Learning the grammar of every other language is important. It is what ensures accurate standard universal communication of any kind (scientific, or unscientific). Yes, it is a fact that majority of scientists are not native English Speakers. However, majority of desired research logistics and dissemination outlets are found in Anglo-America. I would say, basic standard English (eg. tense, concord, structure, comprehension, summary) that affords everyone else (even the native English speaker) the opportunity to do effective scientific/technical communication in the most accurate and concise English language is what ought to be assessed/ascertained. High verbal aptitude by native English standards as predominates our current aptitude tests (GRE, TOEFL, IELTS), in my opinion, does very little in attempting to assess adequate skills in scientific/technical communication which frequently come already acquired in other native languages. This would allow non-native English speakers (who happen to be the majority of scientists and engineers) to use time which would otherwise have been spent learning verbiage to learn other very important skills like math, modelling and programming language. Akwasi Asamoah
