Phase 6 - Need based language teaching

Objectives:

• To distinguish between EAP and ESP

• To demonstrate an understanding of the role of an ESP teacher
• To recognize the key factors in curriculum design for ESP
• To identify the features of Business English
• To develop communicative skills for the purpose of business transactions
• To conduct ‘need analysis’
• To design need-based courses based on SMART objectives
• To evaluate course design
• To implement course using defined methods
• To use appropriate assessment tools to evaluate students of Business English

The Current Phase:

The fact that English is a global language is undeniable; therefore, the need for learning

English has also grown considerably. This has resulted in changing the way English is

taught. The need of the learner is not the same everywhere therefore the curriculum for

teaching English also has to be learner specific. This phase deals with learning English

for academic purpose, specific job or business purpose.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) entails training students usually in higher

education setting to use language appropriately for study. It therefore is a challenging

and multi-faceted area within the wider field of English language. In addition, EAP

practitioners often find that, either directly or indirectly, they are teaching

organizational & study skills and often tackling differences in educational culture. This

trend has become more prominent with the number of Asian students attending USA or

UK universities over the last decade. It is not only a teaching approach but also a branch

of applied linguistics consisting of a significant body of research into effective teaching

1
and assessment approaches, methods of analysis of the academic language needs of

students, analysis of the linguistic and of the textual practices of academics.

Objectives of EAP

• To teach the four skills (listening, reading speaking writing)

• To develop study skills

• To raise students’ English levels

• To teach grammar extensively

• To help in the enrichment of vocabulary

• To teach pronunciation

The difference between EAP and General English

• EAP is an educational approach and a set of beliefs about TESOL that is unlikely

to be taken in general English courses and textbooks. It begins with the learner

and the situation whereas General English begins with the language.

• Many EAP programs place more focus on reading and writing while general

English courses place more focus on speaking and listening.

• EAP tends to teach formal, academic genres while general English courses tend

to teach learners conversational and social genres of the language.

• Need analysis is fundamental to an EAP approach to course design and

teaching. If a general approach to EAP is taken the course usually consists

primarily of study skills practice with an academic register and style in the

practice texts and materials. But a need analysis indicates that the study situation

2
 is more specific, many of the study skills areas are still taught but with particular

attention to the language used in the specific disciplinary context identified in

the need analysis. The language used usually involves:

• Lexical and grammatical features;

• Discourses: the effect of communicative context; the relationship between the

text/discourse and its speakers/readers/writers/listeners.

• Genre: how language is used in a particular setting such as research papers,

dissertations and formal lectures.

Need analysis leads to the specification of objectives for a course or a set of courses and

to an assessment of the available resources and constraints to be borne in mind which in

turn leads to the syllabus and methodology. The syllabus is implemented through

teaching materials and is then evaluated for effectiveness.

The development of EAP has been rapid since the recognition of it as a legitimate aspect

of ELT. Nowadays, it is accepted that TESL /TEFL learners who are participating in

formal education through the medium of English should also be exposed to a

component of study skills preparation.

English for Specific Purpose (ESP)

Learning English for Specific purpose is actually designed to meet specific needs of

specific profile within a time frame. This involves orientation to specific spoken and

written English required to carry out specific academic and workplace tasks.

Background – With the end of the World War II, an age of unprecedented and

enormous expansion in scientific, technical and economic activity started on an

international scale and for various reasons the role of English became very important.

3
The Oil crisis of the early 1970’s resulted in flow of western money and knowledge of

English to oil rich countries. Because of this, English was required to be delivered as per

the needs, wishes and demands of the people.

By 1987 Hutchinson and Waters discouraged that the spoken and written English vary.

It was found that ESP had less to do with learning and more to do with psychology.

ESP consists of teaching English

• According to a specific need of the learner

• Related in content to particular disciplines, occupations and activities

• Focused on language appropriate to those activities

ESP may not be

• Restricted to language skills to be learned

• Taught according to a pre-determined methodology

ESP is always

• Defined to meet specific needs of the learner

• Taught using the methodology and activities of the discipline it serves

• Centered round the language, skills, discourse & genre appropriate for the

activities.

ESP may be

• Related to specific disciplines

• Using different methodology than that used for General English

4
 • Designed for Adult learners

• For Intermediate and Advanced level Students

• Suitable for those having some basic knowledge of language

system

ESP may be categorized as

• English as a restricted language; e.g., Air Traffic Controller or by waiters

• English for academic and occupational purposes:

• For Science and Technology

• For Business and Economic

• For Social Studies

Each may be subdivided for its academic or occupational purpose.

• English for specific topics – IT is uniquely concerned with anticipatory future

needs like the need for English to work in foreign institutions, attending

conferences and/or postgraduate studies.

ESP courses need to have 3 features –

• Authentic material

• Purpose related orientation

• Self-direction

5
ESP played a major role in Globalization. English is the de-facto language of

communication; it acts as lingua-franca with other people across the globe. ESP in

business English is of major interest to university students.

Key Factors in Curriculum Designing of ESP – Key issues in ESP curriculum design

for ESL contexts were examined. There are three abilities necessary for successful

communication in a professional target setting.

• The ability to use the particular jargon; characteristic of that specific

occupational context.

• The second is the ability to use a more generalized set of academic skills, such

as conducting research and responding to memoranda.

• The third is the ability to use the language of everyday informal talk to

communicate effectively, regardless of occupational context. Examples of this

include chatting over coffee with a colleague or responding to an informal email

message.

The task for the ESP developer is to ensure that all three of these abilities are integrated

into the curriculum. Yet, it is very difficult to strike a balance of these abilities with that

of a group of learners. In reality, a large part of this responsibility is that of the

instructors; it is the instructors who are in the best position to identify changing learner

needs and who are in the best position to ensure that all students receive a balanced diet

of language.

Conclusion

Thus ESP, i.e. English for Specific Purpose, caters to the various needs of different

people in this global world. English is used for both academic and occupational

6
purposes. It is the language to carry on meaningful communication for people attending

foreign institutions, or traveling abroad to attend conferences or to pursue higher

studies.

Business Communication

Introduction to Business English – features and components

The learner

Business English Teaching, as a course, aims at developing English communicative

skill for adults working in business of one kind or another, or preparing to step into

the field of business as millions of people all over the world, using English in their

daily activities.

Business is the act of buying and selling or more broadly, exchanging and exploiting

resources and capabilities. It uses the language of commerce, of finance, of industry

of providing goods and services. It is about:

• people coming together to accomplish things they could not do as individuals

• design, innovation, traditions and values about the exciting and mundane

• cooperation negotiation and conflict

• persuading and understanding power and control explaining and finding

solutions to problem

This business arena could include large multinationals, small private companies or

even government undertakings in product and service sectors. In short business

English is communication with other people within a specific context.

7
The purpose behind taking up business English varies from person to person. For

some, it is a necessary part of their job. For others it is an investment which brings

status and possibly financial reward. The needs are very specific for some whereas

the others want to improve their English. Some people may be near the end of their

working lives and others may just be starting a new job or career or project. This

might require developing generalized business skills (e.g. making presentations), or

something far more technical or academic if the student’s work is highly specialized

or if the students need to learn how to take notes and participate in meetings or

prepare for a training course conducted in English etc.

The length of the course and the venue of the training (in company / in language

school / other rented premises) might vary as well. Despite this wide variety, the

learners together can be grouped in generally accepted categories.

Business English thus comprises of:

• General everyday English

• General business English

• ESP

Business English is a mixture of general everyday English but much beyond strict

business world context. Advertising language uses a lot of metaphors and popular

business books have its vocabulary resources in literary compositions as well.

Business communities employ English to communicate in varied contexts like socialize,

predict, analyze, negotiate, buy, write, persuade, compromise, telephone, market, sell,

produce, interview, train, travel, plan, investigate, deal, advertise, explain and so on

with business aim. But the skill in using the language is inherent in certain techniques

8
to get the message across and not in mere words and language. So, business English is

used in conjunction with business communication skill.

The learners’ learning need would range from business English to country / region

specific English (British, US, International) to and ESP or a mixture of all these. The

objective is to do business and not just talk about business through successful usage of

the language across a wide variety of culture, business skills, context and participants.

Need Analysis

Setting up things for success – need analysis

Need Analysis is the effective pre-course work for in-company or in-house Business

English courses, which not only makes the beginning of courses smoother but also

helps to make courses successful overall. The teacher needs to negotiate his/her school’s

political structures carefully and make sure that communication channels remain open

and are enhanced by the teacher’s involvement. The contributions which are known

and well explained to the students & the organizers, are likely to be welcomed &

appreciated.

It helps the teacher to understand the difference between the position of the learners’ in

terms of communicative competence and where they need to be to meet their business

aims. Sometimes, this need analysis is minimal and simply limited to a series of brief

questions which provides the teacher with a rough idea of the needs of the group.

A needs analysis in its most basic form is essentially a blend of information gathering

activities which uses a variety of different perspective. However, simply collecting data

is not enough – it is in the interpretation and use of this data where the needs analysis

really makes its power felt.

9
Need analysis could generate issues like -

• The level of language competence expected from certain post holders

• How language competence might figure in recruitment policies

• The evaluation of current language training provides, and so on

The language audit can emerge as a key stage, helping the organization develop and

maintain a language strategy, allowing it to deal effectively with language problems in

various markets and supply chains.

Need analysis collect critical information about the current situation, the position of the

learners, evaluate them and trace out the strategy to reach the target situation.

Primarily the need is to be identified & clarified –

• Need of the learner

• Need of the company or organization paying for the training

• The school, university or training provider is also a factor

• The learner’s perceived needs represent the view of the other stakeholders in the

equation, such as the teacher, the sponsor the co-workers. In a sense, these are the

‘experts’ who can identify needs based on their own experience and knowledge. The

felt needs are those which represent the learner’s perspective.

• Need could be considered in terms of what & how to teach. Need could possibly be

translated into a list of products which the teacher can deliver to the learner. It could

be a list of language items, list of skills such as giving presentations or asking

question in meetings or be seen in terms of process of delivery with emphasis on

how the learning takes place.

10
 Training here is considered from the individual learner’s perspective:

• How does a particular learner learn?

• What effective factors need to be considered?

• What methods should the teacher be using?

As ever in language teaching the answer probably draws on both perspectives.

Course Design

Specific focus on:

• Context – what are the motivations, expectations, numbers, resources, available

hours, classroom space, and other factors involved in the teaching situation.

Creating a “profile” of the course to be taught in logistical and conceptual terms.

• Problematization– defining the challenges to be faced in terms of: expected

results, numbers, mix of motivations, different needs, time limitations, learner

“readiness,” etc. Problematization is a matter of trying to focus on the specific

elements in a situation that require the most attention.

• Setting goals and objectives – determining final results in performance terms, and

‘enabling’ objectives that will assist in achieving these results.

• Conceptualizing content –

1) What do the students want to learn given whom they are, their needs and

their purposes?

2) What are the options for “what” they can learn?

3) What are the resources and constraints?

11
 4) What are the relationships among the options selected?

• How can these be organized into a working plan?

• What is the driving force, or unifying principle that will bring things together?

Setting Objectives

Objectives of a course design are specific in nature and break up the aim into smaller

elements of learning so that the outcomes are better understood and are embedded in

more precise terms. Very often other stakeholders, such as a sponsor of a course, will

want to look at these objectives too, and may even assist in writing them.

A useful acronym to use when writing objectives is SMART. While designing a course,

objectives are to be kept specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound

(that is, limited to a certain period).

The objectives are to be planned with these aspects:

• To assess the learning needs of the trainees; analyze their learning styles; define

learning objectives that were specific, measurable and achievable within a given

time; and participate in planning and program that would meet those objectives.

• To implement that program, plan using carefully selected learning strategies.

• To design a self-study plan that continues with the learning after the trainees’ on-

site work. This concept for learning serves the whole individual and empowers the

learners to be independent and be in control of their own lives and their own

learning.

Categorizing objectives

Objectives can be expressed in different ways, depending on the context.

12
Performance (behavioral) objectives typically describe what the learner is expected to

do, under what conditions, and to what level or standard. Such objectives use words

like will learn, will be able to, and can.

Teaching or training objectives, unlike performance objectives, do not normally

specify what the learner will be able to do at the end of the course. Instead, they give the

teacher useful guideline, and may use technical words which learners may not be

familiar with.

It can be valuable to get learners to write their own objectives, and these can then be

discussed in terms of how relevant or achievable they are. For example, learners can be

asked to complete the following sentence: “At the end of this course, I hope to be able

to…”. In practical terms, it is often difficult to describe language or business

communication skills with the desired precision, and sometimes such skills are hard to

quantify and measure. In such cases a compromise may be least typical behavior that

might be expected of the participant.

Business objective may be quite different from performance or teaching objective. The

real business objective may be to negotiate successfully, in order to maximize the

company’s profits in a new market (the aim). In other words, the outcome of the course

can be seen not only in terms of what has been learned (focusing on the learner), but

also in terms of changes in the workplace or in business results, resulting from the

training having taken place (focusing on the business). Such issues relate to course

evaluation and accountability (who is responsible for the success of course or for

ensuring best value return on expenditure) is becoming more common as organizations

and schools try to get as much as possible out of limited budgets. A useful technique for

designing a course is to use a grid or framework that sets out the aims and objectives,

13
followed by all the elements that we believe are necessary for someone to be able to

meet those objectives.

The main components of the framework are based on the linguistic competence,

discourse competence, and intercultural competence together with the guidelines

offered by communicative language teaching, and our own understanding of what our

learners need. The syllabus will take into account not only what is to be learned, but

also how it is to be learned. It will normally consist of a combination of the following

components that would weave through the course, holding it together.

Guidelines for course planning:

• Use a range of planning techniques so as to tap into both your logical and your

intuitive mind

• Check and recheck that your planning reflects the priorities established during the

pre-course need analysis

• Be realistic about timeframes, i.e. about what can be achieved in a given time.

• Remember that any back-up paperwork you produce, such as a course outline,

will act as PR documents

• Get and take account of any feedback you receive on draft plans from students or

colleagues

• Keep everyone informed of your pre-course planning decisions

• Update people whenever you make any changes to your course outline

14
Feedback and Evaluation

The teaching is best judged and effectively molded by ‘Evaluation’. Its critical attributes

involve asking questions, gathering relevant information and forming opinions staying

within a specified context aiming at definite purpose and goals. Needs analysis,

placement tests, selection of materials are all forms of evaluations. A sponsoring

company may wish to evaluate decisions about materials. A sponsor may wish to

evaluate a course that is on the market, or learners’ language skills may be assessed to

see if they are ready for an exam.

What is evaluation?

• Judging fitness for a particular purpose

• Matching needs to solutions

• Concern with the effectiveness and efficiency of learning

• Asking systematic questions and acting on the responses

• To have value, the process must include action

Training Cycle

It is important to evaluate the success and effectiveness of the courses, so that you could

make improvements on an ongoing basis. It is also important to ensure continued

survival, since students and sponsors act on their own evaluation of our courses (formal

or informal). The teachers’ responsibility of evaluation would involve checking of the

objectives – whether fulfilled or not, whether the teaching methods require further

improvement. These would generally be conveyed through questions. Answering such

15
questions can take up a lot of time and effort, so the first question to ask is whether it is

worth doing. The probable questions would be:

• Who will do it?

• When will it be done?

• How will it be done?

• What will be evaluated?

The answers to these questions will, however, depend on the situation.

Evaluation can be concerned with:

• Attitude – how positively are our courses viewed?

• Effectiveness – how well do we achieve our objectives in terms of real learning?

• Appropriateness – how appropriate are our programs to our clients’ real needs?

How to evaluate?

The most common approach to evaluation is to collect comments or ratings using

feedback forms distributed at the end of each course, and then to interpret them.

Another important approach is to sit back and reflect on what seems to constitute

successful practice in your particular teaching context. A third, often revealing

approach is to collect and analyze objective data from registration and re-registration

figures, attendance figure and test or exam results.

All information, statistical or impressionistic, objective or subjective, will need to be

considered in relation to the course’s objectives, course format (intensive or extensive,

with or without self-study component, etc.), teaching approach and materials used

16
among other things. You will need to take care to find out whether any variable was in

effect which might distort your conclusion. For example, it could be that materials were

adequate but either your approach or your attitude unhelpful. You will also need to be

careful not to assume that things are ‘effects’, when they might be causes. For example,

student absences could either be an indication of deficiencies in a course, or a cause of

failure (if no absence policy was in operation). Evaluating would differ from situation to

situation – a one-off in-company course demands treatment that is separate from a

university course that runs ten times a year.

One model of evaluation commonly found in business English training (particularly in-

company) is based on Kirkpatrick’s work in the 1960s. This model is built on five level

of evaluations, all interrelated.

• Level 1 involves the learners’ reaction to the teaching – were they satisfied? The

focus here is on the course itself and its delivery: the teacher, the materials, and so

on.

• Level 2 relates to the learning – what was actually learned? Typically, this

involves a pre-test and post-test. The focus is on the learner.

• Level 3 has to do with the transfer of what has been learned to the workplace – is

the learning work-relevant? Are the learners using their new skills? The focus is on

the learner and the workplace.

• Level 4 is concerned with results – has the teaching resulted in any business

impact? Are the participants more successful in their negotiations? Have their

telephone skills improved?

17
• Level 5 looks at the return on investment (ROI) – what (and how much) tangible

(e.g. employee motivation) benefit has the training led to, relative to its cost?

Approaches to evaluation can be categorized as:

• Formative evaluation is related to ongoing development and improvement. It

considers what was good and not so good on a particular course, and forms a base

for change and future action. In other words, the aim is to make improvements. For

example, an end-of-course questionnaire might ask participants to comment on the

quality of the hotel used to run the course – adverse comments may result in the

next course being run in a different hotel.

• Illuminative evaluation relates to what is happening in the teaching / learning

processes, designed to facilitate our understanding of the processes within the

course – typically this will look at issues like classroom interaction, or learning

strategies used by the participants.

• Summative evaluation is carried out at a pre-specified or a particular stage in a

course (such as the end), and looks at whether or not the course objectives have been

achieved, or how effective, or efficient the course was at achieving those objectives.

A typical method is the use of tests.

Evaluating questions require systematic collection of data as well as analyzing and

interpretation of results that leads to an innovative or corrective judgment. The

business English teaching context commonly operates with two types of data –

quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative data are those expressed by a numerical value (e.g. the results from many

tests, checklists, or surveys).

18
Qualitative data refers to the quality, type or depth of whatever is being evaluated

(often richer yet more subjective in nature). Examples of qualitative data include the

notes made during interviews, classroom observation, and case studies (such as verbal

descriptions of how a particular learner has progressed through a course).

The process of measuring, using such data, is known as assessment. It is important not

to use only one measure, since this may give unreliable results, it is better to use two or

more different assessment tools. Using different perspective to assess the same thing in

this way is called triangulation in a research context and 360-degree assessment in the

business world. For example, if we wanted to know how effective a course on

telephonic skills has been, we might test the participants using a series of role-plays,

interview them to see how they feel about their telephonic skills, and record some “real-

life’ conversations to see how they cope.

Assessing the students

It is essential to ensure that students are making progress on a course and to show this

progress in quantifiable and comprehensible terms to both students and their bosses.

Formal or less formal assessment procedures can be used with the following points

noted:

• Tests and other assessment tools must be as valid as possible if they are to be

useful and fair on individuals - whose career prospects might be affected by them

• Tests need to be practical to administer, taking the constraints of the context into

account (e.g. absentees or factory noise)

• Tests must demonstrate a good time-results ratio (i.e. the time invested must be

worthwhile for the information gained)

19
• Tests need to be given at an appropriate time if you intend to use them to 'fine

tune' your teaching program so as to cater more effectively to students' needs. When

you have information on what students can and cannot do you will need to have

time to do something about it.

• Test results and feedback must be given sensitively because they can have a

devastating effect on motivation and, indeed, on students' careers if misinterpreted

by students' bosses.

Role-plays, simulations and case studies

Effective business English learning involves successful production of workplace-

language by the learners. Therefore, these activities categorized as role-play,

simulations, and/or case studies need to be designed more into the course.

Role-play

A role-play is an activity where the learner takes on a role; they do not play themselves.

Their opinions and behaviors are also pre-conditioned by the instruction cards. The

language used may also be pre-taught in some way.

Information gap is another typical feature of role-play where none of the participants

know any of the relevant information.

The instance cited below is from Market Leader Pre-Intermediate by Cotton et al. Such

materials are good for pre-experienced learners because most of the information they

need is given. They may well have no personal experience of the featured situation to

bring to the role-play. One disadvantage is that unless there is enough time given to

preparation – in this case, memorizing the details on the card – the role play is

20
interrupted by learners having to look at their cards to remind themselves of what they

are supposed to say.

You are at a conference. You recognize someone you met at a conference two

years ago. Introduce yourself and make small talk. Use your role-card to

prepare for the conversation.

Participant A Participant B

• You met B two years ago at a • You met A two years ago at a

conference on Customer Care in conference on Customer care in

Frankfurt. Frankfurt.

• You own a small firm which sells • You are the sales manager for a

office equipment. large telecommunication

company.
• It’s your first day at the

conference, you arrived late last • You have been at the conference

night. for three days.

• You haven’t seen the city yet. • You have visited the city

(beautiful old cathedral,

• You are staying at the Grand
interesting museum, excellent
Hotel in the city centre (a good
restaurants, but very expensive).
choice: room service and the

21
 facilities are excellent). • You are staying at a small hotel

outside the city (a bad choice:

• You are leaving in three day’s
room too small, too far from the
time.
centre of the city).
• You think the conference will
• You are leaving tomorrow.
be very interesting.

• The conference is boring; the

speakers talk too much and go

over time.

Simulations

It refers to an activity involving the learner in person and ideally imitates his/her

actions in real life. Within the boundaries of a classroom a situation is created which

prepares the learner for future dealings in his/her job context. A presentation rehearsal

is an example of simulation. For a batch consisting of more than one learner, a common

simulation is a difficult proposition as it can be irrelevant to some students. For

example, in a buyer-seller negotiation, if the two learners involved both come from a

purchasing department (which, normally, only buys items), then clearly one of the

learners will be playing a selling role. Although it contributes a lot to the learning

process giving a perspective of the other side, it fails to have immediate relevance.

Simulation activity should have a realistic reason to be presented in English (else the

students will tend to speak in their native language, at least in a monolingual group)

22
The aim is to create suspension of disbelief, fully involving the learners in the activity

without any distraction caused by the venue (classroom). A sign of successful

simulation is where the participants carry on discussing the issues outside the

classroom. Simulations are particularly useful for in-company groups where people

have real jobs to focus on.

Another approach involves using good speakers of English to come in take part. They

might role-play a visiting customer, for example, with learners simulating their real jobs

by having to pass on information, or perhaps by persuading the visitor to buy the

product.

A visitor might also play a customer or a partner who wishes to discuss clauses

proposed for a consortium contract. The preparation time is relatively minor on the

visitor’s part (and on the material writer’s), but the benefit to the learner is enormous;

they have to communicate with a stranger who knows their subject, but is not a teacher.

Simulation might involve a learner simply discussing work-related issues with the

teacher in a fashion similar to discussion with a new boss, or a customer, or a partner.

The focal point is that the activity should simulate the type of discourse the learner

would have in real life.

Checklist for preparing a simulation:

The day prior to the simulation:

• What is the aim of the activity? Are the activities carried out for a business

communication purpose or for a language learning purpose? Is the simulation

relevant to the learner’s needs?

• Is there a logical sequence to the planned activities?

23
• Are the activities realistic? Could they really take place? Have the details been

cross-checked with someone with relevant business background?

• Is there enough variety, challenge and interest?

• Can all participants contribute?

• Can the participants be creative or use their knowledge and experience?

• Is there more than one solution (if the simulation is about a problem)?

On the day of the simulation:

• Make sure that everyone fully understands the situation; check by asking questions,

if necessary.

• Give people enough time to prepare (sometimes this preparation time might be

significantly longer than the actual simulation).

• Make sure the learners understand the rationale behind the activity and its aims

and objectives.

• Consider using observers to assist with the feedback.

• Feedback should surely include the business task, as well as language-related

points.

In case of in-company simulations, most groups will be more than willing to give the

teacher feedback, leading to possible improvements. In effect, the last stage of the

simulation is that the learners redesign it with the teachers.

24
Case studies

A case study analyses a particular business problem from various perspectives. The

problem may have nothing to do with their own line of business, and they may or may

not be asked to produce a solution. Case studies are suitable for all types of business

English learners because the information needed to address the problem is normally

included in the data provided, although with some pre-experience groups additional

background information may be necessary. However, case study is not suited for those

learners who are still at a low level of English language competence.

Case studies can be beneficial to in-company training in two ways – they can closely

mirror the actual requirements of the job and also infuse interesting materials not

directly related to the job yet initiates some variety and useful language practice.

Case studies prepared by teachers are expected to be tailor made to fit the learner-

specific situation and needs. But the flip side is that the teacher might disagree to invest

much time and effort in a study, not to be used more than once.

Case studies are an amalgamation of various skills like writing, speaking, presenting,

listening and others working towards completion of a task set.

Some case studies can be very complicated. Often there is need for the teacher to be

flexible, for example, to skip some stages, or to provide additional inputs as the case

study progresses. Likewise, the time given for each activity is only a guideline, different

groups may progress through the study in their own way and own pace.

25