Text 15A3

Life for researchers whose first language is not English may get quite hard. Many academics assume that their research students come to them fully formed, but every student has to learn the culture of their discipline. For those who don’t speak English as a first language, the challenge is especially daunting.

Mentors need to spend more time helping students to understand the conventions of scientific writing and the expectations of various journals. There’s an art to turning a PhD thesis into a journal article. Without guidance, a student will not be able to do it properly.

Institutions need to do a lot more to support and prepare international students. It’s not enough to hire a specialist in academic writing. Such specialists often have backgrounds in the humanities or social science, and students also need assistance from scientists who can help them to write for their specific disciplines.

I sympathize with students who are trying to learn English on top of everything else because I started out in life speaking another language. My family and I were refugees who fled Hungary during the revolution of 1956.

English speakers have become the gatekeepers of science. By keeping those gates closed, we’re missing out on a lot of perspectives and a lot of good research.

Chris Woolston and Joana Osório. When English is not your mother tongue. Internet: <www.nature.com> (adapted).