Cambridge English for Scientists develops the communication skills and specialist English language knowledge of science students and professionals, enabling them to communicate more confidently and effectively in their work or study environment. Uniquely, this course focuses on both spoken and written communication, with each of the ten units relating to a case study based on real, published research. This makes the course ideal for scientists from a wide range of scientific backgrounds. Cambridge English for Scientists also develops the learners language skills with practical reading and writing skills such as applying for research funding or writing for publications as well as with speaking and listening skills including Describing and Reporting Problems With Experiments and Presenting at a Conference. Cambridge English for Scientists requires no specialist knowledge on the part of the teacher and comprehensive teachers notes are available online. The course is also ideal for selfstudy.
UNIT Getting started in research page UNIT The scientific community Skills Language focus Texts Planning a career in science Applying for research funding W riting up a resume or CV Preparing for an interview Talking about your career path Summarising a research proposal Organising and adding detail to a resume or CV Preparing and practising the presentation of a proposal Answering interview questions Listening A researcher discusses her career options A supervisor gives advice on writing a CV A researcher practises presenting a research proposal Communicating with scientific communities W riting a critical review Completing a Material Transfer Agreement Recognising different styles of writing Asking for help using an online forum Reading and note-taking for a critical review Completing an MTA (Material Transfer Agreement) Listening A student asks for advice on writing a critical review A student discusses published research with his supervisor A researcher completes an MTA with help from his supervisor Linking sentences in writing (1) Arguing for and against an idea appropriately Supporting ideas with evidence Following a discussion in a team meeting Interrupting a meeting appropriately Listening A student explains a new idea to her supervisor Four scientists describe their problems with team meetings in English A monthly research meeting Describing approaches to data collection Designing an experimental set-up Describing material phenomena and forces Making predictions of experimental results Making suggestions and plans for an experiment Giving advice to a colleague Prefixes and suffixes (1) Predicting the results of an experiment Listening A researcher discusses procedure with her supervisor A researcher describes her experimental set-up to a colleague A researcher makes predictions about her experiment Describing a process Evaluating the results of an experiment Describing problems with an experiment Keeping a lab notebook Describing experimental procedure Revising a paper (1) Describing expectations and outcomes of an experiment Describing and reporting problems in an experiment Linking sentences in writing (2) Using symbols and abbreviations in lab notebooks Describing lab protocols page 14 UNIT Finding a direction for your research Doing a literature review Using evidence in arguing a point Taking part in a meeting page 22 UNIT Designing an experiment page 30 UNIT Describing an experiment page 38 Contents Reading A notice for a scholarship A project summary An extract from a CV An extract from an email Advice on conference call interviews Reading Extracts from different styles of writing Questions from an online science forum An extract from a critical review An email Reading Extracts from a literature review An extract from an email How geckos walk on walls Reading The scientific method Listening A researcher asks a colleague to comment on his paper A researcher discusses the progress of his research with a colleague A researcher reports a problem with his research A researcher explains why she prefers using an electronic lab notebook Reading A summary of a scientific procedure A summary of a researcher's results UNIT Writing up research 1: materials and methods Skills Language focus Texts Describing states and processes Describing data: numbers / numerical values W riting up from lab notes Describing procedure in the materials and method section Revising a paper (2) Expressing numbers and describing data Prefixes and suffixes (2) Rewriting lab notes for a paper Listening A student gets advice on the first draft of a paper Researchers discuss experimental data A student describes changes to her method Analysing data (statistical analysis) Summarising data in visual form W riting captions for figures Describing visual data Prefixes and suffixes (3) Describing data for statistical analysis Comparing and contrasting experimental results (1) Writing a caption for a figure or graph Describing a figure or graph in a paper Listening A student describes his research A supervisor asks a student to make corrections to a figure A student asks her supervisor for help with her paper Organising the results and discussion sections Preparing and writing the results section Preparing and writing the discussion section Organising writing in paragraphs Referring to visual data in a paper Comparing and contrasting experimental results (2) Summarising information efficiently (1) Describing the limitations of research Making suggestions for future research Listening A student explains his research to a colleague A student gets advice on the first draft of a paper Writing the introduction Writing the abstract Giving a title to your paper Contacting journals Reporting the work of other researchers in a paper Organising an abstract Summarising information efficiently (2) W riting a cover letter to a scientific journal Listening A supervisor comments on the first draft of his student's abstract A student discusses the title of a paper with his supervisor Giving a paper at a conference Socialising at a conference Presenting a poster Helping an audience understand the organisation of a presentation Socialising at a conference Organising a poster Summarising the content of a poster page 46 i UNIT Writing up research 2: presenting data page 54 UNIT Writing up research 3: results and discussion page 62 UNIT Writing up research 4: introduction and abstract page 70 UNIT 10 Presenting research at a conference page 78 Reading Extracts from an early draft of a paper Extracts from a researcher’s lab notebook Reading Extracts from a researcher’s lab notebook A table of experimental data Reading Extracts from a student’s paper Reading Extracts from a student's paper Advice on how to get your research published A cover letter to a scientific journal Listening A researcher gives a paper at a conference Eight conversations of people socialising at a conference A student answers questions about his poster presentation Reading How the adaptive immune system responds to a viral vaccine Advice on preparing a good poster Additional material page 86 Glossary page 117 Audioscript page 91 Acknowledgements page 126 Answer key page 103 Contents UNIT • • • • Planning a career in science Applying for research funding Writing up a resume or CV Preparing for an interview Planning a career in science In pairs, discuss th e following questions Why did you choose a career in science? W hat field o f science are you cu rre n tly w o rkin g o r studying in? W hat w ould you like to n e xt in yo u r w o rk o r studies? M an y scientists continue th e ir education in o th er countries The tab le below summarises higher education fo r science in th e US M a k e a sim ilar tab le fo r your country and then answer th e following questions Is science education in the US s im ila r to science education in your country? If you decided to study in th e US, which qua lifica tio n w ould be best fo r you? H igher edu cation for scien ce in the US Qualification (lowest to highest) Category Duration (full-time) Place of study A sso ciate of Science deg ree (AS) u n d e rg d u a te y ea rs co m m u n ity college or ju n io r college B achelor of Science d eg re e (BS) u n d e rg d u a te o r y ears* t '.j.' college o r u n iv ersity gpjgf *•- 4- ■ &3TT?* Y - I 'J M aster of Science deg ree (MS) g rad u a te (p o stg d u a te ) y ea rs u n iv ersity o r g rad u a te sch o o l D octoral d eg re e (PhD) g rad u a te (p o stg d u a te ) to y ears u n iv ersity o r g rad u a te sch o o l ' * Students w h o have already c o m p le te d an A sso ciate (A S ) deg ree can b e c o m e a B a chelo r Unit Getting started in research o f Science if th e y s tudy f o r t w o m o re years a ► 1.1 Eriko is from Japan and will soon com plete a PhD in biotechnology in London She is discussing th e next stage in her career with her supervisor, Susana Listen to p a rt of th e ir conversation and tick th e options which in terest her and put a cross next to the options which not □ □ □ □ □ teaching (undergraduate) students doin g p ost-doctoral research supervising a research team fin d in g a perm a n en t position a t a university discussing th e o ry □ doing practical fie ld w o rk staying in London fin d in g a w ell-paid jo b D □ b ► 1.2 You will h ear eight sentences from Eriko and Susana’s conversation Listen and com plete th e firs t row of th e tab le by w riting th e num ber of each sentence ( - ) in th e correct column Talking ab o ut likes or dislikes past experiences future (more certain) C Look a t th e underlined phrases in Audioscript 1.2 on page Put th e underlined phrases into th e correct p a rt o f th e second row o f th e tab le in Exercise 2b Think ab ou t your career in science and m ake notes on: b future (possible) • w h a t you enjoy m ost a b o u t w o rkin g in your scientific field • • w h a t you w ould like to (and n o t like to do) ne xt in your career which o f your past and present experiences are m ost relevant to your fu tu re in science In pairs, take turns to interview your p a rtn e r ab ou t his/her career path in science Use th e phrases from Exercise 2c to help you Unit Getting started in research Applying for research funding Read th e following extract from a website and then, in pairs, answer th e questions below About _ Can an organisation apply fo r th is scholarship? W ould you be interested in ap p lyin g fo r SARF? Why / why not? The Sheridan Australian Research Fellowship (SARF) aims to develop W h at info rm a tio n m ig h t you need to include on your ap plication form ? W hat are the advantages o f a ttra c tin g scientists ‘w ith futu re p o te n tia l fo r leadership in th e ir fie ld ’ to a country? science in Australia by attracting outstanding scientists in their field to continue their research in an Australian university or research institution SARF fellow ships are awarded to individual scientists with future potential fo r leadership in their field Successful applicants receive a 5-year grant covering salary, travel and relocation costs Eriko has decided to apply to SARF and has dow nloaded an application form Look a t the list of sections on th e form ( - ) and match each one to Eriko's notes on th e inform ation she needs to provide APPLICATION FORM 10 APPLICANT CURRENT APPOINTMENT AND ADDRESS LOCATION OF PROPOSED STUDY SPONSOR’S RECOMMENDATION DEPARTMENTAL SUPPORT PROJECT TITLE PROJECT SUMMARY DETAILS OF PROPOSED RESEARCH BUDGET NOMINATED REFEREE WITH PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF APPLICANT Section of th e form asks applicants to w rite a project sum m ary o f th e ir research proposal Think ab ou t a research project in your area In pairs, take turns to sum m arise th e project following the instructions ( - ) below State the aims o f yo u r research Define w t the problem is Explain why yo u r to p ic is w o rth researching Say w h a t th e expected outcom es o f the research are O u tline th e procedures you w ill follow O utline how you w ill lim it your investigation Read Eriko's com pleted project summary on page Then say w h at you think th e commercial applications o f Eriko's research m ight be Unit Getting started in research a an explanation o f Kou III research and uhy it is im portant b a short description o f u h a t III research c a statement from a senior researcher explaining uhy I'm a suitable applicant d how m uch I plan to spend on my research e f th e jo b I nou th e name o f someone to support my application g u h a t I’ll call my research h permission from my head o f fa c u lty to use his h e r resources i uhere I plan to study j my personal info PR O JEC T SUMMARY Provide a b rie f summary o f aims, significance and expected outcomes o f the research plan A -D o d o u r- c o m p a s s f o r o d o u r - d e te c tin g ro b o ts Odour-sensing robots offer many benefits over the current use of animals in similar roles, including safety, efficiency and durability [A] However, the robots which have been developed to date are limited by the fact that they can only accurately detect and navigate towards odour plumes if they are within direct ‘sight’ of the chemical source Clearly, in real world situations, obstacles may well impede the robot’s detection ability, and at present, odour-sensing robots are therefore only of limited use [ B ] The proposed research will concentrate on developing a robot which is able to gather readings in three dimensions and therefore overcome the limitations of current models in odour-detection [C] This technology will make robots a more effective substitute for animals [ D ] This research aims to develop existing robotic technology to create a threedimensional (3-D) odour compass to be used as a navigation tool in searching for an odour source [E] This will then be tested experimentally in simulated environments where wind direction is not stable or where obstacles interfere with odour distribution A second stage in the research will be to develop the robot’s environmental sensors, thus allowing it to safely negotiate the terrain to reach the source of the odour [F] This should produce a robot which is able to both detect and move to the source of an odour, even on difficult terrain M atch each highlighted section in th e summary (A -F ) to th e correct function ( - ) from th e list in Exercise 5a Look a t th e highlighted sections A -F again Underline th e words th a t you could use in your own project summary M akes notes like th e following example However, Ho