KOTESOL International Conference 2016
(Concurrent Session)
Shaun Manning, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, College of English & Graduate School of TESOL
English at Work in Korea
Abstract
As teachers we try to equip our students for the world of work after graduation (even if graduation is far off in the future). But how well are we really equipping our students for the working world? This observational study investigated the use of English in a Korean small-to-medium enterprise (SME) that imports, manufactures, and exports products. It investigated the tasks that required English, how the staff coped with English, and the outcomes of their English use. It was found that despite ten years' of public education and four years of university education, nearly all of the staff had difficulty communicating effectively with overseas suppliers and customers. Of particular difficulty were sales presentations, contract negotiations, and non-standard email communications which needed immediate action.
Biographicals
Shaun Manning holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Victoria University of Wellington, NZ. He also holds an MA in TESL (University of Birmingham) and an MS in Psychology (University of Toronto) with an emphasis on memory and learning. He joined Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in 2001 where he teaches College of English undergraduate conversation and writing classes, along with Graduate School of TESOL classes in research design, course design, methodology (teaching writing, teaching speaking and listening, teaching vocabulary), and assessment. He also supervises graduate students' MA thesis research in the HUFS Graduate School of TESOL. His research interests are: instructed SLA, the role of interaction in learning, task-based learning, task design and implementation, and task-based assessment.
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