The Minimal Pair: Episode 012

Show Notes: The Minimal Pair

Title: “Where can I get a Brazilian

wax?”

Episode no: 012

Date: Recorded on 6/25/14

in Language Learning

for Specific Purposes

Sources:

http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/elp-esp

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Gatehouse-ESP.html

http://www.usingenglish.com/articles/teaching-english-for-specific-purposes-esp.html

What

is it? How is it different from ESL? (from UsingEnglish.com)

Types

of learners

Types

of instruction

Learner

motivation

What

are “specific purposes”?

Business

Law

Architecture

Engineering

Medicine

Tourism

Restaurant

industry

Instructor

responsibilities (from UsingEnglish.com) and challenges

Setting

goals

Learning

environment

Evaluating

students

Who

is qualified to teach it?

Is

a TESL certification enough?

Do

instructors with content specific backgrounds (like an MBA or

J.D.) have an advantage?

[19:10]

situations

Online

presence

Email

Social

media

Students

who are new

to the country and dealing with lots of “real-world” issues

Finding

housing

Setting

up utilities

Figuring

out public transportation; getting cars and driver’s licenses

Getting

acquainted with a new city: what to do, where to go for fun, etc.

Overlooked

things: where to get a haircut, how American pharmacies work, etc.

Remaining

approachable; validating their challenges

Having

authentic situations in ESP classes

Product

pitch

Writing

emails

Good

news vs. bad news

Requests

& reminders

Job

interviews

“Water-cooler”

conversation skills

Book

recommendation: Americans

at Work: A Guide to the Can-Do People

(by Craig Storti)

[36:15]

speaking…

vs. low-context cultures

Sources:

http://www.marin.edu/buscom/index_files/Page605.htm

Worldwide

ERC

What’s

the difference?

High-context

– indirect (Asia, Middle East, Africa, South America)

Less

likely to share thoughts and feelings

Stress

expressed non-verbally or accidentally

Conversation

is monotone (lack of inflection and enthusiasm)

Communication

is indirect (evasive, talking around

the point, tactful, ambiguous)

Conflict

(harmony valued)

Low-context

– direct (North America, most of Western Europe)

More

open with thoughts and feelings

Don’t

hide stress/tension

Conversation

is enthusiastic

Communication

is direct (precise, blunt, to the point)

Conflict

is a means of expressing (and having pride for) personal opinion

Tips

for teachers

Make

students aware of the difference (validate both)

Be

specific with directions for assignments (putting it on paper helps

indirect communicators)

Modeling

being direct (i.e. through teacher feedback)

Prefacing

authentic situations with a discussion about being direct vs.

indirect

Encouraging

classroom participation (challenging for indirect communicators)

Students

who want to tell the teacher how to teach