1. Courses
Our institution
provides three Workplace English courses: 1) Workplace English Oral;
2) Workplace English Usage; and 3) Workplace English Writing for our Certificate and Diploma Programmes. All courses are conducted in a
variety of communicative ways to foster students' learning, such as the use of
discussions, role-plays, and grammar games with the support of authentic
materials (e.g., newspaper articles from local newspapers), audio (e.g. a
recorded interview with a Hong Kong star) and video (a documentary of SARS,
movies) input. The courses all aim to help students meet the benchmark
requirements of various job types (clerks, front service personnel,
receptionists/telephone operators, secretaries and executives/associate
professionals/administrators) specified by the
Government’s Workplace English
Campaign. Upon
successful completion of the course, students will be:
- eligible
for the Workplace English funding scheme to support their studying
fees;
- able
to gain recognition of their English standards for employment opportunities;
-
able to build up their confidence in learning and using English
effectively for workplace English purposes.
1.1 Workplace English Oral
The Workplace English
Oral Course aims to: 1) increase students' confidence in speaking English in a
variety of social and Workplace situations; and 2) prepare students for
the workplace English benchmark examination, which is the Pitman Spoken IESOL
(International English Speakers of other Languages) examination.The
syllabus focuses on language skills for daily interactions
(e.g., introducing oneself/giving advice), and specific purposes (e.g.,
booking hotel rooms).
Workplace English Oral
has two levels: Workplace English Oral 1, which is offered at certificate
level and focuses on necessary speaking skills to enhance communication and
to survive in the world (e.g., giving directions
and giving personal information). Workplace
English Oral 2 is offered at diploma level and puts emphasis in more
demanding situations (e.g., talking about environmental pollution) in which
students are required to speak English and show their awareness of what's
happening in their society.
1.2 Workplace English Usage
The Workplace English
Usage Course aims to facilitate students' understanding of grammar and usage so
that their proofreading, and editing and writing abilities can be further
strengthened. Students in the course learn the usage of different parts of
speech through a variety of exercises and grammar games. Students who work in
the business world are required to write a variety of business genres (e.g.,
letters, memos). It is important for students to maintain a high standard
of written English in terms of accuracy so that readers will be able to read
comfortably and effectively.
1.3 Workplace English Writing
The Workplace English
Writing Course aims to train students to write a variety of business genres
(e.g., memos, letters, press releases) so that they can fulfill the
administrative and writing needs in the business sector. The course "Workplace
English Writing 1" prepares students for the first Level
examinations of Pitman English for Business Communications (see 2.2) and LCCI English for Business (see 2.3). Students are
required to write genres focusing on letter and memo formats. In the
examination, students have to complete or extract explicit information from
business documents and write simple, concise messages providing and/or
requesting routine information in response to the situations.
The course "Workplace
English Writing 2" trains students to write the basic genres required
in level 1 and also higher level genres for level 2 (e.g., press releases,
short informational reports, circulars) required in level 2 (see 2.2). The
instructions may be textual or non textual.
2. Specific
Business English Examinations
Our institution
specializes in Pitman Qualifications examinations (http://www.cityandguilds.com.hk/pq/index.html),
which are recognized by the Workplace English Campaign as one of the
international Business English examinations to meet the Workplace
English benchmark requirements.
2.1 Pitman Speaking
Examination
1) International
English for Speakers of other Languages (IESOL)
The table below shows
the 5 levels ranging from preliminary (lower secondary) to Advanced (University
level) that candidates can take when they attempt the Pitman IESOL Examination.
The communicative functions that students should be able to do are highlighted
in the brackets for each level.
|
LEVELS |
|
Preliminary (be familiar with daily expressions, can introduce
him/herself and ask and answer questions about personal details, can interact
in a simple way) |
|
Access (can use frequently-used expressions related to
social roles in different situations, can engage in conversation to establish
shared understanding about familiar topics) |
|
Achiever (can convey information, feelings and opinions on familiar
topics, using appropriate formality, can engage in discussion in a familiar
situation, can give explanations for opinions and plans) |
|
Communicator (can interact in complex situations on more
technical and specific topics, can respond to unfamiliar situations and
interact appropriately in a variety of topics) |
|
Expert (can interpret demanding texts in written and oral
form, can use language flexibly, fluently and naturally in an organized
manner on a variety of texts for social, academic and professional purposes,
can give opinions extensively) |
|
Mastery (can summarize texts from all sources, can
reconstruct arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation, can interact
in complex situations with ease) |
2.2 Pitman Writing
Examination
2) English for
Business Communications (EBC) tests students’ ability to interpret written
instructions, non textual sources, charts and figures and respond by writing a
variety of business genres (e.g. letter, memo, press release) for internal and
external business communication purposes..
|
LEVELS |
|
Level 1 (Writing
simple letters & memoranda and drafting facsimile communications and
completing standard letter forms) |
|
Level 2 (Writing
concise letters & memoranda, drafting facsimile communications, preparing
circular letters & amilshots, press releases
& articles, and drafting short information reports) |
|
Level 3 (Writing
concise letters & memoranda, drafting facsimile communications, notices
& invitations, speeches, agenda & the minutes of meetings,
advertisements & mailshots, press releases
& articles, and drafting short analytical reports) |
2.3 LCCI (
LCCI (London Chamber
of Commerce and Industry) English for Business examination focuses on the
skills to write a variety of business genres and tasks for recruitment purposes
and for satisfying university language requirements:
|
LEVELS |
|
Level 1 (writing letters & memoranda, doing
tasks with short answers, true/false, and completing forms) |
|
Level 2 (Writing letters, memoranda, leaflets, articles,
reports & notices and preparing lists) |
|
Level 3 (writing letters
& reports and doing reading
comprehension) |
2.4 Procedure
In our institution,
students will take the Pitman Qualifications Spoken (IESOL) and English for Business
Communication (EBC) examinations and/or the LCCI English for
Business examination at the beginning of July every year after they
have completed their Workplace English courses.
2.5 Recognition
Passing the specific Pitman qualifications examinations, students will acquire the minimum requirements of the job types specified by Hong Kong Workplace English Campaign.
|
Job
Title |
Pitman
EBC |
Pitman
ISESOL |
|
clerks |
Level
2 |
|
|
frontline
service personnel |
Level
1 |
|
|
receptionists/telephone
operators |
Level
1 |
|
|
secretaries |
Level
2 |
|
|
executives/associate |
Level
2 |
|
|
low
proficiency job types |
|
|
(Source: Hong Kong
Workplace English Campaign: http://www.english.gov.hk)
2.6 Claiming
Continuing Education Fund
The funding scheme of the Workplace English Campaign, supported by The Standing
Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), subsidizes 80% of
students' English training costs and examination fees for students subject to a
maximum of $10,000 per person.
Students who wish to apply for CE Fund (http://www.sfaa.gov.hk/cef/) for Workplace English training
will have to submit the completed and certified OCEF’s
application form, together with a photocopy of their HKID card to the Office of
the Continuing Education Fund before the commencement date of our course.
To earmark the fund,
Students should
1.
achieve 80% attendance of all workplace English courses in our
institution
2.
pass the
school’s Workplace English internal examinations
3.
pass one of the specified Workplace English
benchmark examinations. Students can opt to take:
a) speaking
(Pitman IESOL) examinations or
b) writing
(Pitman English for Business
Communications / LCCI English for Business) examinations.
For speaking, students
will need to take the Access (certificate level) or Achiever (diploma
level) for the Pitman IESOL examination. For writing, students
will take level 1 (certificate level) or level 2 (diploma
level) for the Pitman English for Business Communications Examination
and/or the LCCI English for Business Examination.
4.
must be 18 years old or over.
Attachments
Students who wish
to claim reimbursement of the Fund for Workplace English Training will need to submit the
following documents:
Originals of-
- a. Declaration Letter for Application for Reimbursement of Fund; and
- b. Receipt(s) of tuition fee and examination fee(s)
Photocopies of -
c. a photocopied version of your application form;
d. Documentary proof
of successful completion of the course (e.g. certificate of award,
certificate of attendance etc.) and
e. Result slip(s) or certificate(s) of the examination(s) showing individual students’ attainment(s) of the relevant Hong Kong Workplace English spoken/written Benchmark(s)
References
English for Business Communications Marking Guide. (n.d.). Pitman Examinations
Spoken English for Speakers of Other Languages Guide. (n.d.). Pitman Qualifications
Workplace
English Campaign.
(2000-2005). Retrieved
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/usersurveys/survey1997-10/
Pitman
Qualifications