Teaching English for science, tourism, IT, Maths

[Guest]

hello my name is Edwin. I am an Engl¡sh as a foreign language teacher in Ecuador and I want my 12th grade students that are focusing on the following careers to have better comunication. Their career goals are science (doctors or lab chemists), tourism (hotel management and travel agency), math (physics and architecture), computer science.

My question is how do I focus on what to teach them since their first language is spanish and I am an english teacher and I have limited knowledge on their career goals. All I hope for them is to be able to comunicate with foreigners using English as their tool I hope you understand my question.

[alex]

Hello Edwin,

You could try to set this up as project work. Group all the tourism students together, doctors together etc.

In their groups, they prepare a presentation for the rest of the class. If their English isn't good enough for a presentation, they could make a poster.

They can use the internet to look for information, interview people they know outside school, they can use newspapers, contact hospitals and tourism sites, etc etc.

YOu'll find them very inventive when it comes down to it.

Your role will then be to help them when they need it and to teach the vocabulary they need.

I know this can work because I've tried it with some of my classes.

Good luck and I'd like to hear how it goes.

Alex

[Trang]

Can you find some texts on internet and use them as reading comprehension? You can invent your own questions. You can also use these texts to teach vocabulary.

A few days later you can give the texts out again with certain words blanked out. This is a test for the students - they have to fill in the blanks.

good luck

Trang

[Alex Case]

Getting them to do job interviews for their prospective jobs is also a good idea. The tourism students brainstorm and write down all the possible questions they could be asked when applying to work in a hotel, then pair up with someone from another group to be asked their questions.

[engscot]

I come from a travel and tourism back ground and now teach EFL.

In regards to travel agency and tourism I would recommend a class like this:-

*Prep- get class to bring in as many brochures/photo's/postcards as possible
*A short video dialogue of people discussing their holiday


-Where people like to travel- interview's
- Brainstorm for commonalities in travel
- Create interviews from the brainstorm
- Elicit questions- Where is your dream holiday destination? Why? Who would you like to go there with? Do you like to go away with your family? Why,/ why not? Where have you been lately? Tell me about it.... what is special about that place?

Let your class (in groups) make a poster based on a certain destination and present it.

OR

Do travel agent/customer scenario
(keep in mind that the job of a tour or travel agent is to get as much information as possible from their client so they can match the best holiday to their needs)

Q&A

Hope this helps

[Alex Case]

May also offer my own Travel English and Technical English worksheets as possibly useful:

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/worksheets ... d-tourism/

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/worksheets ... l-english/