Building better science communicators

The media would have it that we are suffering from a kind of literacy crisis – a quick search brings up many reports on the relative weaknesses of young people in the UK. Indeed, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development quoted in a report by the Literacy Trust states that the UK is the only economically developed country where 16 to 24-year-olds have the lowest literacy skills of any age group in society. 

As educators in science we have our part to play in securing good literacy skills in the young people passing through our classrooms and lecture theatres. Literacy is so much more than the mere secretarial processes involved in spelling, punctuation and grammar, which can be easily mimicked by a computer spellchecker. Excellent literacy lies at the heart of good science communication and we should not leave it solely to English teachers.