VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IN TEACHING LSP. A CASE STUDY APPROACH TO HOW ROMANIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS ACQUIRE FRENCH MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

This paper researches and presents a case study approach to teaching lexical items to facilitate vocabulary acquisition of French for specific purposes. Given a confirmed lack of conventional teaching materials in several domains, the research questions addressed in this study relate to the principles and guidelines for initiating and facilitating foreign languages for specific purposes (LSP) vocabulary learning and to the most effective learning strategies and skills that students use while learning and expanding their LSP vocabulary. The beneficiary target group consists of first-year Romanian students who study Medicine and who have chosen French for Specific Purposes as their second language. Literature and practice have noted a significant deficiency in textbooks and grammar books for Romanian students who want to emigrate to French-speaking countries. Hence, this paper highlights theoretic and practical methods to be considered in terms of teaching French medical vocabulary, based on students’ studying predilections.