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Database of Teaching Sources

A database of selected, reviewed, tested, assessed and validated e-learning based language teaching sources addressed to Higher education students for the learning of 18 different European languages.

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Cover letter

Date of Publication

2021

Target Group

Students

Domain Area

Accounting
Business & Communication
International Relations
Medicine & Nursing
Teacher Education
Tourism

Learning Scenario

Autonomous learning

Target Language

English

Language of Instruction

English

CEFR level

C1
C2

Type of Material

Activity/task

Linguistic Features

Skills

Speaking
Critical Thinking
Writing

Description

The resource is a resource aiming at autonomous learning. The learner and Internet user can practise the formal language of writing a letter of application for a job. It takes 5-10 minutes to go through the activity.
This resource is applicable to learners in different fields, as writing a covering letter is a mandatory requirement when applying for a job. Hence the importance of learning some of the formal language learners need when applying for a job. The resource could support a task-based learning and teaching (TBLT) lesson if used in the classroom. If not, students can simply click on the link that will take them directly to the activity which has several steps. It also provides the learners with solutions (icon check answers).

Case study

1. This resource was used with a class of 25 students attending the second year of the degree course in Languages for International Relations. The whole activity involving this resource was implemented within a flipped classroom context and as formative assessment, since the students used the resource and produced a written text at home, prior to the lesson where we went through the dos and don’ts of formal writing and checked their work to see what needs to be improved.
The students were assigned the task via the platform used by the university. The task involved different steps, the first two using the resource in question and the third one, in which the students wrote a covering letter and submitted it in the platform.
Then, the following lesson was dedicated to eliciting what they had learnt regarding formal writing as well as to checking their work and saying how it could be improved to fit the demands of formal writing. We also went through some common spelling and structural mistakes found in their assignments, so that they are able to perform better in their next assignment: a letter of request.
The whole project was motivating for students, who found both the interactive activities and the work done in class very useful. The real effectiveness of this project, however, will only be seen when the students write their next assignment.
Although it was used this way, this resource could also be the perfect drive for the development of a project initiated in class and finished at home.

Guidelines

This resource can be used to practise or consolidate the structure of a cover letter and related vocabulary.
In class:
After presenting the students with some cover letter models, they are asked to go through the activities provided in the aforementioned link. Explain to the student they must go through each activity in the order mentioned. First, they do a matching exercise, then a multiple-choice exercise, and finally a gap-filling exercise (lexical cloze). students follow the different steps, and they immediately get feedback on their answers after completing the different steps. The teacher can also decide to project the activity and then, all together, students can answer and choose the best option.
Follow-up activity: students can write a cover letter, in reply to a selected job advertisement, applying thus the formal language they will need when they apply for a job.

Autonomous learning:
Students/learners just need to follow the different steps of the activity and check their answers.

Review

Category
Rate
Comprehensive approach
Capacity to match the needs of lecturers and students

5

Added value
The provided tangible improvements

5

Motivation enhancement
The capacity to motivate students to improve their language skills

5

Innovation
Effectiveness in introducing innovative, creative and previously unknown approaches to LSP learning

5

Transferability
Measurement of the transferable potential and possibility to be a source of further capitalisation/application for other language projects in different countries

5

Skills assessment and validation
Availability of appropriate tools for lecturers to monitor students’ progress and for students to assess own progress and to reflect on learning

5

Adaptability
Flexibility of the contents and possibilities for the LSP lecturers to adapt the contents to their and to students’ need

5

Usability
Assess the technical usability from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Accessibility
Assess the accessibility from the point of view of the lecturer and the student

5

Comments:
This resource matches both lecturers' and students’ needs. It supports teachers in their lessons as a way to provide them with a hands-on resource concerning the topic of job applications and writing cover letters. Learners can also use this resource autonomously and in a very easy way. They can assess their own progress as they are given the chance of checking answers.
This resource has huge potential as regards its transferability and possibility to be used/applied in other languages as the idea can be easily replicated in more than one language, depending on who the target employer is.
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