Communicative Workplace English is a twelve week, 72 hour course that assists immigrants in Grande Prairie in learning about key Canadian cultural workplace norms and expectations, Canadian currency, professional English expressions, speech act structures, emails and telephoning, worker's rights, payment and taxation, Alberta holidays and vacation pay, workplace safety with an introduction to WHMIS, soft skills, job search and application skills, professional resume building, cover letting writing, obtaining references, volunteering, preparing for a job interview, and delivering resumes.

Outside of class hours, students complete approximately 3 hours per week of homework assignments, ranging from practicing business idioms to doing a telephone based research project, writing journal entries regarding personal goals and action plans, developing job application tools like resumes, doing numeracy and document use exercises and so on.

These assignments are collected into a portfolio that not only serves as a means of student evaluation but also leaves the student with all of their job application tools and documents safely stored in one place, so they are at hand when they begin the application and interview processes.

Out of class work is intended to assist students in developing time management skills, organization, responsibility, initiative, and keeping deadlines, as would be expected at any place of employment.

In class work is intended to orient the student towards what is typical and expected in a Canadian place of employment and to develop language fluency, accuracy, and speaking confidence.

This initiative seeks to serve new immigrants and immigrants in Grande Prairie who are either unemployed or underemployed and are seeking to enhance their skills to either obtain their first job in Alberta, particularly in the food and beverage/customer service sector, or to advance to a higher position at their current place of employment.

https://www.gpcll.com/communicative-workplace-english-materials/

Resource Details

Alberta Initiatives Gallery:	No
Areas of Focus:	Teaching
Language Focus:	Culture/Intercultural Communication Listening Pronunciation Speaking Vocabulary Workplace Skills
Programs:	Workplace English
Format:	Websites/Links
Produced by:	Grande Prairie Council for Lifelong Learning
Funded by:	Ministry of Labour and Immigration, Government of Alberta
Author:	Laura Caseley
Publication year:	2020
Keywords:	Employment Skills, Workplace Communication, Service Industry, English language
Availability:	https://www.gpcll.com/communicative-workplace-english-materials/
Contact Email:	lifelongadmin@gppsd.ab.ca
Added:	April 29, 2020, 9:48 a.m.
Updated:	April 29, 2020, 9:48 a.m.