The Challenge of Mai Chung: Teaching Technical Writing to the Foreign‐Born Professional in Industry

Because of the growing numbers of foreign‐born technical professionals in American industry, the need for appropriate on‐site instruction in the English of Science and Technology (EST) is becoming urgent. However, what the working professional needs from a course in writing EST differs markedly from what the university student in a technical degree program needs. This article identifies the most important of these differences and their implications for course design and materials development. It also argues that recent research on the dynamics of reading technical English can be used to inform the teaching of the technical writing skills that non‐native speakers of English require in industry settings.