Workplace Behaviors and Cultural Differences in the Workplace

Abstract:   This lesson plan is for a segment of a session spent with a workplace literacy student. See full curriculum at: http://adultresource.coabe.org/resources/workplace-literacy-curriculum This is a sample lesson plan of activities to help ESOL students prepare for entry-level jobs in our community. Pick and choose activities suitable to your student's goals and skills. These activities are designed to be adaptable to varying levels and easily modifiable to fit your unique student's skills. Start off each meeting by talking with your student, informally determining how much of the previous meeting they recall and what they want out of that day's meeting. This is also a chance to practice and assess your student's greetings and small talk skills, critical components of getting along with coworkers. This informal chit-chat- could take anywhere from 5-10 minutes of a one hour meeting. Each meeting might include two to four topics and should incorporate a variety of activities to develop the student's reading, speaking, and listening skills in English. Be aware that some activities may be tiring because of the amount of language included. It is okay to cover a topic repeatedly for shorter periods of time, ensuring long-term comprehension. Unfortunately some activities are straight memorization and cannot be made as engaging as other topics. Be aware of your student's engagement level and fatigue. If you are having success with an activity, do not feel like you need to stop after a given amount of time. An engaged and happy student will be a better learner! Basic Materials that may be useful in addition to materials for activities: whiteboard with markers, notebook to take notes during your lesson and to store lesson plans for planning future sessions, index cards (covered in contact paper to preserve them for regular use), baggies, sharpies