Language for Work is a project funded by Alberta Human Services that involved the creation and pilot of a blended learning course focusing on language and intercultural skills for the workplace. The end results of this project are course guides and accompanying online materials for eight week, part- time, blended courses for learners at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) levels five through seven. The aim of Language for Work is to help learners develop language skills and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) which will assist them in communicating effectively in the Canadian workplace setting. The first unit of each module brings culture and intercultural competence to the forefront. Language functions are then integrated with cultural understandings throughout rest of the module. The three main areas of focus include: • clarifying and confirming information in the workplace • understanding politeness strategies in the workplace • negotiating conflict in the workplace Activities in this blended learning course are set up in such a way that learners complete 30% of the course online and 70% in a face to face setting. Online and face to face activities are interrelated and support each other, providing opportunities for reflection and practice.

Resource Details

Alberta Initiatives Gallery:	Yes
Areas of Focus:	Teaching
Instructional Level:	CLB Stage II (5-8)
Language Focus:	Culture/Intercultural Communication Listening Pronunciation Speaking Workplace Skills
Programs:	General ESL Workplace English
Format:	Websites/Links
Produced by:	Bow Valley College
Funded by:	Alberta Human Services
Author:	Bow Valley College
Keywords:	culture; workplace language skills, listening, speaking, ICC, blended learning
Availability:	Available through Bow Valley College
Contact:	Diane Hardy
Contact Email:	dhardy@bowvalleycollege.com
Added:	Nov. 10, 2012, 3:26 p.m.
Updated:	Nov. 12, 2012, 4:15 p.m.