Helping Scholars Excel: A Framework for Supporting Research Talks

Katie Blackburn Brown, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA

As English has become the predominant language of academia, and more specifically, scientific research, advanced proficiency in academic English is paramount for scholarly success. English dominates across academic journals; estimates indicate that nearly 75% of peer-reviewed journals are published in this de facto global lingua franca. Despite the benefits of linguistic diversity, the current reality suggests that English will continue to be a key component in disseminating scholarly research.

Yet, the dominance of English is contraindicative; it is the first language of only 5% of the world’s population. Moreover, of the 1.5 billion people who speak English proficiently worldwide, 75% of these individuals speak it as an additional language. Not surprisingly, we see these statistics supported within the postdoctoral scholar population in the United States. According to the National Postdoctoral Association, in 2023, approximately 58% of the 72,000 postdocs in the United States are international and likely use English as an additional language.

Recent research has highlighted gaps in publishing, conference participation, and overall time spent preparing scholarly work between first language and additional-language English users. The evidence indicates that scholars using English as an additional language are more likely to have a paper rejected, less likely to participate in oral research presentations, and spend significantly more time reading and writing compared to their first-language peers.

Moreover, these scholars incur additional financial costs related to disseminating their research in English, compounding the negative impact. For most scholars using English, a linguistic barrier creates inequitable challenges for academic and professional success. This inequity perpetuates the systematic suppression of innovative research and scholarship by additional-language English users. While researchers, scholarly organizations, and institutions have recognized these issues, few solutions exist to support additional-language users in tangible and meaningful ways.

Within the context of scientific communication (SciCom) in our post-truth society, this linguistic barrier can be an insurmountable hurdle for postdoctoral scholars using English as an additional language. Oral delivery of SciCom requires advanced communicative competencies, skills that are not cultivated in the traditional research lab environment. Preparing scholars to effectively communicate scientific research for public awareness is overlooked and undervalued, yet the argument exists that “Science communication should therefore be viewed as a vital part of the public sphere, with its purpose being not only to entertain or enchant, but also to equip and empower citizens” (Davies, 2022).

Recognizing the need to support our international scholars’ oral SciCom skills, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and English Language Programs at Washington University in St. Louis developed a tailored, time-bound, and competitive program, Excellence in Communication and English Language Skills (ExCELS). This program trains international scholars using English as an additional language to better communicate the impact and novelty of their work to non-specialized audiences. The program hones participants’ presentation skills, helps to narrow down their message, and culminates in a judged competition where each participant delivers a five-minute presentation followed by three-minutes of Q & A from the audience.

To develop this program, first we adopted the Burns et al. (2003) definition of science communication.

Science communication (SciCom) is defined as the use of appropriate skills, media, activities, and dialogue to produce one or more of the following personal responses to science (the AEIOU vowel analogy): Awareness, Enjoyment, Interest, Opinion-forming, and Understanding.

We want ExCELS participants to have a shared understanding of SciCom and to recognize that it is multifaceted, requires extensive audience analysis, and a well-articulated purpose for effective public consumption.

Next, we focused on providing participants a framework to deliver their message; here we looked to neuroscience and the human emotional response to narrative storytelling (Conde et al., 2019). Our training encourages participants to communicate their research within the universal story framework, reinforcing the importance of clear and compelling research stories that not only engage the public audience, but encourage them to act in some tangible way, typically by simply sparking their curiosity to learn more.

Finally, we looked to current trends in applied linguistics and approaches to English Public Speaking. Garcia-Sanchez (2019) identified that intentional development and support of public speaking performance for ESP presentations increased participants confidences and delivery of clear messages. While ExCELS delivers specific training modules in verbal and nonverbal communicative competencies compared to Garcia-Sanchez’ ubiquitous learning program, the implication for both programs remains the same “autodidactic, immersive lifelong learners can enhance their oral presentations by imitating and updating strategies by constantly practicing their formal talks” (Garcia-Sanchez, 2019, p. 46). Essentially, ExCELS provides our international scholars with strategies that they can implement beyond the program, in perpetuity.

Since its pilot in Fall 2022, three cohorts of postdoctoral researchers and two cohorts of graduate students have successfully completed the ExCELS program at Washington University in St. Louis. Participants complete the program with enhanced confidence in their ability to craft and deliver an effective presentation about their research. One participant said, “[ExCELS] was one of the best experiences I have had. It changed my total perspective to present [my] research with one slide and make it memorable,” while another said, “Thank you so much for delivering such [an] amazing training program and targeting non-native English language speakers.”

The ExCELS program continues to grow. The program’s success has garnered interest from other offices at WashU, leading to implementation of versions of the program for graduate students and leveraging alums of the prior two postdoctoral cohorts as mentors to the graduate students. Additionally, we delivered a modified version of the program at Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, MI in June 2024. On a national level, the National Postdoctoral Association recognized the ExCELS program as an innovation in postdoctoral education at its 2023 Annual Conference.

ExCELS demonstrates the importance of customized, relevant and timely language support for international scholars—for the betterment of scientific research dissemination, but, most importantly, to reduce linguistic barriers due to English dominance.

References

Amano, T., Ramírez-Castañeda, V., Berdejo-Espinola, V., Borokini, I., Chowdhury, S., Golivets, M., et al. (2023). The manifold costs of being a non-native English speaker in science. PLoS Biol 21(7): e3002184. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002184

Burns, T. W., O’Connor, D. J., Stocklmayer, S. M. (2003). Science communication: A contemporary definition. Public Understanding of Science, 12(2), 183-202. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625030122004

Davies, S. R. (2022). Science communication at a time of crisis: Emergency, democracy, and persuasion. Sustainability, 14(9), 5103. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095103

García-Sánchez, S. (2019). English public speaking: Presentations for English for specific purposes. The International Journal of Literacies, 26(2): 35-51. doi:10.18848/2327-0136/CGP/v26i02/35-51.

Ramírez-Castañeda, V. (2020). Disadvantages in preparing and publishing scientific papers caused by the dominance of the English language in science: The case of Colombian researchers in biological sciences. PLoS ONE 15(9): e0238372. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238372

Katie Blackburn Brown is currently the Director of English Language Programs at Washington University in St. Louis. There, Katie manages both an academic language program for international graduate students and scholars as well as a newly developed and innovative bridge program for St. Louis area immigrants and refugees. Katie is an experienced professional in language program management, curriculum development, international student support, and English as an additional language instruction. For over 20 years, she has dedicated her career to supporting language learners both in the US and abroad with the goal of reducing barriers, building confidence, and increasing students’ overall communicative competence. Katie earned her MA in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and is nearing the completion of her EdD in Higher Education at Rockhurst University.