Topics to develop researching and communicative skills through English classes in dentistry

Abstract

Background: for the development of communication skills in English, the skills acquired in the mother tongue and the knowledge in the field of research can be exploited by communicating the researching results in that language.
Objective: to elaborate a manual with topics of sociocultural nature related to the profession to develop the communicative and researching abilities in the subject of the general English cycle of the Dentistry degree.
Methods: a development research was carried out in the Dentistry Faculty of Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences, during 2014. Theoretical methods were applied: analytic-synthetic, inductive-deductive, historical-logical and systemic-structural; empirical ones: documentary and bibliographic analysis, participatory observation, survey in the form of a questionnaire for students and interviews with key informants; and the mathematical ones for absolute and relative values. The proposal was assessed by specialists´ criteria.
Results: an insufficient development of the researching and communicative abilities in English among the students was evidenced. The revised documents corroborated the possibility of strengthening them by linking them, so a manual with sociocultural topics was prepared as a reference bibliography for research projects in English, in view to their participation in intercultural events.
Conclusions: the manual was effective due to its updating of contents and its scientific-methodological foundations. It was a useful tool to guide teachers and students in the development of research and communication skills in English.