Center for Applied Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies (C-CLASC)

The collaboration between linguists, physicians, biology educators, and cultural studies experts in addressing complex medical challenges is materialized through our research projects:

Places and Therapy in Interdisciplinary Approaches
This conference represents an interdisciplinary and transcultural endeavor to explore language and medical fields. Now in its 10th edition in 2025, it has generated volumes, chapters, and articles published in various specialized journals and thematic volumes both nationally and internationally. The aim is to better understand which types of objectives align with the expectations, characteristics, interests, projects, and needs of our learners, as well as with the resources they have access to. We aim to identify realistic and achievable differentiated scenarios for developing the linguistic and medical competencies necessary for professional training.

Each edition has featured presentations by Romanian and international students from the three participating universities in Timișoara: “Victor Babeș” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, West University of Timișoara, and “King Michael I” University of Life Sciences. Student presentations have been coordinated by faculty members from medical, philological, anthropological, biological, and pedagogical disciplines, addressing medical practice, general and specialized language, didactics, and pedagogy.

The academic presentations highlighted especially the role of linguistic semiology in interpreting medical discourse, emphasizing how language influences the perception of illness and the therapeutic process.

This interdisciplinary conference demonstrates that dialogue between medicine, the humanities, and environmental sciences is essential for a holistic approach to health, offering innovative perspectives on the relationship between place, discourse, and therapy.

Anamnesis Dialogue with the Standardized Patient
The use of standardized patients/actors has become a common global practice in medical universities. Actors playing the role of patients significantly contribute to learning, practicing, assessing, and even researching communication competencies for future medical professionals in both verbal and non-verbal interactions.

Language, as the key communication tool, must be standardized in use in this globalized context. Therefore, our project, designed for medical students, takes a transdisciplinary approach, bringing together trainers specialized in medicine, linguistics, and acting in shared workshops. The future physician will develop the necessary abilities to understand and communicate in sensitive situations, receiving 360° feedback.

A broad student involvement is ensured by conducting workshops in Romanian, German, English, and French.

Learning Techniques and Strategies for Developing Top Clinical Competencies
The aim of this initiative is to improve the process of assimilating medical knowledge, optimizing understanding and usage of medical language, which is essential in clinical practice. By integrating modern active learning methods, conversational simulations, and advanced educational technologies, the project enhances academic performance and supports the development of solid clinical skills. Special attention is given to doctor-patient communication, given the major impact of language clarity and precision on diagnosis and treatment.

The project seeks to implement didactic strategies based on cognitive linguistics and medical semiotics to support the fast and accurate interpretation of specialized terms. Using techniques such as contextualized learning and assisted self-assessment methods, students will be able to optimize their learning process and correct linguistic deficiencies in real time.