ABSTRACT

There are a relatively large number of content-based materials available to develop reading and writing skills; however, those available to develop listening and speaking skills are few in number. Listening skills are critical to academic success, and speaking skills govern interactions in classrooms and laboratories. Thus, students need materials that target these areas and allow them to develop English language proficiency in listening and speaking. Commercially produced materials unfortunately do not fulfill this need because they are limited in the number of academic fields they represent, as well as the level and kinds of field-specific knowledge they assume students possess. Of the more than 457,000 international students enrolled in United States higher education institutions in the academic year 1996-1997, almost 40% came to study physical and life sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, and engineering; another 21% came to study management and business (Open Doors, 1996, 1997). These students need resources that prepare them to understand and use the language of diverse technical fields. For this reason, teacher-prepared materials are needed to fill the gap, so that students can get precisely what they need.