Der sichere Umgang mit fremden Sprachen und Kulturen stellt heute ...

INGRID GARSCHALL
Evaluation and Revision of an ESP Course
for Woodworkers in Austria
This article is based on data gathered during the year 2004 at Berufsschule Poechlarn, the vocational
school for woodworkers in Lower Austria. Fifty-three joiner-apprentices filled in questionnaires
on their private and professional English language needs. These were used to evaluate to
what extent teaching actually met those needs.
Among the many findings revealed by the study, the following are the most significant: For joiner
apprentices, the learning of reading skills has top priority, writing is ranked second, followed by listening
and speaking. Learning in groups is the most popular way to learn languages. Only a third
of learners indicate that they occasionally need to read English for their job, two thirds of them never
use English on the job. Based on these results, an adaptation of the curriculum as well as the
textbook in use is suggested.
The investigation of the language learning needs of joiners reveals that English tuition at vocational
schools should take account of the fact that there is only a limited need for English for professional
purposes. Tuition should much rather concentrate on the fact that learning a foreign
language is an excellent way of supporting the learners' personal development as well as
providing a basis for easier access to the Berufsreifeprüfung exam.
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