This set of exercises is designed to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) university students language, pronunciation, and listening skills related to careers and job-seeking. It builds on a previous theme, focusing on newer digital skills and job requirements. I used Claude Pro (Projects, similar to OpenAI’s GPTs) to create a number of these exercises. A complete set of Employment and Careers exercises with audio and answers can be downloaded at the end of the post.
1. Brainstorming Employer Requirements
I stumbled onto this exercise format while experimenting with Claude Pro. Claude Pro can create basic visual drafts in SVG format for brainstorms and graphic organizers, and Mermaid format for flow charts. For exercises like "Brainstorming Employer Requirements," additional software (e.g., Omnigraffle) is needed to finalize the SVG. Human review and refinement is essential for student-friendly output. Employer Requirements is a pretty nice critical thinking exercise.
2 Jobs and Employment Pronunciation
This exercise is now standard in my listening/speaking classes. I still use an OpenAI GPT for this one.
3 Looking for a Job Listening
This is a hospitality industry job hunting listening exercise.
4 Job Enquiry by Phone
This an older exercise that’s been updated and improved.
5 Job Interview Preparation Exercises
Some more critical thinking exercises in preparation for an online job interview.
6 Careers and Employment Visual Vocabulary
This exercise is for introducing the vocabulary. It works best at the beginning of the class. Dictate about two thirds of the words randomly and ask the students to match the rest by themselves. I have included the teacher’s vocabulary and example audio at the end of the post.