Innovation in Language Learning

An EPP (English for the Workplace) course was designed catering to the needs of university undergraduate students who would soon be entering the competitive world of the globalized workplace.  Based upon a constructivist framework and building on the principles of collaborative learning, ZPD and scaffolding, it aimed at introducing, developing and honing a set of transferable language-related skills, pivotal from the stage of job searching to applying for one, to entering and practicing in the workplace, through the use of authentic material.  A task-based, skills-based methodology encouraged a hands-on approach where learners worked autonomously and employed collaboration, in order to become familiar with and refine the real-life tasks and skills introduced in this course.  

The presentation is split in 2 parts:  part 1 which is more practical, focuses on curriculum development and discusses the various stages followed in designing the course (e.g. needs analysis, setting learning objectives and outcomes, aligning with the CEFR, collecting and analyzing data etc.); part 2 then addresses a number of challenges faced during the designing stage (e.g. time constraints, material authenticity and relevance), any substantial revisions made after the course was taught for the first time based on student evaluations, and overall reflections on curriculum development with particular emphasis on constructivist-based curricula and the challenges such curricula may entail for course designers and language teachers.