CAES2202

 

The Professional English for Arts Students (PEAS) course is a one-semester course for all second-year undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts.  The aim of the course is to prepare students to use English to present themselves in a professional manner in the workplace in Hong Kong. The course is built around a project called the Career Exposure Project.

Career Exposure Project overview

The focus of the Career Exposure Project is a one-day visit to a workplace of your own choice. We call this visit Career Exposure Day. On that day, you will observe the day-to-day work of an employee. We call this work-shadowing.

It is your responsibility to arrange your Career Exposure Day. You will first need to choose a field of employment and identify a suitable workplace. You will then make contact with a responsible person at the workplace by telephone or email and arrange your visit. We call the person who arranges your visit your initial contact.

Once you have arranged your visit, you should identify the person you will work-shadow. We call this person your work-shadow host (who may or may not be the same person as your initial contact). You will send your work-shadow host a CEP Information Package. This package will include your resume, a confirmation letter and some information sheets provided by the English Centre. After your Career Exposure Day, you will also write a letter of thanks to your work-shadow host.

At the end of the project, you will report what you have learned about the field of employment and the day-to-day work involved in it. The form of the report will be a short oral presentation to your classmates and teacher. You will also write a reflection to help you think about your experience and prepare a portfolio including documents you have written during the project.

 

Career Exposure Day

An interesting Career Exposure Day is the key to a successful project. There are three course requirements:

• You have to visit the workplace alone.
  
• You must spend a whole working day at the workplace, (minimum 6 hours). You must hand in to your teacher a completed employers evaluation form.
  

Please note that we will also contact some employers by telephone to follow up on the evaluation form. On Career Exposure Day, you should be ready to interview your work-shadow host to find out more about their field of employment and day-to-day duties. You should also spend time quietly observing their work. In addition, you should ask in advance if it is possible for you to have a mock interview for a job or for you to carry out some work at the workplace during the day. Here are some additional tips on making your Career Exposure Day more interesting, based on the experience of last year’s students:

• Make sure you are well-prepared before you make your initial contact.
  
• Be persistent in trying to find a workplace in the field in which you are interested in working in the future.
• Talk to your work-shadow host before your visit and discuss what you want to do on Career Exposure Day.
  
• Make sure to collect all the information you will need for your in-class oral presentation.

 

Timetable

If you feel nervous about the Career Exposure Project, you are not alone! But remember that you do not have to do everything at once. Here is a rough timetable for the project.

• Stage one (Weeks 1-6): Preparation in class.
  
• Stage two (Weeks 2-6): Arranging your Career Exposure Day.
  
• Stage three (Reading Week): Career Exposure Day.
  
• Stage four (Weeks 7-12): Reporting back – oral presentation, reflection and portfolio.

 

Professionalism and accuracy in use of language are emphasized in the assessment of the oral presentation and portfolio. Your active participation in the project is critical to your success. Regular and punctual attendance at classes, punctual submission of assignments, and active participation in classroom work are required: employers are looking for these, too, so they are given a high priority in the course. Active participation in the workplace on your Career Exposure Day will also be important (based on evidence from the Employer’s/Host’s Evaluation Form and your portfolio).

In order to pass the course, you must:

 

• Complete the Career Exposure Day satisfactorily.
• Attend at least 80 per cent of the scheduled classes and tutorials.
• Present your experience to the class.
• Complete your portfolio.

Employers are looking for enthusiastic, responsible and unique applicants!

Chinese terms

Would you like to know how to say Career Exposure Day, Work-shadowing, Initial Contact and Work-shadow Host in Chinese?

The project

The Career Exposure Project was introduced for the first time in 1999. We have made several changes to the project based on the views of students and work-shadow hosts. Two students – Elaine and Lavinia – have kindly shared their views on the project with you on this website. Click on their photographs to hear what they have to say (wma format.)

Elaine

Lavinia

Employer survey

We also surveyed 123 work shadow hosts. Here are some of the things they said about the students who visited them.

• 91% thought it was a good idea for students to experience the workplace.
• 78% thought the student had benefited from the visit.
• 93% found their student visitor co-operative.
• 70% felt comfortable being work-shadowed.
• 84% thought the student was well prepared.
• 72% thought the student communicated well in English.
• 78% thought the setting up of the Career Exposure Day was efficient.

Student survey

Of the students who responded to our survey, 90% agreed or strongly agreed that the people they met in the workplace were helpful & friendly.

Here are some student responses to our questions.

Has the project changed your idea of learning English?

“Yes, to some extent. In the past when I was learning English, I always thought I seemed to be learning something from textbooks like spelling words, memorizing grammar. I thought that was impractical. However when you go to a real environment, and you really have a chance to speak, to hear, you motivate yourself to gain more practical and useful English. I guess it will be okay if I can communicate with
people in fluent English. This has changed my idea of learning English in
school.”

How did you feel before and after the project?

“Before coming into contact with the employer, I thought the Career Exposure Day was something ridiculous, a waste of time. But when really doing it, I thought it was meaningful.”

How did you feel about finding a workplace for your Career Exposure Day?

“In the beginning I didn’t think it would be possible for everyone to find an employer. I wondered why anyone would be so free to entertain you. But the people at the company really entertained me with enthusiasm. After that day I found the plan was really workable. Also the field you chose, you really knew more about it.”

What makes a successful Career Exposure Day?

Preparation. If you do it well, the day will be okay. And what’s most important is don’t be shy that day. Ask what you want to ask. Ask what you want to know. In terms of relationships, you need to be sociable. For example, if you can smile more often and be friendly, you’ll find it easy to get involved in the atmosphere. You’ll feel happy and learn a lot that day. Take the initiative!”

We would like to thank all the students who enjoyed the PEAS course and the employers who hosted them when the course was first run in 1999. Our special thanks go to Elaine Hung and Lavinia Chan, who have shared their experiences on this web, to Margaret Leung, and to the members of the WebRight team, whose photograph appears on the home page. Thanks also to Wilson Chow and Denis Williamson for their help in the production of this web.

We would also like to thank all of the students and employers who have participated in the PEAS course over the years.