points

1. Have you ever heard about Physiology?

2. What is Physiology?
3. Why is it important for students doing Medicine to learn about Physiology?

Talking points

Anatomy and Physiology are a main focus of study as learnt in the previous discussions. Now tell the class which
other topics already covered are linked to Anatomy and Physiology, and how?

More reading

Look at the following pages, read the texts and answer the questions.

a) Homeostasis

By the end of this topic, students should be able to:

- Define terms
- Talk about the body structure and balance
- Read a text
- Describe organization and function of body parts

Read the following text and the activities that follow.

7. Physical Disabilities

By the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- List different types of physical disabilities
- Define terms
- Read a text

What is a Disability?

A disability is defined as a condition or function judged to be significantly impaired relative to the usual standard
of an individual or group. The term is used to refer to individual functioning, including physical impairment.

Disability is conceptualized as being a multidimensional experience for the person involved. There may be effects
on organs or body parts and there may be effects on a person's participation in areas of life.

Physical disability
Many causes and conditions can impair movement. The inability to use legs, arms, or the body trunk effectively
because of paralysis, stiffness, pain, or other impairments is common. It may be the result of birth defects,
disease, age, or accidents. These disabilities may change from day to day. They may also contribute to other
disabilities such as impaired speech, memory loss, short stature, and hearing loss.
People with movement impairment may find it difficult to participate when facing social and physical barriers. In
most cases they are individuals of courage and independence who have a desire to contribute to the fullest level
of their ability. Some are totally independent, while others may need part- or full-time assistance.

➢ In your own opinion, what is physical disability?

➢ Discuss the disabilities you know that are:
a) Biological b) caused by accidents / diseases / birth defects.

➢ Create groups of 5 students each and prepare a presentation about a physical disability which will be
presented in class.
➢ You can choose from the following physical disabilities:
Albinism, Vision (partial/ total blindness/, Speaking (stammering/ dumbness-unable to speak), Paralysis,
disabled part of body trunk e.g. hand, leg etc)
OR ANY OTHER DISABILITIES YOU KNOW.

8. Conjunctions

By the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- Identify conjunctions
- Use them in sentences
Examples of conjunctions
• Despite Apesar
• In spite of apesar de
• although embora
• even though mesmo que
• though embora
• despite the fact that apesar do fato de que

Despite / although
• despite and although are all used to show a contrast but there are differences in the structures used with
them.
• Despite

Despite we use a noun or a pronoun.

• Despite the in his pain in he completed the marathon.
• Despite having all the necessary qualifications, they didn’t offer me the job.
Remember that the gerund (‘-ing’ form) is the ‘noun’ form of a verb.

After although we use a subject and a verb.

• We enjoyed our tour although it rained every day.
Although he worked very hard, he didn’t manage to get a promotion.
The holiday was great although the hotel wasn’t very nice.

Eventhough
Even though is a slightly stronger form of although.
• We decided to buy the house even though we didn’t really have enough money.
• You keep making that noise even though I’ve asked you to stop four times.
• Even though I passed the interview, I still didn’t get the job.
• Like although, even though is followed by a subject and a verb.

Practice exercises in class

9. Women and Health

By the end of this unit, students should be able to:

- Discuss the vulnerability of women
- Identify diseases that attack women
- Talk of women’s pre and post maternal health care
Discussion points
1. What do think is the position of women in the society?
2. Are there any health related problems you think specifically attack women?
3. Which are they? State examples.
4. What makes women more vulnerable to disease?

Talking Points
1. Do you know of any women figures that have made an impact to women in Health?
a) in Mozambique
b) in the Africa and the world in general

2. What have these women, mentioned in 1a and 1b done that is recognized in the Health sector?

References
1. Azar, BETTY;Fundamentals of English Grammar; Second Edition.
2. Eastwood J. and R. Mackain. 1996. The Oxford Pocket English Grammar 6th Edition, Oxford
University press
3. Glendinning, E. H and Holmstrom, B. A. S, 2000, Medicine in English, 3rd ed, Cambridge
University Press

4. Murphy, R. 1997. English Grammar in Use. 2nd Cambridge University Press

5. Murphy, R. 1997. English Grammar in Use. 3rd Cambridge University Press

6. Penn, J. M and Hanson, E. 2006, Anatomy and Physiology, For English language learners,
Pearson-Longman, New York

7. Thomson. A.J.1986. A practical English Grammar 4th ed. Oxford University Press.

Manual Compiled by – Chipo Panganayi