Building Workplace Vocabulary

Purpose: To practice talking about jobs.

Preparation: None.

Procedure:

1. Have students generate a list of jobs.
2. Choose two to three job titles and have students suggest typical activities for this type of employment.
3. Have students get in groups and pick one job and tell a story about a person, real or fictional. Example: Jenny is an assembly worker. Every day she puts things together. She must work very fast. She does the same job again and again. Sometimes her job is boring.
4. Have students illustrate the actions or difficult vocabulary words in the story by drawing stick pictures, cutting pictures out of magazines or taking photos of people on the job.

Extensions:

• Create a simple dialogue where one person asks basic questions about another person’s new job. Then have students practice the dialogue, pretending to be a nurse, or assembly worker or an accountant.

• Practice word processing skills by typing up a story, printing it in large font and making a poster picture story with it.

• Use a workforce website, such as CAREERwise, to find information about average salaries, benefits and educational requirements for each job.