Abstract
Increasingly, professionally-oriented tertiary institutions are concerned with equipping their students with the English language skills needed in today’s global professional world. The recently extended 2018 Common European Framework (CEFR) provides useful guidance to help institutions develop curricula to achieve this goal. This paper describes an advanced English for Economics course, whose aim is to facilitate economics students’ traversal from student to professional, in terms of English can-dos (mostly B2–C1), as described in the 2018 CEFR Companion Volume. The pedagogy informing the course is three-pronged, drawing on English for Specific Purposes, twenty-first century skills, and the CEFR. We show how analysing such a course through the CEFR can help devise an anticipated learning trajectory for economics students about to enter the professional world. Our analysis highlights the fact that even though the newly extended CEFR does mention plurilingualism in the mediation can-dos, it does so only in terms of individual production. In the twenty-first century language classroom, where plurilingualism is part and parcel of understanding and carrying out the required tasks, much work is carried out in groups, with technology playing a key role in language mediation. We find that group and technology-assisted mediation activities are substantially different to the individually-oriented mediation activities described in the extended framework. Therefore, we suggest fine tuning, and perhaps adding, mediation can-dos to reflect the realities of tertiary pedagogical settings preparing learners for twenty-first century professional environments.
About the authors
Dr Daniel Portman is based at the Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem, where he teaches and researches EAP and ESP. He also coordinates English for Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. His research interests include tertiary students’ transitioning from student to professional and the ESP needs of professionals.
Monica Broido is Head of Writing Programs at Tel Aviv University and is co-chair of the Israeli Forum for Academic Writing. She teaches writing and scientific communication to PhD students in various faculties. Her research interests include the development of professional communication competencies in academia and industry, as well as writing pedagogy at the tertiary level.
Appendix A: Can-dos covered in Section 3.1
Mediation: Streamlining text (B1)
Can identify and mark (e.g. underline, highlight etc.) the essential information in a straightforward, informational text, in order to pass this information on to someone else (COE 2018: 129).
Mediating concepts: Facilitating collaborative interaction with peers (B1)
Can collaborate on a shared task, for example formulating and responding to suggestions, asking whether people agree, and proposing alternative approaches (COE 2018: 209).
Collaborating in a group: Facilitating collaborative interaction with peers (B1)
Can define the task in basic terms in a discussion and ask others to contribute their expertise and experience (COE 2018: 119).
Interaction Strategies: Asking for clarification (B1)
Can ask someone to clarify or elaborate what he or she has just said (COE 2018: 102).
Interaction Strategies: Asking for clarification (B1)
Can ask for further details and clarifications from other group members in order to move a discussion forward (COE 2018: 102).
Mediating Concepts: Collaborating to construct meaning (B1)
Can repeat back part of what someone has said to confirm mutual understanding and help keep the development of ideas on course (COE 2018: 212).
Mediating Concepts: Collaborating to construct meaning (A2)
Can make suggestions in a simple way in order to move the discussion forward (COE 2018: 212).
Collaborating in a Group: Facilitating collaborative interaction with peers (B2)
Can act as rapporteur in a group discussion, noting ideas and decisions, discussing these with the group and later giving a summary of the group’s view(s) in a plenary (COE 2018: 119).
Appendix B: Can-dos covered in Section 3.2
Reception: Reading for orientation (B1)
Can quickly identify the content and relevance of news items, articles and reports on a wide range of professional topics, deciding whether closer study is worthwhile (COE 2018: 62).
Reception: Reading for information and argument (B2)
Can obtain information, ideas and opinions from highly specialised articles outside his/her field, provided he/she can use a dictionary to confirm his/her interpretation of terminology (COE 2018: 63).
Production: Addressing audiences (B1)
Can give a prepared straightforward presentation on a familiar topic within his/her field which is clear enough to be followed without difficulty most of the time, and in which the main points are explained with reasonable precision (COE 2018: 74).
Production: Addressing audiences (B2)
Can give a clear, prepared presentation, giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view and giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options (COE 2018: 74).
Mediation: Relaying specific information in speech (B2)
Can pass on detailed information reliably (COE 2018: 90).
Appendix C: Can-dos covered in Section 3.3
Mediation strategies: Streamlining text (B1)
Can identify and mark (e.g. underline, highlight etc.) the essential information in a straightforward, informational text, in order to pass this information to someone else (Council of Europe (COE) 2018: 129).
Mediating a Text: Processing text in writing (B2)
Can summarise in writing (in English) the main content of complex spoken and written texts (in English) on subjects related to his/her fields of interest and specialisation (COE 2018: 200).
Mediation: Relaying specific information in writing (B2)
Can relay in writing (in English) the relevant point(s) contained in propositionally complex but well-structured written texts (written in English) within his/her fields of professional, academic and personal interest (COE 2018: 108).
Mediation: Explaining data in writing (B1)
Can interpret and present in writing (in English) the overall trends shown in simple diagrams (e.g. graphs, bar charts) (with text in English), explaining the important points in more detail, given the help of a dictionary or other reference materials (COE 2018: 110).
Production: Reports and essays (B2)
Can write an essay or report which develops an argument systematically with appropriate highlighting of significant points and relevant supporting detail (COE 2017: 76).
Appendix D: Can-dos covered in Section 3.4
Reception: Reading for orientation (B2)
Can scan quickly through long and complex texts, locating relevant details (COE 2018: 62).
Reception: Reading for information/argument (B2)
Can obtain information, ideas and opinions from highly specialised sources within his/her field (COE 2018: 63).
Reading: Reading for orientation (B2)
Can scan quickly through several sources (articles, reports, websites, books etc.) in parallel, in both his/her own field and in related fields, and can identify the relevance and usefulness of particular sections for the task at hand (COE 2018: 62).
Mediation: Processing text in writing (B2)
Can summarise in writing (in English) the main content of well-structured but propositionally complex spoken and written texts (in English) on subjects within his/her fields of professional, academic and personal interest (COE 2018: 112).
Mediation: Relaying specific information in writing (B2)
Can relay in writing (in English) the relevant point(s) contained in propositionally complex but well-structured written texts (written in English) within his/her fields of professional, academic and personal interest (COE 2018: 108).
Mediation: Explaining data in writing (graphs, diagrams etc.) (C1)
Can interpret and present clearly and reliably in writing (in English) the salient, relevant points contained in complex diagrams and other visually organised data (with text in English) on complex academic or professional topics (COE 2018: 196).
Production: Written reports and essays (B1)
Can write an essay or report which develops an argument, giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of various options (COE 2018: 77).
Production: Written reports and essays (B1)
Can synthesise information and arguments from a number of sources (COE 2018: 77).
Mediation: Relaying specific information in speech (C1)
Can explain (in English) the relevance of specific information found in a particular section of a long, complex text (written in English) (COE 2017: 103).
Production: Addressing audiences (B2)
Can give a clear, prepared presentation, giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view and giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options (COE 2018: 74).
Production: Addressing audiences (B2)
Can take a series of follow up questions with a degree of fluency and spontaneity which poses no strain for either him/herself or the audience (COE 2018: 74).
Appendix E: Can-dos covered in Section 4
Building on Plurilingual Repertoire (B1)
Can make use of English and Hebrew during collaborative interaction, in order to clarify the nature of a task, the main steps, the decisions to be taken, the outcomes expected (COE 2018: 162).
Exploiting Plurilingual Repertoire (B2)
Can support comprehension and discussion of a text spoken or written in English by explaining, summarising, clarifying and expanding it in Hebrew (COE 2018: 162).
Building on Plurilingual Repertoire (B1)
Can alternate between English and Hebrew in order to communicate specialised information and issues on a subject in his field of interest to different interlocutors (COE 2018: 162).
Building on Plurilingual Repertoire (B2)
Can introduce into an utterance an expression from English or Hebrew that is particularly apt for the situation/concept being discussed, explaining it to the interlocutor when necessary (COE 2018: 162).
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