Friday, November 29, 2013

A helpful link for ESP teachers

It goes without saying that, if you're teaching ESP (English for Specific Purposes), you'll see the need to understand your students' profession, especially the job skills that involve oral and written communication. 

And that is where this wondrous website comes in: 



From what I gather, the Canadian government listed the essential skills for a myriad of careers. Granted, this resource won't be all you need to fully apprehend your students' needs and aims, but it seems to be a great springboard for a needs analysis.

For instance, if you are teaching hairdressers, you'll see there that their main focus regarding language should be oral communication, so they can talk to their clients. However, there's also a need for reading manuals and labels. And the website doesn't stop there. It'll even list you the subskills and some of the typical tasks! 


Sweet as maple syrup, right?

 

(Update: It seems I'm not the only ESP practitioner to like this resource! Take a look at this and other tips by Kristin Ekken.)


2 comments:

  1. Just came across this post today. Am I missing something or the link mentioned currently directs to a job search engine? If so, do you happen to know where can I find the old one? Seems to be exactly what I´m looking for!!!!. Tks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eduardo, thanks for the heads up. Unfortunately, it does seem that they have removed all that info from the website. They have kept an abbreviated version here, though: http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/es_all-eng.do

      Delete

Please put your two cents in!