CHEMISTRY VOCABULARY TEACHING: A SHORT GUIDE FOR ESP TEACHERS

All those concerned with English language instruction would likely concur that "vocabulary is the Everest of a language" (Crystal, 2003). Indeed, the most fascinating and demanding activity in language acquisition is teaching and learning vocabulary. ESP teachers face a unique challenge: helping students who will work professionally in various fields, from natural sciences to humanities, understand and adopt the technical vocabulary of a particular area. In this brief overview, we will contribute to acquiring technical vocabulary in chemistry.Over the last seven decades, numerous authors have compiled word lists for various purposes, ranging from general English (General Service List, West, 1953) to university vocabulary (University Word List, Xue and Nation, 1984), academic needs (New Academic Word List, Coxhead, 2000), and even a word list specifically for chemistry students (Chemistry Academic Word List, Valipouri and Nassaji, 2013). While each list has its benefits and drawbacks, they should all be regarded as helpful tools for learning new vocabulary, whether for ESP or general English.The technical vocabulary of the natural sciences, particularly chemistry, is generally composed of words of Greek and Latin origin that are widely accepted in many languages, aiding in the acquisition of technical vocabulary. In this paper, we suggest several options for teaching this vocabulary. These include the examples and sources of suitable materials based on identified needs, focusing on word family determination, and creating lexical chunks for chemistry students.