The Western Conference on Science Education

The Creation of a French-Language Glossary to Aid in the Instruction of Specialized Undergraduate Courses in Biology

Teaching specialized undergraduate courses in scientific disciplines such as Biology comes with its own set of challenges, not least of which is associated with the need for students to learn a large amount of highly specific terminology. These challenges are compounded when teaching in a language other than in English, due to a general deficiency in specialized supplementary learning resources, such as textbooks, websites or glossaries. In order to alleviate this burden for my mostly native francophone students, I have compiled an online glossary of specialized biological terms in French, from such sub-disciplines as Ecology, Evolution, Zoology, Botany among others. Furthermore, due to the Greco-Roman origins of most scientific terminology, the glossary has an etymological component that supports my method of instruction in-class and in the online course-related documents, via an “Etymological Approach” to learning biological terminology aimed at increasing word recognition and understanding and to facilitate content learning among the students. I will present how I integrate this online technology and learning approach in (but not limited to) French-language courses at the University of Ottawa, as well as the results of student surveys on their appreciation of these tools and the demonstrated potential for increased learning.