text-types

NSS Learning and Teaching Series for the Non-Language Arts Modules

in the Elective Part of the English Language Curriculum:

Workshop on Learning English through Workplace Communication

7 March 2013

English Language Education Section,

Curriculum Development Institute, Education Bureau

• a better understanding of the module ‘Learning English

through Workplace Communication’ in the Elective Part

of the three-year senior secondary English Language

curriculum;

• gained some ideas on how to plan the module, in

particular how it could be integrated with the

Compulsory Part using the task-based approach for

extending students’ knowledge of text-types prominent

in daily life as well as skills for comprehension and

production of similar texts;

2

• learnt more about how to develop learning and

teaching activities/materials for the

implementation of the module;

• acquired some strategies for teaching the module

and the use of assignments, assessment and

feedback for improving learning and teaching; and

• shared your experience in planning/implementing

the module or related learning and teaching

activities with other participants.

3

Part 1

Part 2

Understanding the module

Designing workplace-related classroom activities

BREAK

Part 3 Possible approaches to implementing the module

LUNCH (12.30-13.45)

Part 4 Strategies in planning and implementing the module

Part 5 Assessing students’ learning in the module: Part 1

BREAK

Part 6 Assessing students’ learning in the module: Part 2

4

Ask three of the participants who are not in your group

the following questions:

1. What is your name?

2. Which school are you from?

3. Does your school offer “Workplace Communication”

as one of the elective modules? Why/Why not?

4. Why do you attend this workshop?

Which of the following picture/diagram do you think best

illustrates the relationship between the Compulsory Part

and the Elective Part? Explain your choice.

7

• provide opportunities for learners to apply,

consolidate and extend the language knowledge

and skills that they have acquired from the

Compulsory Part

• cater for learners’ diverse abilities, needs and

interests

• extend and enrich learners’ learning experience

• add variety to the language curriculum

8

Activity 1: What are the overall objectives of the module

‘Learning English through Workplace Communication’?

9

Activity 1: What are the overall objectives of the module

‘Learning English through Workplace Communication’?

• To familiarise learners with different types of workplace

correspondence

• To develop learners’ understanding of the vocabulary,

language, formats, styles and conventions used in spoken

and written communication in the workplace

• To help learners to apply the knowledge and skills they

have learned in their production of workplace-related texts

• To enhance learners’ ability to carry out workplace-related

activities through providing them with opportunities to

practise and demonstrate their language and

communication skills in simulated tasks

10

Suggested learning focuses of the module

(from the Suggested Schemes of Work for the Elective part of

the Three-year Senior Secondary English Language Curriculum)

Suggested no. of lessons: 50

•Building knowledge and vocabulary of different trades/businesses

•Starting a scrapbook of a selected trade/business

•Concepts relating to organisations

•Handling business telephone calls

•Memo writing

•Conventions and style of business letters

•Handling complaints

•Planning the final project

11

Suggested learning focuses of the module

(from the Suggested Schemes of Work for the Elective part of

the Three-year Senior Secondary English Language Curriculum)

•Making sales presentations

•Producing sales/promotional materials

•Setting up and holding meetings, and preparing minutes

•Job interviews

•Quiz on general business knowledge

•Sharing ideas on business ethic

•Final display

12

Target knowledge, skills and attitudes

Students are able to:

• Understand English telephone etiquette

• Handle telephone calls in a professional manner

• Apply strategies of establishing and maintaining

relationships in telephone English

13

Target knowledge, skills and attitudes

Students are able to:

• write memos in English

• demonstrate an understanding of the need to be

succinct in memo writing

• understand and apply strategies of politeness

and tact

14

Activity 2a

In your group,

a) write down as many text-types as

you can think of that are related

to workplace communication;

b) circle the text-type that you hear;

and

c) raise your hand when you have

circled 4 text-types in a row!

16

Activity 2b

Which of the following are SPOKEN text-types and which of them

are WRITTEN text-types? Circle the SPOKEN text-types below.

memo resume webpage

note/message

formal letter

conversation/

telephone conversation

email advertisement form/table/chart

agenda proposal meeting/discussion

minutes survey/report article

interview

public speech /

presentation

pamphlet/leaflet/

flyer/poster

17

• The text-types that I have circled above could be

used to help develop my students’ speaking and

listening skills.

• The text-types that I have NOT circled above could

be used to help develop my students’ reading and

writing skills.

• To facilitate the development of all the four

language skills, students should be exposed to a

balanced variety of written and spoken text-types.

18

Different text-types provide meaningful contexts

for the learning and purposeful use of language

knowledge and skills. Conscious learning and

explicit, systematic teaching of different text-types,

including the features they involve, enable learners

to become more proficient language users.

19

Activity 3a

In both spoken and written text-types for workplace

communication, formulaic expressions are often used.

What are the language functions of the expressions below?

20

To ask for favour/assistance

Could you please…?

Would you mind ~ing…?

I should be grateful if you would…

I would appreciate it if you could…

To respond to requests/complaints

To make enquiries

May I ask/know…?

I am writing to enquire about…

I should be grateful if you could inform me of…

With reference to your request for…

I am writing in response to your letter…

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact…

21

To give a presentation

First of all, …

I would like to conclude with the following suggestions:…

To summarise what I have said,…

To give advice/suggestions

We recommend that…

May I suggest that we…?

Perhaps you could…

To explain a purpose

I am writing to…

The reason I’m calling is that…

The purpose of our meeting today is…

To show agreement/disagreement

You’re absolutely correct.

I’m afraid I cannot agree with you because…

It seems a good idea but maybe we could…

22

Activity 3b

In what ways are expressions softened to

become more polite? Identify three different

ways used in the expressions in Activity 3a.

•using modals (e.g. would, could, may, should)

•using questions instead of direct statements

(e.g. Could you please…?, May I …?)

•using adverbials of probability (e.g. perhaps,

maybe)

23

To enable students to comprehend and produce

a range of spoken and written text-types related

to workplace communication, it is important to

familiarise students with:

• words/expressions for different language

functions

• the appropriate register (i.e. degree of

formality) for communicating politely

24

Activity 4a

With your partner, brainstorm as many jobs as

you can and list them below.

25

-based on General Social Survey by the National Organization for Research at the

University of Chicago

26

10. elephant dung inspector 5. stage performer’s assistant

9. animal masturbator 4. skyscraper window cleaner

8. animal pregnancy tester 3. sewers cleaner

7. road-kill remover 2. guard at Buckingham Palace

6. carcass cleaner 1. janitor at a dirty theatre

from www. smashinglists.com

27

property agent

tour guide

wedding planner

dancer

veterinarian

yoga instructor

playgroup leader

travel blogger

babysitter

web developer

hair stylist

acupuncturist

cartoonist

nutritionist

herbalist

headhunter

28

Activity 4b

In your group, brainstorm as many work-related

situations as you can in which people with the following

jobs may need to use (i.e. read, write, listen or speak).

Group 1: nurse, tour guide

Group 2: bank teller, web designer

Group 3: chef, waiter/waitress

Group 4: police inspector, customs officer

Group 5: beautician, gym trainer

Group 6: salesperson, ambulance man

29

Example 1 – Singer

With whom? When?

Possible situations:

• talk with overseas investors, counterparts and fans

• attend interviews conducted by English-speaking

media

• attend social gatherings with English-speaking

participants

• sing English songs at special events (and read English

lyrics)

• listen to songs from English-speaking countries

30

Example 2 – Barista at coffee shop

Possible situations:

• reading information of products in English

• introducing products to English-speaking

customers

• listening and responding to the requests or

questions from English-speaking customers

31

Activity 5

Read through the three learning activities given to you

and identify the following:

• Job: ____________________________

• Place of work:

________________________________________

• Purpose of activity: __________________________

• Language skills involved (circle): reading / writing /

listening / speaking

• Text-type(s) involved:

_______________________________________

32

Learning Activity 1

Job: customer service representative

Place of work: Magical Tour Bus Company

Purpose of activity:

to respond to a complaint about

the company’s day trip from an

important client

Language skills involved (circle): reading and writing

Text-type(s) involved: complaint letter, letter of reply

33

Learning Activity 2

Job: concierge

Place of work:


Language skills involved (circle):

Text-type(s) involved:

a five-star hotel in TST

to recommend a well-known Chinese

restaurant to a guest

reading and speaking

webpage and presentation

34

Learning Activity 3

Job: secretary

Place of work: Mavis Company


to write memos to a few

colleagues on behalf of your boss

Language skills involved (circle): listening and writing

Text-type(s) involved: telephone conversation, memo

35

Many tasks in real-life workplace situations

involve the integrative use of language skills and

strategies. Based on these situations, a variety of

learning activities that are relevant to learners’

abilities and interests and cover a range of texttypes

could be designed to facilitate the

integrative use of an extensive range of language

knowledge and skills in the module “Learning

English through Workplace Communication”.

36

While Modules, Units and Tasks are to be adopted for

organising learning and teaching in the Compulsory Part,

the modules in the Elective Part may not necessarily

follow the M-U-T structure. However, the general

approach to teaching the modules in the Elective Part

remains task-based – that is, teachers are encouraged to

continue with the principles and practices associated with

task-based learning, namely using learner-centred

instruction, providing opportunities for meaningful and

purposeful communication and promoting integrative and

creative uses of language.

English Language Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6), p.54

39

• Provides contexts for

– integrated use of language skills

– meaningful and purposeful use of English for

communication

• Facilitates effective grammar learning and

teaching

• Uses learning and teaching resources of a

variety of text-types

• Promotes a learner-centred approach

40

Context

Purpose

Involves learners in

thinking and doing

Product

Requires learners to

draw upon a

framework of

knowledge and skills

41

Context?

Purpose?

You are a job seeker. You have enrolled for a course

organised by a career coaching agency which prepares

young people for job seeking. In the course, you will be

trained on how to search for jobs from job ads, apply for

jobs and prepare for job interviews.

Product?

The coach of the course requires you to complete the

following tasks:

1. Searching for a job suitable for yourself

2. Writing a CV and a job application letter

3. Prepare for job interviews

42

Task 1 – Job search

Students have to:

•read sample job ads and learn about their features

•play matching games to understand job duties and requirements

•read job ads from own sources, choose a job that suits them and

explain their choice

Task 2 – Job application

Students have to:

•listen to a presentation about CV writing

•study sample CVs and job application letters

•write a CV

•write a job application letter for the job they have chosen

Task 3 – Job interview

Students have to:

•discuss the possible questions to be asked at job interviews

•prepare written responses to possible questions

•watch video clips on job interview etiquette and skills

•role-play a job interview

43


Students have to:






Students have to:



•write a CV


What are the text-types involved?


Students have to:





44


Students have to:






Students have to:

•listen to presentation about CV writing


•write a CV


What are the language skills involved?


Students have to:





45


Students have to:






Students have to:



•write a CV



Students have to:

What is the language knowledge involved?

•Features of job ads

•Content, language and structure of CVs and

job application letters





46

Activity 6

Read the unit overview below and the lesson plan for the unit given to you and fill

in the boxes on your worksheet. Each group member should read the lesson plan

for one of the five tasks and share their ideas in order to complete the table at

the bottom of the worksheet.

Unit: New Face of the Friendly Pet Hotel

You are Chris. You work for the Friendly Pet Hotel in Tsuen Wan,

which provides services mainly for dogs. Recently, your pet hotel

has conducted a customer survey to find out how satisfied the

patrons were with the services provided. The manager, Mr Pat

Smith, has sent you a memo. He wants you to identify the

problems from the patrons’ responses and to make suggestions on

how to improve the hotel services. Write a report on the problems

of the pet hotel and make recommendations to improve the

business.

47

Task 1 • memo

• charts

Text-types

Language knowledge/skills

Knowledge:

• function and features of a memo

• vocabulary related to services for pets

• quantifiers

Skills: reading, writing

Task 2 • magazine article

• advertisements

• leaflets

Knowledge:

• adjectives and phrases for persuasive writing

• vocabulary about pet services

Skills: reading, vocabulary building

Task 3 • webpages

• discussion

Knowledge:

• vocabulary related to services for pets

Skills: reading, speaking, listening

Task 4 • agenda

• discussion

• presentation

Task 5 • report

• discussion

Knowledge:

• function and features of an agenda

• expressions for group interaction

Skills: reading, speaking, writing, listening

Knowledge:

• structure and language of a report

Skills: reading, speaking, listening

48

Activity 7

In your group, create a short workplace unit consisting of

at least two tasks that involve different text-types and

language skills.

49

The Compulsory Part

Meaningful use of

Reading/ Writing

Listening/ Speaking

Vocabulary

Text-types

Grammar Forms &

Communicative

Functions

through exploration of themes in varied contexts by adopting

different approaches and strategies

51

‣SBA

‣Elective modules

Integrate: to combine two or more things in order to

become more effective (from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary &

Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

52

Reading

Non-fiction books about:

• workplace etiquette?

• workplace attitudes?

• career planning?

• workplace issues?

• successful people?

53

Reading

Fiction books about:

- workplace romance?

- balance between life and work?

- sexual harassment in the

workplace?

- the life of a bored office girl ?

54

Movies about business ethics

• e.g. Up in the Air

• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1193138/Air

Movies about work life

• e.g. The Devil Wears Prada

• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458352/

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zicgut4gpwU

Talks about success factors at the workplace

• e.g. a talk about body language

• http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_

you_are.html

55

TV series about work life

• e.g. The Office


• e.g. Ugly Betty


• e.g. Drop Dead Diva


• e.g. Ally McBeal


Documentaries about particular occupations

• e.g. career opportunities for women as surgeons

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBt-6_soYH4

• e.g. the musical career of ABBA

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBz-qRmZ1BI

• e.g. inspirational account of five professional speakers

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJzldcNCa1A

56

Social Issues

Debating

Sports

Drama

Poems and Songs

Short Stories

Popular Culture

• Write a proposal for the fund-raising event “Care for

the Homeless” for your boss

• Make a presentation to persuade your colleagues to

support your proposal about setting up a daycare centre

• Give advice to a friend who wants to be a professional

athlete, e.g. a basketball player

• Act out a scene in which a customer complains about

bad service

• Read/write an acrostic poem about a particular job

• Write a story about a horrible night at the workplace

• Create a commercial to promote your company’s new

product

57

1. What language knowledge and skills knowledge do I want my

students to acquire?

2. What text-types should I include?

3. What job contexts could I use?

4. What do I want my students to produce at the end of the unit?

5. What learning tasks could be included to prepare students for

their final product?

6. Do I want to integrate some elements of SBA or of the other

elective modules into the unit?

7. How do I cater for my students’ diverse abilities and interests?

8. How do I assess my students’ performance in the module?

58

Strategies in Planning and Implementing the Module

59

Catering for Learner Diversity

Every class is composed of individuals who

are different from each other in terms of

maturity, motivation, ability, learning

styles, aspirations and interests.

“consistently using a variety of instructional

approaches to modify content, process, and/or

products in response to learning readiness and

interest of academically diverse students.”

The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners (Tomlinson, 1999)

60

Suggested Strategies on Differentiated Instruction

Content

Process

Product

Include materials in response to

different learning styles

Use tiered activities

Encourage students to demonstrate key

knowledge. understanding and skills in

related topic of special interests

Include supplementary materials at

varied reading level

Make task directions more detailed for

some learners and more open for others

Provide access to different resources at

different levels of complexity

Provide materials to encourage further

exploration of topics

Provide small-group discussions with

tasks at varied levels of complexity

Develop rubrics or other benchmarks for

success

Adopt flexible grouping

Encourage students to work

independently or with partners on

product development

Develop activities that seek multiple

perspectives on topics and issues

Vary teachers’ support and guidance

61

An illustration with a series of theme-based lessons

related to workplace communication adopting the

task-based approach

Objectives

• Students will be motivated to learn English

• Students will get to know more about the use of

English in a workplace context

• Students will be motivated to equip themselves

for their future career

62

Situation

You are Chris, a fresh university graduate. You and

your friends are going to set up a wedding

company and take part in the Wedding Expo. Set

up a booth at the Expo, introduce the

products/services of your company to the visitors

and compete with other companies in a wedding

outfit catwalk.

63

Why Wedding Planning?

Advertising & marketing

Catering

Public relations

Logistics

Printing/ Publishing

Beauty care

Entertainment

Tourism

Media

Legal services

Banking and Finance

Florists

Hair stylists

Managers

Marketing executives

Event planners

Make-up artists

Fashion designers

Lawyers

Salespersons

Photographers

Travel agents

64

Unit

Outline

Part 1: Background/Introduction

• The wedding planning business, job descriptions, etc.

Part 2: Recruiting Staff

• Job advertisement, CV, application letter, etc.

Part 3: Setting up wedding companies

• Research, understand the organisational set up, etc.

Part 4: Preparing for Wedding Expo

• Meetings, business projects, etc.

Part 5: Wedding Expo

• Sales presentation, exhibition, wedding outfit catwalk, etc.

65


Tasks/Activities

To have a general understanding of the wedding planning

industry, students:

• read magazine articles and newspaper articles

• browse websites of wedding planners

Differentiated instruction strategies

Simplified versions of newspapers/magazine articles

provided by the teacher

Authentic newspapers/magazine articles collected by

students

Video clips about wedding planning on YouTube

66


Tasks/Activities

To have a better understanding of how to write a

proper job application letter and a job advertisement,

as well as to understand the dynamics of a job

interview, students:

• read and write job advertisements

• read and write resumes

• read and write application letters

• prepare for job interviews

• go for job interviews

• assess candidates’ performance in job interviews

67


Application form filling for less able students

Application letter and resume writing for

more able students

Movie clips of interview scenes with

authentic use of English for more able

students

Interview video produced by teachers for

less able students

Mock interviews and group discussions with

students of different interests and abilities

68


Tasks/Activities

To learn more about the structure and operation of a

wedding company, students discuss how to:

• set up their wedding planning companies

• select services which the company provides


Students arranged into different groups based on their

abilities and interests

Meetings held in groups to decide:

a. company names and logos with promotional

tactics

b. services to be offered and products to be made

Different tasks of various levels of difficulties assigned

69

to different companies


Tasks/Activities

To prepare for the Wedding Expo, students:

• write sales presentation scripts

• prepare promotional materials

• design a wedding outfit

• set up and design a booth

• prepare samples of services/products provided by

the company

70


• Autonomy given to individual students to select

the jobs they would like to take up among the

group (for more able students)

• Jobs allocated to team members according to

their abilities and strengths - verbal, visual,

kinesthetic, multiple intelligence (for less able

students)

• Multiple options given to students to introduce

their companies to the visitors in different ways

71


Tasks/Activities

To demonstrate their oral skills and creativity,

students:

• make sales presentations (individual)

• introduce the services/products of the companies

to the visitors (group)

• perform at the wedding outfit catwalk show

72


• More guidance provided for the less able

students for the catwalk show

• Recording allowed for the less able students

to rehearse the catwalk show to a

satisfactory level

73

In your group,

Activity 8

a) identify the differentiated instruction

strategies adopted in the unit “Wedding

Planning”; and

b) put down the appropriate number against

each activity.

74


Simplified versions of newspapers/magazine articles

provided by the teacher

2

Authentic newspapers/magazine articles collected by

students

2

Video clips about wedding planning on YouTube

1

75


Application form filling for less able students

Application letter and resume writing for more able

students

Movie clips of interview scenes with authentic use of

English for more able students

Interview video produced by teachers for less able students

Mock interviews and group discussions with students of

different interests and abilities

4

4

1

1

6, 7

76


Students arranged into different groups based on their

abilities and interests

7

Meetings held in groups (with each student assigned a

different role) to decide:

a. company names and logos with promotional tactics

b. services to be offered and products to be made

Different tasks of various levels of difficulties assigned to

different companies

8, 10,

13

4, 10

77


Autonomy given to individual students to select the jobs

they would like to take up among the group (for more able

students)

4

Jobs allocated to team members according to their abilities

and strengths - verbal, visual, kinesthetic, multiple

intelligence (for less able students)

4

Multiple options given to students to introduce their

companies to the visitors in different ways

10

78


More guidance provided for the less able students for the

catwalk show

9

Recording allowed for less able students to rehearse the

catwalk show to a satisfactory level

12

79

Assessing students’ learning in the module

80

Assessment is an integral part of the learning and

teaching process. It is an ongoing process that

aims to help learners, with appraisal and feedback

on their performance, improve their learning, and

to offer teachers information, e.g. assessment

data, for effective planning and intervention.

81

Setting assessment tasks

The following should be taken into

consideration:

82

Suppose the following are what you have taken your students

through in teaching the module of workplace communication:

Content

• Reading job ads in newspapers and/or on online job search

sites to identify the nature, duties, and required qualities and

qualifications and experience, of selected jobs

• Participating in a discussion activity about making suggestions

on what to include in a presentation about a job or profession

in Hong Kong for senior secondary students

• Participating in a role play activity involving students inviting

their classmates to speak at a formal school function

83

Language

• Using work-related and job-specific vocabulary in

talking about jobs and professions

• Using a polite, formal tone, as expressed through

word choice

• Using modals and expressions to make suggestions

84

Organisation

• Discussing the structure of an invitation letter to a

guest speaker

• Using appropriate cohesive devices to outline the

content of the letter

• Using phrases and sentence structures to link ideas

and create cohesion

• Writing paragraphs with a topic sentence with

supporting points to elaborate ideas

85

Assessment Task 1

You are the secretary for the Careers Club. The Careers Club committee would like to

invite a number of guest speakers to your school's Careers Day, organised for S5 and

S6 students. Each speaker will speak for 10 minutes about their experiences of

working in different jobs and professions in Hong Kong.

The club advisor, Mr Tse, has recommended a few past students who are also good

presenters. He has asked you to write a letter to invite the guests to come and speak at

Careers Day. Choose one guest speaker from the following:

- a restaurant waitress

- a policeman

- a bank clerk

- a clothing store manager

In the letter, briefly describe the guest speaker programme. Include helpful, detailed

suggestions on what the speaker might include in his/her presentation.

Begin your letter "Dear Ms Chan," and sign it "Chris Wong".

86

Students are expected to provide:

Content

The purpose of

the letter

Background to

the letter

Question:

You are the secretary for the Careers Club. The Careers Club committee would

like to invite a number of guest speakers to your school's Careers Day,

organised for S5 and S6 students. Each speaker will speak for 10 minutes

about their experiences of working in different jobs and professions in Hong

Kong.

The club advisor, Mr Tse, has recommended a few past students who are also

good presenters. He has asked you to write a letter to invite the guests to come

and speak at Careers Day. Choose one guest speaker from the following:

- a restaurant waitress

- a policeman

- a bank clerk

- a clothing store manager

Details of the letter

In the letter, briefly describe the guest speaker programme. Include helpful,

detailed suggestions on what the speaker might include in his/her presentation.

Begin your letter "Dear Ms Chan," and sign it "Chris Wong".

87

Students are required to use:

Language

• a range of vocabulary

– work-related and job-specific vocabulary

• appropriate tone and register

– a formal, polite tone

• appropriate language

– appropriate modals and expressions to make

suggestions

88

• coherence

– appropriate organisational framework

Organisation

Students are required to demonstrate in their writing:

– appropriate topic sentences and supporting ideas

– repeated structures to create a list of suggestions

• cohesion

– appropriate cohesive devices/expressions to

present suggestions

89

Assessment Criteria

1. Assessment by teachers

2. Self assessment

3. Peer assessment

90

Giving feedback to students

Activity 9

In your group,

a) read the student’s writing;

b) discuss the student’s writing in terms of content,

language & style and organisation;

c) fill in the assessment form;

d) note down some written feedback that you would

give the student;

e) Idenify one of the weaknesses of the student and

design a follow-up activity to help him/her make

improvement; and

f) share your feedback with other groups.

91

Suggested feedback on content

…

I am writing to invite you to be a guest speaker at our school’s

Careers Day to talk about your experiences of working in Hong Kong.

Our committee

…

club advisor, Mr Tse, has recommended a few past

students of the school who are also good presenters and you are one

of them. I will give you the guest speaker programme. There are brief

details in the programme. I will also suggest what you include in a

presentation to our students.

…

The guest speaker programme will have five speakers. The

presentations

…

will be followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer

…

session.

…

More details could be provided. When

is the Careers Day? Who are the

audience? How long does each

speaker’s presentation last? Is the 10-

min Q&A for all five speakers?

92

Suggested feedback on language

We hope you will accept our invitation and look forward to

hearing from you soon. If you could kindly tell me if you would

come by 31 st May, it would be great. If you have any problems,

please do not hesitate to find me by email at 123abc@gmail.com

or by phone at 1234 5678.

93

…

…

Students want to know what skills, qualifications, personality

and experience

…

are most suited for working in a bank. Students

also want to know about professional development and

promotion.

…

Students should hear your expert advice for young graduates

entering the bank. You should also talk about tips on what to

include in an effective resume and points to highlight in an

interview.

94

I am writing to invite you to be a guest speaker at our school ’ s

Careers Day to talk about your experiences of working in Hong

Kong. Our committee club advisor, Mr, Tse has recommended a

few past students of the school who are also good presenters

and you are one of them. I am going to tell you the guest speaker

programme and brief details of the programme. I will also

suggest what you include in a presentation to our students.

95

Students are very interested to hear about the reality of working

in a bank. You should include things about working hours and

clothes as well as details about what you do. In particular,

students are interested in learning about the rewards and

challenges of working in a bank, of dealing with customers and

of remembering all the trades.

96

…

…

…

…

Suggested feedback on organisation

Students are very interested to hear about the reality of working in a bank.

You should include things about working hours and clothes as well as details

about what you do. In particular, students are interested in learning about the

rewards and challenges of working in a bank, of dealing with customers and

of remembering all the trades.

…

Students want to know what skills, qualifications, personality and experience

are most

…

suited for working in a bank. Moreover, students want to know

about professional development and promotion.

Students should hear your expert advice for young graduates entering the

bank. You can also talk about tips on what to include in an effective resume

and points to highlight in an interview.

Good paragraphing but cohesive devices

could be used to present the three

suggestions, e.g. first, also, finally

97

Suggested follow-up activity (I)

Aim: Enhancing the level of formality in students’

writing

Procedures:

• Select a first draft

• Highlight sentences which are fluent but not

formal enough

• Ask students to suggest how they could be made

more formal

98

1

• Demonstrate with some examples

Mr. Tse recommended you because you know a lot about working

in a bank and a good presenter for this sharing session.

2

You were recommended by our teacher, Mr. Tse, as someone who

would be very knowledgeable about working in a bank and a good

presenter for this sharing session.

If you could kindly tell me if you would come by 31st May, it

would be great.

Could you please kindly indicate your availability by 31 st May?

3

You can also talk about tips on what to include in an effective

resume and points to highlight in an interview.

Perhaps you could also talk about tips on what to include in an

effective resume and points to highlight in an interview.

99

• Ask students to explain how the rewriting has

changed the level of formality

You were recommended by our teacher, Mr. Tse, as someone

who would be very knowledgeable about working in a bank and

a good presenter for this sharing session.

Use of passive voice

Use more sophisticated vocabulary

Could you please kindly indicate your availability by 31 st May?

Use of questions

Use of adverbials of

probability and modals

Perhaps you could also talk about tips on what to include in

an effective resume and points to highlight in an interview.

100

• Divide students into two groups

• Ask one group to make some informal sentences

while the other group turn them into formal

sentences using the strategies taught

• Ask students to check if any part of their draft

needs rewriting

• Cautious students that it is more important to

write simple but correct sentences, than to write

incorrect but sophisticated sentences

101

Suggested follow-up activity (II)

Aim: Enriching the content of students’ writing

Procedures:

• Ask students to think about and list the details

of the Careers Day in terms of “Who”, “What”,

“When”, “Where”, “Why” and “How + adj”

using in a table.

102

Who

What

When

Where

Why

How long

103

• Demonstrate with an example

Who

What

• Target audience: S5-S6 students

• Sharing of different job experiences

When • 17 November 2012

Where

Why

How long

• The School Hall

• Expose students to the reality of

working in different professions

• Each presentation lasts 10 minutes

104

• Get students work in pairs and share their

ideas to further enrich their content.

Student A

Who

• Target audience: S5-S6 students

Student B

Who • Number of guest speakers: 5

105

HKDSE Examination and

Workplace Communication

106

Text-types in Workplace Communication

Chart/Table/Form

Interview

Presentation/

Public speech

Advertisement

Article

Conversation/

Telephone conversation

Memo Formal letter Email

Resume/CV Minutes Webpage

Agenda Survey/Report Proposal

Note/Message

Pamphlet/Leaflet/

Flyer/Poster

Discussion/Meeting

107

Text-types in 2012 HKDSE English Language Exam

Article Online forum post Blog entry

Speech Letter to the editor Short story

Formal letter Note sheet Book jacket

Email Minutes Appendix

Webpage Leaflet Interview

Presentation Meeting Discussion

108

Text-types common in both Workplace Communication

and Practice Papers & 2012 HKDSE Exam Papers

Reading Paper

Writing Paper

Listening and Integrated

Skills Paper

Speaking Paper

Article Article Discussion (L) Discussion

Speech Presentation (L) Presentation

Formal letter

Proposal

Meeting (L)

Minutes

Email

Webpage

Survey

Leaflet

Report

109

Experience Sharing

Activity 10

In your group, share with others your experience in planning and/or

implementing the workplace communication module or conducting

related learning and teaching activities. You may want to talk about:

• if your school offers workplace communication as an elective

module and why;

• the challenges you encountered/you anticipate in planning and

delivering the module;

• how you overcame the challenges/you think the challenges could

be tackled; and

• some interesting and effective learning and teaching activities for

the module that you have done with your students.

110

Learning and Teaching Resources

• EDB websites

– Resource packages by CDI

– NET Section - Networking booklets

– Language Learning Support Section

– One-stop Portal

• Examples of other resources on the Internet

– BBC

– British Council

– YouTube

111

Thank you

112

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