In the event that the health authorities announce a new period of confinement due to the evolution of
the health crisis caused by COVID-19, the teaching staff will promptly communicate how this may effect
the teaching methodologies and activities as well as the assessment.
The aim of this program is primarily toprovide students with the necessary academic language required to understand and present dental research in English. To this end, critical reading and listening skills are specifically worked on, while speaking and writing skills are reinforced to promote academic communication.
The programme consists of 3 parts: class-based lessons, tutorials and self study.
The teacher-led lessons focus on reading and listening activities related to topics in the field of scientific research and Dentistry. Such activities are designed to develop comprehension within an academic setting. Speaking and writing activities aim to improve communication skills in a university and conference setting, as well as to provide a solid linguistic base to consolidate the material introduced throughout the course.
Tutorials will focus on the development of the students' interpersonal skills and will include an evaluated group project.
And finally, the self-study element focuses on developing reading, writing and listening skills, consolidating grammar and specific lexis and equipping students with greater autonomy in the learning of a foreign language.
Pre-course requirements
Students will be required to demonstrate a B1 English level in evaluated coursework in order to pass the course. Therefore, students should have a minimum overall English language level of B1 before the start of the course.
Objectives
Classroom:
To prepare and equip students with the lexical and grammatical knowledge necessary to understand, synthesize and present basic aspects of dental research in English.
To reinforce the receptive skills of reading and listening through practice using a variety of stimuli, and to facilitate the development of the productive skills of speaking and writing.
Tutorial:
To develop students’ interpersonal skills and ability to work with others in both their own and a foreign language.
Self Study:
To strengthen the students' reading comprehension through tasks requiring detailed analysis of language at a lexical and structural level, of main and supporting ideas, as well as of the organizational patterns in English in the literature related to Dentistry; to strengthen listening comprehension skills; to go over the specialized lexis and grammatical structures common to dental research.
Competences / Learning outcomes of the degree programme
Based on the use of competencies from the degree programme, students will be able:
20 - Obtaining and creating a medical record containing all the relevant information.
08 - Knowing how to share information with other healthcare professionals and how to work as part of a team.
18 - Being aware of, critically evaluating and knowing how to use sources of clinical and biomedical infomation in order to obtain, organise, interpret and communicate scientific and healthcare-related information.
Learning outcomes of the subject
Students will be able:
To read and understand the literature related to the field of dentistry.
To successfully use English terminology and linguistic structures related to the field of dentistry.
To understand and participate in talks or lectures in an academic context.
To communicate orally/in writing in an academic context.
To analyze and synthesize oral/written information.
To manage information from different written sources and information systems.
To work in a team.
Syllabus
Topics:
Students will work on topics related to dentistry, with an approach based on evidence and the most relevant areas of current dental research.
Discipline-specific Language Skills:
Students will learn to read and understand academic literature related to Dentistry and dental research. Furthermore, they will learn to recognize the main types of research, as well as common study design features. They will practise note-taking and synthesis skills using material covered throughout the course. Students will learn to describe oral health conditions and the most common treatments.
Language Knowledge:
Students will revise and consolidate knowledge of the gerund, participle and infinitive forms, simple tenses in the present and past, the passive voice, noun phrases, question forms, comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, linking structures, clinical terminology and high-frequency vocabulary related to research in the health sciences.
Course outline
Discourse of research in dentistry in English
Evidence-based Dentistry
Research in Dentistry
Clinical language
Anatomical structures of the head and oral cavity
Pain assessment
Tooth abnormalities
Evidence-based Dentistry and research design
Non-experimental research
Case reports
i. Structure of a clinical description
ii. Topic: Common conditions related to oral health
Non-experimental research design
i. Cross-sectional studies
Structure and format of titles and abstracts of scientific articles
Topic: Tobacco-related research in dentistry
ii. Longitudinal studies
Cohort studies
Case-control studies
Topic: Dental anxiety
Experimental Research
Correlation and Causation
Concepts and design features of randomized controlled trials
Topic: Periodontal disease and diabetes
Teaching and learning activities
Evaluation systems and criteria
Bibliography and resources
Resources:
Class-based materials:
Class-based materials have been developed from a wide range of professional and educational resources from current online professional journals and textbooks.
Intranet and Internet materials for self study
Bibliography:
An English-English dictionary of the student’s choice
Dofka C. Dental Terminology.2nd ed. Thomson Delmar Learning. 2007.
Evaluation period
E: exam date | R: revision date | 1: first session | 2: second session: