Professional English: Digital Skills for the Workplace
In this course, students will develop the skills they need to compete in the digital age, including the use of tools like LinkedIn, email, and Slack to communicate effectively and strategies to express themselves clearly during virtual meetings and interviews. Students will practice professional writing in the context of polite requests, constructive criticism, and persuasive recommendations among other real-world scenarios. Afterwards, students will learn how to prepare effective responses to interviews, as well as LinkedIn profiles that will help them compete in the U.S. job market. The class will also help students develop their understanding of business idioms, polish the tone of their writing, and gain practical experience incorporating appropriate grammar into everyday, work-related writing and e-mail correspondence. Finally, students will practice incorporating prosody and other elements of clear pronunciation into their interviews in order to increase their confidence and clarity.
Learning Objectives:
- Write clear, concise, and grammatically correct emails, Slack messages, and other modes of professional communication
- Confirm spoken agreements and plans in writing
- Appropriately make and respond to written requests
- Give polite feedback and constructive criticism in writing
- Find and analyze current online job listings
- Create a profile in LinkedIn to support their job search
- Identify and relate stories that support a candidate’s job skills
- Highlight personal achievements and skills in a job interview setting
- Incorporate professional idioms in writing and improvised conversation
- Gain in-depth familiarity with English prosody in job interviews: intonation, rhythm, stress patterns, focus words, connected speech, and thought groups.
