A Humanities Approach to Medical English Can Foster Global Citizenship

Today, more than ever, medicine is an international endeavour that requires diverse knowledge and skills, and this evolution is profoundly impacting medical education. In Spain, medical faculties have reformed undergraduate curricula to align with fellow European states and equip students with key competencies for professional global citizenship. This paper argues that multilingualism, particularly in relation to English, is a significant element within this context and advocates for specialised English instruction for student populations from non-English-speaking backgrounds. It begins by considering factors that contribute towards the status of English as a major lingua franca in medicine and thus argues that medical students who speak English as an additional language deserve opportunities to study the language in connection with their profession. Following this, the analysis examines the availability of English language subjects in Spanish medical degrees for the current academic year. This points to a striking absence of specialised English instruction at many faculties and, where present, the primary focus is on functional language. The second half of the paper discusses the value of incorporating humanities approaches to medical English, which align well with the foundations of global citizenship education and can contribute significantly to medical students’ professional growth.