Learn English for Science and Technology: 26 Top Resources

Can you read research papers and discuss the latest scientific findings in English?

In this post, we’ll show you a range of resources that’ll teach you English across many different scientific and technology-related fields, including online courses and magazines. They’ll boost your reading, listening, writing and speaking skills so you can excel in your studies and your career.

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Online Courses for Scientific English

MOOCs are Massive Open Online Courses. They’re typically affordable (sometimes free) and are created by top universities and institutions around the world. The material they teach is almost exactly what’s taught in university classrooms.

That means you get a high-quality education—plus exposure to an English classroom environment—all from the comfort of your home.

There are also plenty of science-focused MOOCs for both English learners and native speakers. Some of them have class and assignment schedules you need to follow, while others can be completed on your own time. Some MOOCs also offer certificates when you complete the course, which is good to add to your resume.

1. Writing in the Sciences

Hosted by: Coursera

Created by: Stanford University

Cost: Free 

Duration: Three weeks, at 10 hours per week

Level: Beginner

Topics covered: This course prepares your writing to be published in English-language science publications. You’ll work with the proper grammar structures and vocabulary used in scientific writing.

You’ll also learn about plagiarism (writing copied from other sources) and what you can do to avoid it.

2. English for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Hosted by: Coursera

Created by: The University of Pennsylvania

Cost: Free

Duration: Five weeks

Level: Intermediate

Topics covered: This course (designed for non-native English speakers) focuses on climate change and the current research and discussions around this issue. It also discusses technology that’s being used in relation to climate change and new energy systems.

The MOOC provides specific vocabulary for engaging with these topics. You’ll learn cause-and-effect language and practice making comparisons in English. There are quizzes, video lectures, readings and discussion questions to help guide you through the lessons.

3. Essential Academic English on Udemy

Hosted by: Udemy

Created by: English Teacher Daniel Owen

Cost: $20 per course, although significant discounts are often offered

Duration: Self-paced

Level: Intermediate to advanced

Topics covered: This series of courses focuses on specific areas of academic English for science. It’s perfect if you plan to study or work in the fields of physics, chemistry or biology (or related fields, such as medicine).

Each course comes with at least three hours of video lectures plus lots of interactive practice material. You’ll learn hundreds of scientific vocabulary words related to the subject. You’ll also receive a certificate of completion after finishing each course.

EST Textbooks and Handbooks

These books have been written for non-native English speakers who are learning EST for the first time or for academic purposes.

4. “Essential English for Science and Technology”

From Oxford University Press, this book covers a general overview of basic scientific terms that would be used in the university classroom.

5. “The Handbook for English for Specific Purposes”

A comprehensive handbook that talks about English for all specific purposes. It also includes a section on EST and the grammar and vocabulary that goes with it.

6. “Cambridge English for Scientists”

This book focuses on multiple language skills by giving you prompts to speak about when you’re finished with the reading and listening exercises. It also comes with an audio CD.

Science and Technology Magazines and Blogs

These are magazines and blogs that cover only science and technology, in often fun and interesting ways.

Read these to improve your English comprehension while staying up-to-date on the latest research. These work best for intermediate to advanced English learners: 

7. National Geographic 

Vocabulary focus: The natural world, animals, anthropology terms and words used to talk about ancient civilizations.

About: Known for its award-winning photography, National Geographic mostly covers natural science stories. It portrays the natural world beautifully, including human beings. And because the magazine uses photography, the images can help you better understand the articles.

8. Wired

Vocabulary focus: Wired will help you pick up vocabulary related to technology, especially well-known buzzwords such as AI (artificial intelligence), cybersecurity and 3D printing.   

About: This Condé Nast magazine provides in-depth coverage on technology, its current and future trends and effects on culture, economy and politics. Wired is available online and in print. Here’s an interesting article for getting started: “This AI-fortified Bot Will Build the First Homes for Humans on Mars.”

9. Mashable

Vocabulary focus: It covers many topics including business, culture, entertainment and social good, and you’ll pick up memes and casual internet language as well. 

About: Mashable is a digital media website, founded in 2005—and still going strong. In the Tech section, you can find the latest news as well as what’s big at the moment. If you don’t have much time to spare, their short videos make excellent material for quick listening practice.

10. CNET

Vocabulary focus: This magazine uses highly technical language since it compares and analyzes tech products, from phones to smartwatches. 

About: CNET publishes product reviews, how-to guides, deals on gadgets and the latest tech news. One might say that CNET is more technical than Wired as most of its pieces, especially the reviews, focus solely on the products and their technologies. There are guides about many aspects of technology like computers, wearable tech, photography and home entertainment.

11. Gizmodo

Vocabulary Focus: If you’re a tech enthusiast, you’ll grow your vocabulary a lot with Gizmodo, especially since it tackles the latest buzzwords and slang. 

About: Gizmodo‘s main focus is tech, but it also covers a broad spectrum of other topics from design to science fiction to politics. In the Science section, English learners can find interesting articles about scientific discoveries and the technology that comes with them. From the latest space news to how AI is changing the world, the articles here will teach you something new. 

12. Popular Science

Vocabulary focus: This is another great option for general science vocabulary improvement, but it’s especially useful for introducing you to essential technology vocabulary.

About: This magazine is great for staying on top of news from the science world. You’ll get perspectives on other fields that use science research, like the military or technology retail. Aside from these, it features a lot of DIY (do-it-yourself) guides that you can try out, such as making your own walkie-talkie.  

13. TechCrunch

Vocabulary Focus: You’ll learn specialized technology terms as well as vocabulary related to finance, business and investment.  

About: TechCrunch is an online publisher with a focus on technology news and startups. It also has video reports for English learners who want to improve their listening skills. Every day, reporters used to round up the most significant stories on TechCrunch into a Crunch report, which could be excellent material for your study. The Crunch report is no longer airing, but you can still check out the older reports.

14. The Next Web

Vocabulary Focus: This exposes you to more business and marketing terms than the average technology website since it features cool inventions and startups.  

About: The Next Web (TNW) is a media company. Its original purpose was to promote a tech event that showcased new startups. As its influence grew, TNW News has become a source for the latest updates about technology and startups.

15. MIT Technology Review

Vocabulary focus: Even though the articles are all about the latest technology and sometimes talk about scientific research, they’re written in a high-quality, conversational way. 

About: MIT Technology Review is the oldest and the most traditional publication in this collection. It was first published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899. In its own words, the magazine’s mission “is to equip its audiences with the intelligence to understand a world shaped by technology.”

16. Discover Magazine

Vocabulary focus: There are many topics covered in this magazine so you can target any vocabulary goal. Just go to the menu on the homepage and select the field you need to practice. There’s “Health and Medicine,” “Space and Physics,” “Environment” and more.

About: Discover will point you to research from essential English-language scientific journals. Since there are many different topics covered, it’s a great way to test your overall English and English for science knowledge. It even had a podcast so you can practice your listening skills.

17. Psychology Today

Vocabulary focus: Themes of psychology, psychiatry and sociology. Good for learning how to construct sentences using statistics.

About: As the name suggests, this magazine discusses psychology in a way that’s relevant to everyday lives. Most articles are well-researched and written by working psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors.

18. Technowize

Vocabulary focus: You’ll learn how to talk about gadgets, devices and software with this magazine, along with tech-related business terms.

About: Technowize is a magazine that focuses on digital technology and covers the latest stories. It has articles about hardware, popular apps, gadgets, cloud, big data as well as business news and events. Aside from reading their technology articles and product reviews, you can also watch videos on the website.

19. Digital Trends

Vocabulary focus: It talks about diverse technology topics with a focus on product reviews, but it uses more everyday language.  

About: Digital Trends is a website similar to CNET that publishes technology news, product reviews and how-to guides. An English learner can use Digital Trends to improve not only reading skills but also listening comprehension, since the website produces and hosts many videos and podcasts.

20. ReadWrite

Vocabulary Focus: Since it’s a technology blog, the English writing found on the site is less formal than that of traditional print magazines.

About: ReadWrite covers web technology as well as industry news, reviews, analysis and everything related to the Internet of Things. Many stories are told in the first person, and their tone is more informal and conversational. If you’re interested in blogging, this site is a great resource.

The Science and Technology Section

Almost all major English magazines and newspapers have a dedicated section for science and technology. The writing here will be best suited for beginners, since the magazines and newspapers are writing for a wide audience in plain language.

Here are a few that are most notable:

21. The New York Times

This science and technology section includes commentary about the latest research studies. There is also news connecting science and technology to politics and economics.

22. The Economist

In comparison with The New York Times, the science and technology section of The Economist focuses more on updates in research and how they might affect everyday life.

23. The BBC

The BBC has tons of podcasts for science, technology and nature to practice your English for science listening skills. (If you plan to study or work in the UK, this is a nice option for learning the British accent.) They also have a science section you can read as well as a technology section.

Like The New York Times, The BBC is also mainly focused on news and updates in these fields.

Science and Technology Videos

24. Crash Course

Level: Intermediate

Vocabulary focus: Physics, computer science, astronomy, ecology, biology and more.

About: Crash Course has short videos on many topics, but their science and technology videos review basic scientific concepts in an easy-to-understand way. The visuals will help you remember the vocabulary you learn from these short videos.

25. Periodic Videos

Level: Intermediate to advanced

Vocabulary focus: Chemistry

About: This is a channel about chemistry and, as the title shows, the elements. It also has videos about molecules, compounds of chemistry and experiments.

In the videos, the creators do their experiments while explaining them, helping you better understand the actions as well as the vocabulary.

26. Minute Physics

Level: Intermediate to advanced

Vocabulary focus: Physics

About: Another aptly-named channel! This one discusses concepts related to physics in illustrated videos that are quite short—about one to five minutes long—so the narrator speaks quickly. This makes them a great choice for advanced English learners.

The illustrations help you visualize the concepts, but if you’re an intermediate learner, it’s best to watch with subtitles or repeat the video more than once.

Aside from these YouTube channels, you can also find shorter science clips on FluentU, with learner tools like clickable subtitles and flashcards.

Tips for Using English in School and Research

Are you learning English for science so you can complete your classes? Are you hoping to join a research lab in an English-speaking environment? Do you just want to read English research articles?

Getting comfortable with English in school and research settings will help you achieve these and many other professional goals. Here’s how:

Tackle the Biggest Obstacles

This article will show you how to learn English for academic purposes. This way, you’ll be comfortable using English in a university setting—which is important whether you’re a student or you’re hoping to work as a researcher with university funding.

Learn Key Acronyms

You’ll often hear the acronyms STEM and EST.

STEM stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” It’s a term used in reference to the study or discussion of any of these subjects.

EST stands for “English for Science and Technology.” It refers to the English a non-native English speaker must learn to study and talk about STEM.

Learn Common English Suffixes 

A suffix is an ending that can be added to a word to show that it belongs to a certain category. Here are some examples widely used in science and technology:

• “-ology” — This suffix refers to the study of something. For example, “biology” is the study of organisms, “meteorology,” is the study of weather patterns, “sociology” is the study of societies and so on.
• “-onomy” — This suffix refers to a system of rules. It can also mean the body of knowledge on a particular subject. Some examples are “economy,” the rules of money and money systems and “astronomy,” the body of knowledge or laws behind space and the stars.

Practice Self-Studying Effectively

This guide will help you engage with the resources listed above, and move forward on your path to learning vocabulary and grammar related to your field of study.

 

Just remember, when you’re choosing your resources, think about the type of science you’d like to focus on and find material that’s the most relevant to that subject. Don’t try to learn everything all at once! Start with one topic you really like. 

Most importantly, remember to have fun. Science and technology are about exploring the world. So why not have fun while discovering something new?

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