Poster Presentation
Profile of English Used by Materials
Scientists at NAIST
Leigh McDowell
Nara Institute of Science and TechnologyIntroduction
Traditionally, results from needs analyses (NAs) are used to set language program
goals and guide curriculum development, and are generally not reported back toparticipants directly, but in the form of a program of instruction. The aims ofthis poster were to: 1) make the results of an NA accessible to the participants,
and in so doing 2) help them gain a better understanding of how English is usedwithin their own field.

MethodThe NA on which this poster was based was intended to identify the types oftasks performed in English by the faculty and students working in the field ofmaterials science at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST).
The data comes from the question “What kinds of tasks do you do in English?”posed in the preliminary stage of the needs analysis. Responses were collected
in individual, structured interviews with faculty members and students.
Because of the limited space on the poster, only five participants’ responses
were included (two faculty members and three students). The sample presented
was representative of the population, with two professors representing domain
experts, and one student from the second year of the masters’ course and twostudents from the doctoral course representing post-experience learners.

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Results and Discussion
Responses to Q. 1 are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The results include a summary
description of the tasks reported (e.g. discussing research with other scientists)and comments from the participant for each task. The comments are included
because they convey relevant information about the self-reported tasks. Figure
1 displays results from faculty; figure 2, those from students. Results arecategorized into two macro-skills groups: reading and writing, and speaking andlistening.
Reading research articles is mentioned by all participants in both groups;
presenting research in English also appears in responses from four of the fiveparticipants, as does reading and writing emails. This suggests that these primarytasks could be the core of an ESP approach. Within the speaking and listening
skills section, it is interesting to note that social chat in English features asprominently in the two participant groups’ needs as discussing research does,
indicating that a teaching approach which strictly adheres to an ESP paradigm
may need to be extended to include the more general need for engaging in socialconversation.

Figure 1. Tasks performed in English, along with comments, from faculty at NAIST

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English Used by Materials Scientists, OnCUE Journal, 7(2), pages 121-124

Figure 2. Tasks performed in English, along with comments, from students at NAIST

Future work
Results from these first-stage structured interviews will be used to generate
questionnaire items, which after piloting can be administered to the entire
faculty and student population. For comparison with materials scientists
working in industry, the interviews and questionnaires could be extended toinclude NAIST graduates and their employers. The following is a list of researchquestions, which frame this project:
1. Are there significant differences in the kinds of tasks performed in
English by masters’ course and doctoral course students?
2. Are there significant differences in the kinds of tasks performed in
English by domain experts in industry and domain experts in academia?
3. Are there significant differences between pre-experience learners’
perceptions of the kinds of tasks they will need to undertake in English,
and the needs reported by post-experience learners?
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4. How do the kinds of tasks done in English by materials scientists comparewith scientists in other disciplines?
5. How do the kinds of tasks done in English by materials scientists in Japan
compare with the kinds of tasks done in English by materials scientists inboth industry and academia in other countries, including native-English
speaking countries?

Author Bio
Leigh McDowell has an undergraduate degree in applied science from the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree of science in education fromTemple University. He has been teaching English in Japan since 1999. Currently,
he teaches graduate students at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, andis interested in English for specific purposes, especially English as it is used in theinternational scientific community. He is a regular runner, and occasional breadmaker. leigh-mcdowell@ms.naist.jp
Received: October 1, 2013
Accepted: February 18, 2014124