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


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


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 


•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 


•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











•write a CV 


What are the text-types involved? 







44









•listen to presentation about CV writing 


•write a CV 


What are the language skills involved? 







45











•write a CV 




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 


• presentation 

Task 5 • report 


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



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



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



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



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


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 


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. 

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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. 

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… 

… 

… 

… 

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 

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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 

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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. 

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• 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 

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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. 

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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 

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• 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 

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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 

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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 

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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. 

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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 

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