THE ROLE OF PROFESSIONALLY ORIENTED MEDICAL TEXTS IN FORMING LEXICAL AND DISCURSIVE COMPETENCE IN MEDICAL ENGLISH

Abstract

This article investigates the theoretical, linguistic, and pedagogical foundations of employing professionally oriented medical texts in the instruction of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) within the context of medical universities. Authored by Jakhongirkhon Djamshidkhonovich, Vice-Rector for International Relations at Tashkent State Medical University, the study critically examines the role of authentic medical genres—including clinical case summaries, peer-reviewed research articles, diagnostic guidelines, and patient communication materials—in shaping students’ academic language proficiency and professional identity in English. The research is grounded in the intersection of immersion pedagogy, genre-based learning, and content and language integrated learning (CLIL), drawing on key contributions by Cummins (2009), Plesnevich (1977), and Timofeev (2018). The study demonstrates that systematic exposure to and engagement with medical texts not only strengthens students’ medical vocabulary and grammatical competence but also develops their ability to navigate discourse conventions specific to clinical and scientific communication. Through a semester-long pedagogical experiment with second-year medical students, the study reveals measurable improvements in students’ reading comprehension, speaking fluency in professional contexts, and writing accuracy across medical genres. Furthermore, students reported increased motivation and a stronger sense of future professional readiness as a result of working with materials that mirror the linguistic realities of medical practice.The article concludes by advocating for a structured integration of authentic medical texts into ESP curricula as a central strategy for fostering communicative competence, disciplinary thinking, and academic engagement. Recommendations include multimodal instruction, text-based simulations, and reflective genre analysis as effective tools in preparing medical students for international collaboration and lifelong learning in English.