Maria Paula Alvarez y Luis Fernando Lopez

Worksheet Outline
Lesson 1: Job interviews

Approach: Communicative language approach

Method: Communicative method

Research Question:

How do the Contextualized Worksheets focused on communicative language teaching contribute

to the development of both (writing and speaking skills) in the sixth semester undergraduate

degrees in English from the Unipanamericana University?

Learning Objectives

General Objective: The student will be able to carry on a conversation about a job interview by

putting their characteristics in a real context

❖ Specific Objectives: (a) To identify the characteristics of a job interview; (b) to use

vocabulary related to a job interview; and (c) to express short ideas about him/herself in

real context conversations (job interview) .

Second Language Acquisition Principles (SLA)

● Must be perceived as relevant and useful by the learner.

● Offer students plenty of free practice.

● Provide opportunities for communicative purposes in L2, fostering thereby language use,

not just usage.

● Help learners develop self confidence.

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 ● Take into account students' different learning styles such as visual, auditory, kinaesthetic,

studial, analytic, experimental, global, dependent, independent, etc.

View of the nature of language

Functional Perspective which according to tudor (2001),he placed language within the social

context and as a means for members of a community to express their ideas, perceptions and

values The main assumption of communicative language teaching is for language learners to be

able to do something with the language or in the TL. In other words, in a language learning

programme based on the functional approach to language teaching course content and activities

are selected to enable students to operate effectively in the relevant situation of use (to use the

language for a specific transactional goal or pragmatic purpose). It uses language as a tool to

achieve communicative goals.It uses language as a tool to achieve communicative goals.

View of Language Learning

According to Richards and Rodgers (2001) “the language is a vehicle for the expression of

functional meaning” from this point of view it is safe to say that the attention is centered in

communicative and semantic dimension instead of focusing on just grammatical aspects. Here,

the teaching should be organized by categories and functions.

Language Teaching and Learning Approach

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In the long-standing search for the so-called perfect method in ELT (English Language

Teaching), many approaches have been developed. Among these approaches, CLT has found its

place as far as the English teaching curriculum, education policy statements, course books and

teacher education programs in the world are concerned. Focusing on today’s changing ELT

context and the increasing trend towards CLT, Brown (1994) draws attention to the importance of

real-life communication, generating unrehearsed language performance out of the classroom,

developing linguistic fluency and facilitating lifelong language learning. Brown (1994: 245) also

lists some of the core features of CLT as follows:

1. Classroom goals are focused upon in all the components of communicative

competence; they are not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence.

2. Language teaching techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic,

authentic, and functional use of language for meaningful purposes. Linguistic structures

do not represent the central focus but rather aspects of language which enable the learner

to accomplish those purposes.

3. Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative

techniques. At times, fluency may have to take on more importance than accuracy in

order to keep learners meaningfully engaged in language use.

4. In the communicative classroom, students ultimately have to use the language,

productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts.

Similar to Brown, Yang and Cheung (2003) argue that CLT puts emphasis on purposeful and

meaningful activities, the use of authentic elements, the use of extra materials used besides

textbook activities, the avoidance of mechanical drills in pair or group work activities, and the

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diversity of activities. Richards (2006) draws attention to the goal of language learning with an

emphasis on communicative competence. For him, the goal of language learning is to know how

to use this language for a range of different purposes and functions. Relevant questions are how

to vary the use of language according to setting and participants, how to produce and understand

different text types and how to maintain communication despite the limitations occurring in the

speaker’s knowledge of the foreign language. Among the features of CLT focused upon by

various researchers as indicated above, some common features, such as pair and group work,

fluency and accuracy, error correction and the role of the teacher make up the focus of this study.

These features of CLT will be briefly discussed - with an emphasis on their advantages to provide

a theoretical background to the current study which aims at revealing whether teachers’

classroom practices overlap with their attitudes towards these features.

Coskun, A. (2011). Investigation of the Application of Communicative Language Teaching in the

English Language Classroom--A Case Study on Teachers' Attitudes in Turkey. Online submission,

2(1).

Language Learning Strategies

Direct Strategies: (Oxford, 1990).

Memory strategies:

● Placing new words into a context (All): Placing a word or phrase in a meaningful
sentence, conversation or story in order to remember it. E.g.: Students can invent a story
where they use all the new words, or they can invent an acronym.

● Using keywords (L, R): Remembering a new word by using auditory and visual links.
E.g.: Associating a word in the native or target language with a new word: ball-
bola/balon.
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Cognitive strategies:

● Recognising and using formulas and patterns (All): Being aware of and/or using
routine formulas (unanalysed expressions), and patterns, such as "Hello, how re you?"
(which have at least one slot to be filled), such as "What does____mean.

● Practicing naturalistically (AU): Practicing the new language in natural, alistic

settings. Eg-: reading a book, participating in a conversation, watching a movie, having a
pen-pal, etc.

● Transferring (All): Directly applying knowledge of words, concepts or structures from

one language to another in order to understand or produce an expression in the new
language.

Compensation strategies:

● Using other clues (L, R): Seeking and using other clues that are not language-based.
E.g.: Knowledge of context, situation, text structure, personal relationships, top;c, forms
of address (titles or nicknames), close observation of non-verbal behaviour, or general
world knowledge.

Indirect Strategies

Metacognitive strategies: (Oxford, 1990).

● Setting goals and objectives (All): Setting aims for language learning, including long-term
goals (such as being able to use the language for informal conversations by the end of the
year) or short-term objectives (such as finishing reading a story by Friday).

● Seeking practice opportunities (All): Seeking out or creating opportunities to practice

the new language in naturalistic situations, E.g.: Watching a movie, attending a party
where the language will be spoken, joining an international social club, listening to
music, having a pen-pal, etc.

● Self-monitoring (All): Identifying errors in understanding or producing the new

language, determining which ones are important (those that cause serious confusion or
offence), tracking the source of important errors. E.g.: Writing down the S' most

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 significant difficulties and trying to eliminate them, tracking down the cause of the
problem (over generalisation or inference from the L1).

Social strategy: (Oxford, 1990).

● Cooperating with peers (All): Working with other language learners to improve
language skills. This strategy can involve a regular learning partner or a temporary pair
or a small group. This strategy frequently involves controlling impulses toward
competitiveness and rivalry.

Pragmatic purposes:

● What?

Speaking: students will be able to develop orally using information brought from real

contexts, putting it to use with their peers.

Writing: students will be able to identify the main aspects of a résumé building their own

ones.

● How?

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT): Interaction is fundamental talking about

daily and useful skills, that is why the CLT is essential.

Authentic materials: Using this content to teach the English language can make the

learning process even more engaging, imaginative and motivating for students.

First Lesson

Pre-writing (In the classroom)

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Students choose advertisements from their local paper for three different positions they would

like to have. Write a cover letter for each of these positions. They have to find a friend or

classmate to critique their letters for clarity, conciseness, and positive wording. Asking them how

each letter can be improved.

Pre-speaking

Watching videos about job interviews to get used to specific language

While- writing and speaking

Working in pairs, students simulate a job interview (they are going to have a sample of questions

usually used in interviews) playing roles through the intervention; each one of them have to play

the role of the interviewer and the applicant.

Post-Speaking: (in the classroom)

Working in groups to think about the importance of developing a good job interview, answering

the following question orally: Why is it important to have basic knowledge about job interviews?

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 It does 👍
It can be better ☞
My worksheet…

offers a variety of oral communication tasks.

has an attractive design..

has useful content.

considers my needs, preferences and learning styles..

promotes the application of learning strategies that help me do or

solve the tasks..

sequences the learning activities gradually so that I can learn in a

relaxed way.

provides opportunities to learn from both my classmates and

teacher’s observations. .

Learning in a job interview

Helps me use vocabulary related to actions people can do in a job

interview

Allows me to express short ideas about the importance in a job

interview and

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 Demonstrate that i want and can develop the functions of the
vacancy to which I applied to get the job

helps me to identify the main characteristics of a résumé.

To develop my oral communication… I do I can improve

I accomplish the correct communication functions to present

myself for a job interview

I use the correct language to make a good impression on the

interviewer both professionally and personally.

Communicative language approach It does It can be better

The worksheet focuses on communication rather than structure.

Students have the opportunity to share information that the others

do not know.

The work done allows me to bring my knowledge to real life

contexts

References

● Coskun, A. (2011). Investigation of the Application of Communicative Language

Teaching in the English Language Classroom--A Case Study on Teachers' Attitudes in
Turkey. Online submission, 2(1).

● Núñez, A. (2011). Materials development in-class workshop for the MEED students at
the Universidad Externado de Colombia.

● Richards, J. Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.

Cambridge University.

● Richards, J. C. (2006). Communicative Language Teaching Today.

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 ● Tomlinson, B. (1988). Second language acquisition principles.

● Yang, A. and Cheung, C. (2003). Adapting textbook activities for communicative

Teaching and cooperative learning. Forum. 41, 3, 16-20.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A JOB INTERVIEW

As companies around the world

have a more global
mindset, English is
becoming more important
than ever. English language
proficiency is an important
skill to include in any
resume. Many adult ESL
students need to practice or
learn English to keep their
current jobs or to apply for
new ones.
https://www.estrategiaynegocios.net/empresasymanagement/1176205-330/10-consejos-para-presentar-una-entrevista-de-trabajo

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