This page presents archived content from “Communicating Ciencia: Adapting to the Changing Faces and Voices of Mass Media” prepared for ScienceWriters2016 in San Antonio, Texas.
~ THREE THINGS PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ~
About Communicating Science to Bicultural and Bilingual Audiences
- Science may be your reader’s Third Language. If English is your Second Language, you now have yet another language to learn — the language of science. So break down jargon, and more importantly, create a “comfort zone” for learning and understanding a concept.
- Give science a place in your reader’s world. Not every reader is a STEM enthusiast or scholar, but they are informed citizens who make life decisions (e.g. healthcare, family, home maintenance). Create context that lets them say: “Science has a place in my world.”
- Start with kids! Make the science relatable to the children among your audience — it will often reveal the fundamental contexts, norms, and pop references that also extend to adults.
Robin Gose EdD is Executive Director of MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation in Santa Barbara, California, and at the time of #SciWri16 was the Director of Education at The Thinkery in Austin, Texas.
Communicating Ciencia 