Posted: 10/22/09

Innovation comes in many forms, but how often do you hear that term when describing a textbook? English professor JoAnne Juett has authored a new textbook called English for Specialized Science and Technology that does just that: innovate.

This first-of-its-kind textbook discusses issues in the science and technology field, including a broad range of topics. Juett said the subject matter ranges from oceanography to artificial intelligence, and even astronomy. But what makes the book really extraordinary is the English-related part.

Juett stated the textbook would be used for English as a Second Language since it contains this unique English aspect to it.

“It has vocabulary at the end of every chapter,” said Juett. This vocabulary will help students using the text identify vocabulary and strengthen their writing.

The way the textbook is written is beneficial for writers in the science and technology field rather than technical applications and such.

“The textbook is good for science journalists,” said Juett.

The publisher, Cosmos Culture Ltd., approached Juett on the subject of creating such a textbook.

The 47-chapter textbook took more than a year of research to create.

“I used 20 to 30 primary sources for all 47 chapters,” said Juett. “I was required by the publisher to check common sources and could not duplicate the information from there.”

These common sources included things such as Wikipedia and Ask.com. This eliminates what the typical college student may think of using to research first. This means the content in this book is not common knowledge and not always easily accessible.

Currently the textbook is only available for sale in places such as Hong Kong and other related areas through Asian booksellers, Juett said.

“The book publisher made no agreement with any American or European booksellers,” said Juett, adding that work was being done for getting an English edition available for American booksellers.

With a textbook like this, although not yet offered in the country through an American seller, students like sophomore Brenna Ehster show intrigue over such a book.

“It [the textbook] sounds really different,” said Ehster. “I think this would really help students in the Science and Technology field and I wouldn’t mind using something like this myself in a class.”

This book has the potential to influence future textbooks to follow with a familiar setup, which Juett is hopeful for.

“What I hope is that globally, it [the textbook] will point out the need for more text for scientific and technological writers,” Juett said.