1 Education and employment
Unit Objectives
Grammar: the continuous aspect; the perfect aspect
Vocabulary: issues in education; reporting what others say; suffixes (adjectives); abbreviations
Scenario: stating requirements, saying what is essential and desirable; choosing an intern
Study skills: self-awareness
Writing skills: a covering letter
1.1 ISSUES IN
EDUCATION
IN THIS LESSON
Lesson topic and staging
This lesson focuses on education. Students start by
learning relevant vocabulary and considering
statements about education that contextualise these
new words. Next, students read about how the
internet has impacted education, then do a listening
task focusing on the purpose of education. The
lesson ends with revision of reporting verbs and a
group discussion on issues in education.
Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will have:
• considered education and some related issues
• focused on different techniques for learning
• practised reading skills, both reading for specific
information and reading for gist
• listened for specific information
• discussed personal opinions on education
Timings
If short of time, set Exercise 8 for homework.
Possible lesson break: after Exercise 8.
WARM-UP
Before starting Exercise 1, direct students’ attention
to the photo and elicit what they can see. Ask them
how the picture makes them feel and why.
Claus Moser quote: Ask students to discuss these
questions: What is he trying to say? How far do you
agree or disagree with the quote and why?
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
SPEAKING AND VOCABULARY
1a Draw students’ attention to the words in the box
and elicit the meaning of potentially new ones.
• Students work in pairs to complete the activity,
then join another pair to check answers.
• During class feedback, check students understand
the meaning of each sentence before moving on.
1 curriculum 2 assessment 3 Streaming
4 interpersonal skills 5 elitism 6 plagiarism
7 dumbing down
Although most three-syllable (or longer) words
take the stress on the second syllable, make sure
students know and can say the following:
plagiarism, interpersonal skills.
1bStudents do the activity as per Coursebook. Give
pairs about five minutes to discuss their ideas
before getting them to give a short presentation to
the class on the result of their discussions.
2 Do this task in the same way as 1b. In a
homogeneous class, you can get to class feedback
quite quickly.
• Encourage students to use the board like a sheet of
paper to build up a picture of their country’s
education system.
If your class is heterogeneous, it might help if
students of the same nationality form pairs. If this
is impossible, you may find this task takes a while
as students have more to say to each other.
Make this into a class survey by telling students to
talk to as many different people as possible. Set a
time limit (e.g. ten minutes).
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READING
3 Students do this task individually.
• During class feedback, take a quick poll, putting
results on the board. At this stage, do not
comment on the results and opinions.
4 Students do the activity as per Coursebook. You
may like to put a few of the techniques elicited on
the board.
5 Students write one-sentence definitions, in pairs.
• During feedback, write any key words students
supply from their definitions on the board.
• Give students one minute to scan the article and
answer the question (limit this to 30 seconds if the
students are good at reading).
Rote learning is an old-fashioned way of
learning, which involves memorising facts and
figures by heart without applying critical
thinking. (line 3 = memorisation; lines 7–8 =
‘from memory, without thought of the
meaning; in a mechanical way’)
6 Students do the activity as per Coursebook. Give
them no more than five minutes.
1 para 2 2 para 4 3 para 1 4 para 7
5 para 3 6 para 1 7 para 6
7 In a small class, discuss this together, but if more
than eight students, divide them into two groups
to discuss ideas before doing feedback. Monitor to
pick up points for further discussion.
For classes in universities and university
preparation courses, inferring opinion is a useful
skill to learn. Often, opinion is shown by word
choice, e.g. positive/negative adjectives/adverbs,
and with intonation. Ask students to highlight
some of these features in the audio script and
discuss these during feedback.
overall undecided (para 7: ‘limited use’);
negative in paras 1, 2, 6; positive in paras 3 & 4
VOCABULARY: reporting what
others say
8 Students do the activity as per Coursebook, in
pairs or small groups.
a5 b1 c4 d3 e2 f7 g6
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
LISTENING
9a Ask students to read the task before doing the
activity as per Coursebook.
• Elicit the answers from the class.
Jim is a salesman from Brighton. Nancy is a
university lecturer from Cambridge. Bob is a
company director from London.
Audio script 1.1
Presenter, Jim, Nancy, Bob
P: OK, thank you, Miranda and the rest of the
panel, for those opening remarks. And now I
think we can go to our first caller, who is Jim,
a salesman from Brighton. Hello, Jim. What
do you think?
J: Yeah … good morning. Well, I think all
formal education is a waste of time and
money. It’s the ‘university of life’ that’s
important – you know, learning things the
hard way by doing them and making
mistakes. Experience, that’s what counts;
that’s how you learn to make informed
decisions, not by reading books. I mean,
obviously, you need to be able to read and
write. Numeracy and literacy and all that are
important, but all those subjects like
Chemistry and er … Geography, how useful
are they in the modern world? They don’t
really help anyone’s career prospects. Life
skills, the things that really matter, can’t be
taught in schools.
P: Yes, I take your point, Jim.
J: All that learning stuff by heart which I had to
do at school, rote learning, just like parrots,
what a waste of time! School is full of show-
offs and smart alecs who want to show how
many facts they know in exams, but you
really learn by being out there in the world
and making your own way. Everyone has the
same chance in life – or at least they should.
P: OK, thank you, Jim. And now I think we can
go to Nancy in Cambridge … er, who is a
university lecturer, I believe. Go ahead,
Nancy.
N: Thank you. I have to say that I totally
disagree with the previous caller. Education
is about accumulating a body of knowledge
which contributes to an individual’s
development and helps create a sense of
identity.
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 It’s really the most important thing: a broad
education with a strong knowledge base.
Also, if you think about it, a high-quality
education system contributes to the economy
as a whole. The better educated the
population is, the more people go to
university, the more it benefits the whole
country.
P: Mmm, I think many people would agree with
you there, Nancy. So a university education is
important, then?
N: Yes, certainly. For me, subject knowledge and
the ability to use it, er, self-awareness and
mental agility are all very important qualities
which are developed at university. The
experience of campus life is at the heart of
creating all-rounders who have the capacity
for independent study and can think for
themselves. That’s what education is all
about.
P: OK, Nancy, thank you for your contribution.
And now, er, we can go to Bob, a company
director in London. Hello, Bob. What’s your
view?
B: Good morning. I have to say I have a quite
different view to the previous callers. Erm,
for me, the problem with education in this
country is that it just doesn’t teach the right
stuff – that which is actually useful for the
world of work.
P: How do you mean, Bob? Can you elaborate?
B: Well, yes. Education at all levels should be
much more practical, er, less theoretical. As
an employer, I’m not looking for academics
and eggheads. I want good team players who
can write a decent letter or email – you know,
people who have practical skills like meeting
deadlines and the ability to prioritise tasks,
people who are competent and who can be
trained up. It’s amazing the sort of stuff I see
on application forms. I must say, I see very
little of the er, critical thinking skills which
people like, er, Nancy talk about. I think we
need to go back to more traditional teaching
methods. I don’t think any of these modern
techniques actually work.
P: Right. Thank you, Bob. Well, plenty to think
about there. Let’s get some comments from
the panel about what they’ve heard. Cristina,
let me come to you first, because …
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
9b After students read the task, elicit some ideas on
the possible opinions of the speakers. Students
then do the activity as per Coursebook.
1 Jim believes personal experiences, or ‘the
university of life’, matter much more than
formal education. He also feels everyone
should have the same chance in life. In
contrast, Nancy believes in the value of formal
education, especially a university education,
which she sees as essential to an individual’s
development and for the economy as a whole.
Bob, on the other hand, believes that education
in Britain isn’t geared to the world of work; he
would like education to go back to traditional
values and teach practical skills as well as
critical thinking. 2 rejection of rote learning
and focus on lived experiences which can’t be
taught (Jim); emphasis on mental agility,
accumulating knowledge, critical thinking and
independence (Nancy); rejection of ‘modern
methods’ and a return to traditional teaching
methods to develop critical thinking skills so
people are more prepared for the changing
world of work (Bob) 3 Students’ own answers.
10 Critical thinking: Reacting to the text. Give
students five minutes to discuss the questions in
small groups. Remind them to support their views
as this is a crucial aspect of critical thinking.
• Do class feedback and elicit opinions with reasons.
SPEAKING
11 Students discuss their ideas in the same groups.
12 Pair students from different groups and give them
five minutes to discuss their ideas, making notes.
13 Students return to their original group and report
back, using their notes, on their partner’s ideas.
• Round up and take class feedback.
HOMEWORK OPTIONS
Students do Exercises V1–4 and V2–5 on page 127.
Students do the listening, pronunciation and
vocabulary exercises for this lesson in MyEnglishLab.
Students select one of the statements in Exercise 11
and write an essay on it.
For classes preparing for IELTS, set a 250–280
word limit and a 40-minute time limit. For PTE-A
students, set a 200–300 word limit and a 20-
minute time limit.
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1.2 SUCCESS READING
2 Give students just two minutes to skim the text
IN THIS LESSON before checking their answers.
Lesson topic and staging
This lesson focuses on the topic of success. Students Following her appointment as CEO of PepsiCo,
have to think about successful people in the fields of Indra Nooyi was named the most powerful
business, arts and science. They then read an article businesswoman in the world. Carol Greider
presenting three examples of success stories, and won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, overcoming
think about the characteristics required for success. her initial problems with dyslexia. Angela Jia
Students also revise and practise using suffixes for Kim was a concert pianist and went on to
adjectives. The reading is a springboard for revision found two successful companies.
and practice of the continuous aspect. Finally,
3 Direct students to the six characteristics listed and
students write a short paragraph related to success.
check for understanding. Compare these to the
Objectives ones written on the board for Exercise 1b.
• Students read the text again to do the activity.
By the end of the lesson, students will have:
Give them no more than two or three minutes.
• considered the characteristics required for success
• During class feedback, ask students to provide
• read for specific information and for gist
justification for their answers.
• revised and practised suffixes for adjectives
• revised and practised the continuous aspect
• written a paragraph expressing an opinion and Indra Nooyi: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 Carol Greider: 1, 3, 4
justifying it. Angela Jia Kim: 1–6

4 Give students about a minute to read again and

Timings
answer the questions, then let them discuss their
If short of time, set Exercise 10 for homework.
ideas in pairs.
Possible lesson break: before Exercise 5a or after 6b.
• To round up, find out which person most inspires
students and why.
SPEAKING VOCABULARY: suffixes
Do Exercises 1a and 1b with books closed. (adjectives)
1a Give students about five minutes thinking time.
• Go round and check as some might find this quite 5a Students do this activity individually and compare
difficult. Students then share information in pairs. in pairs before you check answers with the class.
• Do class feedback and ask students to explain their
partner’s choices. Put some obvious names up on allergic, infectious, influential, passionate,
the board. persuasive, powerful, successful
It may be difficult for your students to come up
5bStudents do the activity as per Coursebook. You
with three names for this activity. In which case,
could write the nouns and adjectives on the board
either give students the opportunity to do some
and elicit the word stress pattern for each one.
independent research to answer the question,
perhaps in advance of the lesson, or you could ask
-ic, -ous, -al, -ate, -ive, -ful
them to do this activity in pairs or groups.
1bDepending on time available, this activity could 6a Students complete the activity individually.
again be done in pairs, with students looking • Pairs check answers before class feedback.
either at their own names or the ones that you
wrote on the board during the feedback. affectionate, ambitious, educational,
• Write the qualities mentioned on the board to empathetic, fictional, logical, speculative
compare with Exercise 3.
6bThis can be done as a class or in groups.

New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment 4

GRAMMAR: the continuous aspect
At this level, these exercises should be revision.
7a Direct students to the heading. Ask what they
know about the continuous aspect and elicit how
many tenses there are.
• Students complete the activity as per Coursebook.
1 present continuous: is reinventing, is serving
2 past continuous: was paying, was eating, was
putting, were going 3 present perfect
continuous: has been working, ’s been talking
7b Students do the activity as per Coursebook. This
activity could be done as a class.
1 past continuous 2 present continuous
3 present perfect continuous
For a full explanation and further practice, look at
the Language reference on pages 126–127.
8 Students do this activity individually and compare
in pairs before you check answers with the class.
Introduce the idea of ‘aspects’ rather than tenses,
i.e. it is not the time that is important with the
continuous aspect, rather it is the incompleteness of
the action/possible temporariness. Emphasise this
notion of aspect during feedback.
1 a I work describes a current situation, which
could carry on indefinitely. b I’m working
describes a temporary situation, which will be
over next year. 2 a I’ve worked describes
events which are completed. b I’ve been
working describes an unfinished situation (I’m
still working there) and focuses on duration.
3 a I worked describes a situation which had
ended by the end of the year. b I was working
describes a temporary situation which was the
background to an event. 4 a I’ll work describes
the intention to start an action. b I’ll be
working describes a temporary action that will
be in progress at that time. 5 a She was driving
describes the background to an event (when
the car broke down). b She went describes an
action that happened after the car broke down.
6 a We are renting describes a temporary
situation which will be over when the house is
ready. b We rent describes a habitual action
which could carry on indefinitely.
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
9 Students identify and correct any mistakes relating
to tenses in the short paragraph. With a weaker
class, students could work in pairs.
For classes preparing for IELTS / PTE-A, remind
students that they need to be accustomed to
checking for accurate usage of grammar and
vocabulary if they are to obtain a good grade.
• During feedback, elicit answers and encourage
students to justify their answers.
(he) speaks, He has lived/He had been living,
I’ve known, we were hitchhiking, we were
walking, he had left, it was having, He has
worked, He has only worked/He has only been
working, he is already
WRITING
10 Critical thinking: Justifying opinions. (This could
be done in class or for homework.) Students read
the three statements and choose one. They then
write a paragraph presenting and justifying their
opinion on their chosen statement.
• Students swap their text with a partner who reads
and then comments on it. At this point, encourage
students, where possible, to ask their partners
additional questions relating to the paragraph.
For classes in universities and university
preparation courses, challenging opinions and/or
authority is an important critical thinking skill,
particularly in subjects such as the social sciences.
However, not all age groups/cultures are used to
this concept. To introduce it, ask students to not
only think about the counter-arguments, but also
who might have these opinions.
• Texts could be handed in for marking if useful.
HOMEWORK OPTIONS
Students do Exercises G1–1 and V3–6 on page 127 in
the Language reference.
Students do the reading, grammar, listening,
vocabulary and pronunciation exercises for this
lesson in MyEnglishLab.
For classes preparing for IELTS, in the Writing
test (Part 2) students are often required to write an
agree/disagree essay. Ask students to select one of
the statements from Exercise 10 and write their
own essay of 250–280 words in 40 minutes.
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1.3 JOB HUNTING
IN THIS LESSON
Lesson topic and staging
This lesson looks at aspects relating to job hunting,
namely curricula vitae (CVs) and interviews.
Students begin by discussing the job markets and the
process people go through to get a job. Students then
read a CV, evaluate it and rewrite it. They find out
about abbreviations associated with qualifications.
They then listen to a job interview and consider how
the applicant deals with the interview. Students
revise and practise the perfect aspect and finish the
lesson by writing CVs.
Meet the expert video
Watch the video to hear a careers consultant talking
about her role and what it involves.
Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students should have:
• thought about what should be included in a CV
• read a text for gist and for specific information
• learnt some abbreviations connected with
qualifications
• listened for specific information
• revised and practised the perfect aspect
• written a CV.
Timings
If short of time, set Exercise 5 and/or 10a for
homework.
Possible lesson break: after Exercise 5.
SPEAKING
1 Students discuss the questions in pairs before class
feedback. Limit the time spent on question 4 as
you may be pre-empting the work in Exercise 2.
READING
2 Students consider the list in pairs and discuss
what information should appear in a CV. Then
have class feedback but do not give your opinion.
3a Critical thinking: Evaluating effectiveness. Give
students three minutes to read Vadim’s CV,
evaluate its merits and find aspects that could
potentially be improved.
• Elicit ideas during class feedback and compile a
list of additional points to include on the board.
You could also discuss the ideal length for a CV.
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
He could have mentioned his IT skills, holiday
jobs, any position of responsibility and the fact
that he is a Russian native speaker.
3bGive students three minutes to reread the CV and
answer the questions.
• Students compare answers before class feedback.
1 It is written in telegraphic style – pronouns
and some verbs are omitted. It is also written in
the third person. 2 Possibly the one in
Finland, as he doesn’t speak Finnish well.
3 Jobs in banking or other financial institutions.
4 Students do this activity in pairs, considering what
is important and rewriting the profile accordingly.
• After finishing, students swap profiles with
another pair to compare them. Conclude with
class feedback and elicit key points to be included.
The CV should highlight that he is proficient in
Russian and knows the culture well, that
International Marketing was part of his
exchange programme in Berlin and that he has
advanced level English.
VOCABULARY: abbreviations
5 Students do the activity as per Coursebook.
Ask students to check the meaning of any of the
abbreviations they do not know on the internet.
• During class feedback, discuss any differences
between the abbreviations used in their own
countries and elicit further abbreviations that
could be used in English.
Spanish speakers often confuse career with degree.
1 c (Doctor of Philosophy) 2 b (Master of
Science) 3 d (Master of Business
Administration) 4 a (Bachelor of Arts)
5 e (Business Language Testing Service)
6 f (International English Language Testing
System) 7 g (Test of English as a Foreign
Language)
Discuss as a class which of the international
English exams are most highly regarded in the
students’ country/-ies by prospective employers
as well as higher educational establishments.
6
LISTENING
6a As a warm-up, ask students to brainstorm what
questions they would expect from the interviewer.
• Students then do the activity as per Coursebook.
1 because Vadim has a flight to catch 2 not
studying more German while on his exchange
programme 3 to include his holiday jobs on
his CV 4 All his work experience has been in
one place, the Bank of Foreign Trade, but he
says they valued him so much that they offered
him a job after his internship. 5 He wants a
new challenge and the opportunity to use his
English in Britain. 6 He has lost Vadim’s
references.
Audio script 1.2
Interviewer, Vadim
I: Thank you, Vadim. That was an excellent
presentation and I was particularly interested
in the marketing surveys and other marketing
activities you were involved with in your job.
Now, I know you’re flying back to Russia this
evening. Hopefully, we will have finished the
interview by 3 o’clock, so you should have
lots of time to catch your flight. I’d just like to
start by checking some of the details on your
CV. Can you tell us what you have been
doing since you left your job as a financial
analyst?
V: Well, since December 2013, erm, I’ve been
writing my doctoral thesis and studying at St
Petersburg State University of Economics and
Finance.
I: OK. I’d like to come back to that in more
detail later. Having read your CV, we’d like
to know more about your internship and
exchange programmes, especially as you
haven’t had a lot of actual work experience in
marketing.
V: Sure. I’ve been on two exchange programmes:
one in Finland and one in Germany. I studied
mainly business subjects and also some
Finnish, although the programme was in
English. One of the subjects I studied was
Marketing. The programme in Germany also
included International Marketing, but it was
taught in German, so, if I’m honest, that was
quite difficult for me. I studied German at
school, but I dropped it before I had taken
any exams. Luckily, my English is fairly
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
advanced, erm, and I have an 8 in IELTS,
which is a really good score. I really enjoyed
the exchange programme and my only regret
is that I didn’t study more German.
I: You mentioned your IELTS score. We know
about that, but can you tell me what BULATS
is?
V: Certainly. BULATS is a business language
testing service, er, for people who need to use
a foreign language in their work.
I: Ah, thank you. OK, could you tell us about
the internship?
V: Well, my internship was actually at the place
I did my work experience – the Bank of
Foreign Trade – and, luckily, they invited me
back to work for them after I finished my
PhD.
I: Does that mean all your work experience,
including your internship, has been in one
place? Have you done any other work?
V: Well, I’ve had a number of holiday jobs. I’ve
been a waiter and I’ve also worked as a shop
assistant.
I: Right. I’d probably include that in your CV in
future.
V: Sure. Thanks for that advice. I’d applied for a
number of work placements before I got the
one in the bank. I’d just like to add that I’m
quite proud that I was offered a job after my
work placement and I really enjoyed working
at the Bank of Foreign Trade. I was very
happy there. But after my PhD I’m looking
for a new challenge and the opportunity to
use my English in Britain.
I: MM, right, yes. Now, before we go into your
current job responsibilities in detail, I need to
check one last thing. I’m sorry, but I seem to
have lost your references. Is it OK if we
phone your referees?
V: Yes, no problem. I have their phone numbers.
I: OK, so why do you think you are suitable for
this job?
6bStudents listen again and answer the questions.
• Students compare answers before class feedback.
1 Probably. He points out that his job and both
his exchange programmes included marketing,
that his IELTS score is really good, that he has
received a BULATS qualification and that he
was so valued at the Bank of Foreign Trade
that they offered him a permanent job.
2 The interviewer seems quite friendly.
7
GRAMMAR: the perfect aspect
7 Elicit what students know about the perfect aspect
and how many tenses there are before referring
them to Audio script 1.2 on page 168.
• Give students three minutes to note examples
before eliciting ideas from the class. Discuss the
form of different aspects and elicit additional
examples if required.
1 haven’t had, ’ve been, has been, have (you)
done, ’ve had, ’ve been, ’ve worked 2 have
been doing, ’ve been writing, (have been)
studying 3 had taken, ’d applied 4 will
have finished 5 to have lost 6 Having read
8 Students complete the Exercise individually,
deciding on which time periods are linked.
• Allow time for students to compare answers in
pairs before doing class feedback. Remind
students that the focus is no longer on tenses but
on ‘aspects’, i.e. it is not the time that is important
with the perfect aspect but the fact that it refers to
a state resulting from a previous action (also
described as a previous action with relevance to a
particular time or a previous action viewed from
the perspective of a later time).
1 future, present 2 past, past 3 past, present
4 past, present 5 present, past 6 past, present
Students can look at the Language reference on
pages 126–127 and do Exercise G2 either in class or
for homework.
9 Students complete the sentences, comparing
answers in pairs before class feedback. You may
ask students why the sentences are indicative of
the perfect aspect (because they all look back from
one time to another).
1 will have been 2 had already been 3 has
been 4 have interviewed 5 will have chosen
6 to have finished 7 Having completed
WRITING
10a This task could be done in class or for homework.
10b Students swap CVs with a partner. As an
alternative option, students could ask each other
to guess the job they are applying for.
• Allow time for students to discuss the strengths of
each other’s CV and areas to improve before class
feedback. Round up by revising the key
components of a good CV.
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
Post the CVs and letters around the classroom
walls. Ask students to read all the texts and decide
who should be given an interview.
Tell students they are going to interview their
partner for the job they have applied for. The
interview will last 5–10 minutes. Each student
should prepare 8–10 questions as the interviewer
and three as the interviewee. Refer students to
Audio script 1.2 if they need help with ideas.
MEET THE EXPERT
1 Students discuss the questions in pairs.
• Do class feedback. You may want to ask if anyone
has had a job interview in the last year and discuss
what aspects they feel were most important re
preparation. Ask: Would you do anything differently?
2 Pause the video at 17 seconds and ask students
who the Careers Group University of London
help (educational institutions, other organisations
and individuals).
• Play the rest of the video. Then give students time
to check answers in pairs before class feedback.
1b 2a 3e 4c 5d
3 Students read through the statements. Ask if they
can answer any before watching again. Tell them
to note the correct answer for any that are false.
• After listening, allow time for them to compare
answers in pairs before checking as a class.
1 F (They support both recent graduates and
students.) 2 T 3 F (The most important thing
is how they present themselves in terms of
skills they can offer.) 4 F (You should tailor
each CV to a different job – though you might
want to create a ‘master’ CV to work from.)
5 T 6 T 7 F (They ask you to think of
examples from your experience which
demonstrate your skills.) 8 T
4a Students match the questions to the skills and then
compare answers in pairs. They then discuss them
as a whole class.
1 creativity 2 teamwork 3 leadership
4 flexibility 5 independence
4b Give students three or four minutes to choose
their question and prepare their answer.
4c Students then work in pairs and take turns to
explain their answers.
• Round up by finding out which questions were
the most popular and eliciting some of the
students’ answers.
8

Meet the expert video
Helen Kempster, Careers Consultant
I’m Helen Kempster and I’m a careers consultant
at the Careers Group University of London.
Uh, the Careers Group University of London is an
organisation which offers career development and
other sort of related services to educational
institutions and other organisations, um, and also
to individuals. So it’s really anything that is
helping people to make a next step towards
career success.
I support students, uh, prospective students and
recent graduates in a number of different ways. It
could be through one-to-one guidance, that could
be short consultations if they just have quick
questions that they want to ask. It can be longer
in-depth career guidance, uh, interviews and also,
uh, practice interviews. So if someone has a job
interview coming up, um, a sort of mock run
through of that as well.
Um, I also liaise closely with academic
departments within the university that I work in
to develop bespoke careers education programmes.
Uh, we also, uh, do kind of workshops and events
that are for all students – it might be, um,
interactive sessions, sometimes, uh, fairs, where
we have various employers coming onto campus
and so we’re supporting the students there too, to
access employment, uh, we also set up specific,
uh, internships, or rather placement opportunities,
so students can get work experience.
Lots of students that I see worry that they don’t
have enough work experience or relevant work
experience to access the sort of opportunities that
they want. And in most cases, there are things
that they can do to present themselves in a, an
attractive way to employers. Mostly, its thinking
about what skills the employers are looking for;
so they might not have relevant work experience
that relates to that job but they will have done
things that will show that they can communicate
with other people, work in a team, show
leadership, use a particular technical skill. So it’s
about thinking of things that they have done. So
that could be work that they’ve done that is not
related to the field that they want to go into but
can still be valuable, so work that they’ve done,
perhaps, during their studies. It could be other
extra-curricular activities they’ve taken part in, so
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
perhaps they’ve done some volunteering for a
charity or other organisation. Perhaps they’ve,
um, set up a club or society within the university.
So really, anything that they have done, um, that
can show those skills.
I think it’s really important when you’re, um,
writing a CV, is to really make sure that you tailor
that CV for each job that you’re applying for, so
not to have sort of one generic CV, but to really,
um, as I say, tailor it, make it specific to the
opportunity that you’re looking at. Um, so for
example, you need to be identifying the, the skills
that the employer is looking for and reflecting
those in the CV.
So you are going to have a range of CVs for
different, um, different opportunities that you’re
going for. And what can be useful sometimes for
some students is to create a kind of master CV
that has all the information on it, all the detail
about everything that you’ve done and to kind of
select elements of that each time that you’ve, uh,
applied for a different opportunity.
When preparing for an interview, there are a
number of things that you need to do, some of
which are sort of more practical and others which
are more sort of about preparing your, your
responses to the questions. I think, first of all, it’s
important to remember that, um, you, you can’t
predict what you’re going to be asked, so not to
prepare answers to specific questions because it’s
fairly unlikely that those specific, exact questions
will come up in the interview.
It’s more about preparing your ideas around
themes of things that you’re likely to be asked
about. And underpinning all of the questions that
you’re asked in an interview will be sort of two
main questions, really. One will be, in the
employers mind, ‘Can you do the job?’ And the
other will be, ‘Do you want to do the job?’ So one
question is about your kind of skills and
experience that you have and the other is about
your motivation and what you, or why you, want
the job. So there’s a number of things that you can
do to make sure that you can answer both those
types of question.
Um, in terms of the skills and experience, it’s
looking at what the employer is looking for. So
you have some information if you’ve applied for a
job and you’re going to an interview about what
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 the job is about – the job description, the person
specification, other information about the role. So
it’s looking through that, looking at what, what
skills are required and really trying to think of
examples of things that you’ve done in the past
that relate to that skill.
A really common type of interview question, or
method, that employers use in interviews are
competency-based questions. So they ask you for
examples of things that you’ve done in the past
that relate to the skills. So if you can prepare those
examples and have some in mind, then you’ll be
ready to use them at the interview, and sort of
prepare how you’re going to talk about them.
So that’s preparation about, about yourself, if you
like, about your skills. And then, obviously, you
need to prepare the other, the other part, which is
the why you want the job ‘cos that’s your
motivation. So think about why is it, really, that
you want to do this role? So often it’s not enough
just to know about the organisation you’re
applying to and know what they do and know
which clients they have or how they work. It’s
also important to relate that back to you. So if the
culture or ethos of the organisation or all the
clients that they have or the way that they work
really appeals to you, you have to kind of make
that connection and explain why it appeals to you,
so in your preparation you’re gonna be sort of
reflecting on that.
And I suppose as linked to that, researching the
organisation more broadly, so, you know,
reading, looking, of course, at their website and
their reports, and other information about the
organisation – if they’re a large organisation, have
they been in the news, what kind of issues are
affecting them or affecting the sector that they
operate in, so kind of just doing some preparation
around that.
I think my three top tips for students who are
looking for work would be: number one, to really
do your research, uh, look into the sector that you
want to work in, the types of organisations that
you want to work for: what sort of work is out
there, what’s available, what opportunities are
there? Um, and linked to that, to try and, uh, find
out a bit more about specific people who work in
the industry and talk to them and meet them if
you can.
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
I think secondly, uh, the second top tip would be
about tailoring CVs, application forms, covering
letters to the organisational role that you’re
applying for. Don’t write a generic CV, a generic
covering letter and expect it to be successful.
Really be specific about why you want to work
for that employer and do that particular job.
And I think thirdly, um, the top tip I could give is
to be persistent and to not give up with looking
for work. It can be a long process sometimes –
some industries are quite competitive. But if you
do your research and then tailor your
applications, then you will be successful
eventually, and get the job that you’re looking for.
HOMEWORK OPTIONS
Students do Exercise G2–2 on page 127 in the
Language reference.
Students do the listening, grammar and reading
exercises for this lesson in MyEnglishLab. They can
also do the MyEnglishLab video activities after this
point.
1.4 SCENARIO:
CHOOSING AN
INTERN
IN THIS LESSON
Lesson topic and staging
This lesson provides a scenario to practise the key
language of stating requirements and saying what is
essential or desirable. Students take part in a
university’s recruitment process to choose an intern.
First, they read a description of UNESCO. They then
consider the profile of an ideal candidate, listen to
two people talking about the same thing and study
key language. For the task, students evaluate three
candidates according to the requirements, using Key
language and Useful phrases provided.
Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will have:
• gathered information from short reading texts
• taken notes while listening
• listened to and practised language for stating
requirements and saying what is essential and
desirable
• participated in a discussion.
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Timings
Possible lesson break: after Exercise 3 or 6.
SITUATION
Explain that a recruitment firm, Morton Associates,
is looking for the right students to work as interns for
UNESCO. Make sure students understand what an
internship is.
1a Students read the situation, the short UNESCO
text and the duties of the intern.
An internship is an opportunity offered by an
employer to potential employees (often students
or undergraduates) called interns, to work for a set
period of time at their firm.
1b Students work in pairs or small groups to decide
what attributes, qualifications, experience, etc. the
ideal candidate should possess. Suggest one
person in each pair/group takes notes.
2 Pairs/Groups now form groups where people will
be sitting together for the first time and repeat the
task, using the information from their first group.
• During class feedback, compile an agreed list of
characteristics of the ideal candidate on the board.
3 Students return to their original pairs and make
notes as they listen. If needed, play the recording
twice. Remind students to just note the key
information and not write sentences.
• Pairs compare their notes before class feedback.
Audio script 1.3/1.4
Lisa, Howard
L: We’ve got three possible candidates for the
internship at UNESCO. They all have slightly
different strengths, so I think it may come
down to who’s best at the interview. Shall we
run through UNESCO’s requirements for this
internship?
H: Yeah, let’s do that.
L: OK, well, the first thing is academic
qualifications. It’s absolutely essential that
candidates are doing a postgraduate degree.
In other words, a second university degree or
higher.
H: OK, so having an undergraduate degree
definitely isn’t enough.
L: Exactly. They’ll have to be enrolled in a
master’s degree or already have one.
H: OK. What about languages?
L: Well, they must have an excellent knowledge
of one of the working languages of the
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
organisation – that means really good English
or French, oral and written.
H: Right, so that’s a prerequisite.
L: Yes.
H: How about work experience?
L: Well, they don’t mention that specifically, but
it’s obviously an advantage to have some
work experience, preferably with an
international organisation.
H: Yes, that’s true. You haven’t mentioned
computer skills.
L: Well, candidates are expected to be able to
use office-related software. That’s fairly
standard.
H: Anything else?
L: No, but we’ll be looking for some evidence of
a special cultural or scientific interest. It is
UNESCO, after all.
H: Yes, quite. By the way, how long is the
internship?
L: It must be between one and four months. So
they’re not that long.
H: OK. Shall we take a look at the candidates
now?
KEY LANGUAGE: stating
requirements, saying what is
essential and desirable
4 Tell students they are now going to listen to
extracts from the same conversation again and
given them three minutes to first read the extract
and predict the missing words.
5 Students listen to the conversation extracts and fill
the gaps.
• Allow students to check in pairs briefly before
class feedback.
Don’t let students spend too long trying to use
only one or two words in each gap. It’s more
important that they understand the recording.
For classes preparing for IELTS, pay extra
attention to this, as the number of words is crucial
for some listening questions. Remind students
that in such a test, they would lose marks for
writing too many words.
1 absolutely essential 2 must have
3 a prerequisite 4 an advantage
5 are expected 6 looking for
6 Refer students to Audio script 1.3 on page 168 and
ask them to underline all the phrases used to state
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 requirements. They should also decide which are
requirements are essential or desirable.
• Students compare their answers in pairs before
class feedback.
• Allow time for students to practise saying the
phrases and identifying the emphasis.
It might help students to listen to these statements
and repeat them in order to get the right
pronunciation and emphasis on key words.
Essential: It’s absolutely essential that …,
They’ll have to be enrolled …, they must have
an excellent knowledge of …
Desirable: … it’s obviously an advantage to
have …, preferably with …, candidates are
expected to …, but we’ll be looking for some
evidence of …
TASK: choosing an intern
• To round up, encourage the class to reach a
consensus and make a final decision on which
candidate should be chosen for the internship and
why. If there are differing opinions, encourage
students to argue their case and persuade those
not in agreement with them to change their minds.
HOMEWORK OPTIONS
Students do Exercise KL–3 on page 127 in the
Language reference.
Students do the Key language, vocabulary and
pronunciation exercises for this lesson in
MyEnglishLab.
Students search the internet or newspapers and try to
find an internship that they would be interested in
doing. Students come to the class prepared to tell
others why they would like to do this internship.

Make sure students remember what they are looking

for as essential or desirable in the candidates for the
intern’s post.

7a Divide students into groups of three or four.

• Students read the allocated candidate’s
information and take notes of both the strong and
weak points.
7bBefore starting the discussion, refer students to the
Key language on page 12 and ask them to consider
how they could use it to talk about their candidate.
Then, direct students’ attention to the Useful
phrases. Practise saying the phrases (as complete
sentences) with students – you might wish to
model them first.
For classes preparing for PTE-A, exercises like
this, where students repeat sentences, are good
practice for the Speaking section. In the exam,
students are required to listen to and repeat a
sentence exactly as they hear it using the correct
pronunciation.
• Students then discuss the different candidates in
their groups, ranking them according to their
suitability for the internship.
Score the groups during the meeting for correct
use of the Key language. A group gets two points
for using Key language correctly and one point
for using Useful phrases correctly.
7dStudents decide, in their groups, who is the best
candidate for the internship and why.
• Bring the class together and ask each group to
nominate a speaker and to present their decision.
Remind them to justify their decision.

New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment 12


1.5 STUDY AND
WRITING SKILLS
IN THIS LESSON
Lesson topic and staging
This lesson is in two parts. In the first part, students
look at self-awareness and in particular motivation.
They first read about two different types of
motivation and then listen to two interviews of
students. They discuss the issue of motivation as well
as what is needed to live or work in a foreign country
and compare their opinions to that of a specialist.
They then decide if they are suited to work abroad.
In the final section of the first part, students consider
learning styles and think about their own qualities
and skills. In the second part, students study what a
covering letter is and how it needs to be organised.
They then listen to a talk on the topic. They read a
covering letter by Vadim Kufenko and identify
useful phrases. Finally, they write a covering letter.
Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students will have:
• studied different types of motivation and
considered their own
• considered the issue of cross-cultural skills and
thought about their suitability to work abroad
• considered learning styles and their own personal
skills and qualities
• listened for specific information and taken notes
• studied a covering letter, what to include and how
to structure it
• identified and understood phrases that can be
used in a covering letter
• written their own covering letter.
Timings
If short of time, set Exercise 12 for homework.
Possible lesson break: after Exercise 4.
STUDY SKILLS: self-awareness
1a Before opening the book, write self-awareness on
the board. Elicit the meaning and ask how much
self-awareness students need. Discuss as a class
how self-awareness can influence their learning.
1b Students work in pairs and discuss their answers
to the questions.
1c Ask pairs to join another pair to form a new group
of four, if there is an odd number, split a pair to
form two groups of three instead.
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
• Students discuss their experiences and the
questions as a group.
• Round up by bringing the class together and
eliciting ideas.
2 Write the word motivation on the board and elicit
the meaning. Ask students what they know about
motivation. Discuss whether it is interpreted
differently depending on nationality/culture.
• Let students discuss the three questions in their
groups before opening the discussion to the class.
3a Ask students to read the two descriptions.
• Check they have understood before playing the
interviews.
• Elicit the answers from the class. If useful, play the
recording a second time.
Anna: integrative motivation;
Hayato: instrumental motivation
Audio script 1.5
Anna, Hayato
A: I’m learning English because I love the
language and I’m fascinated by the culture.
When I was at school, I learnt about
Shakespeare and the Queen and the Tower of
London, and I dreamt of coming to England.
Now I’m in London and I want to improve
my English so I can understand English
books, like Pride and Prejudice and Sherlock
Holmes, the classics, and follow all the
English films and television. I go to the
theatre here twice a month. It’s wonderful to
see a play by Shakespeare at the National
Theatre. I want to become really fluent and
speak like an English person. I enjoy learning
languages and travel a lot. I’ve visited several
foreign countries.
I think I’m a good traveller because I try to fit
in wherever I go. I’ve developed good cross-
cultural skills and because of this, I always
manage to integrate into the culture of the
country I’m visiting.
H: What’s motivating me to learn English?
Simple. I work in the export department of an
international clothing company. I’m
attending an English course in my company
to improve all my skills, so I can pass an
English language proficiency test. If I pass the
test, I’ll get promoted and earn more money.
That’s my main motivation. I’ve never been
13
 good at learning languages and I’m not
particularly interested in English or its
culture, but I am ambitious and very career-
minded. I have to travel a lot in my job to
visit suppliers, and I often need to
communicate with customers in English. So
I’m also trying to improve the level of my
English to become more fluent. It’ll help me
to do my job better. So, to answer your
question, my main goal is to pass the
language test and get a higher salary, but I
also need to improve my English language
skills to perform better in my work.
3bStudents first do the task alone. They listen once
only and then check in pairs.
• After this, do class feedback.
1 Hayato 2 Anna 3 Hayato 4 Anna
5 Hayato 6 Anna 7 Anna 8 Hayato
Students could write a short piece explaining why
they think they are the right type of person to
work in a foreign country. This task could then
form the first step to writing a covering letter in
Exercise 12.
4 Draw students’ attention to the heading and make
sure they understand what it means.
• Refer them to page 159 Ask how many learning
styles are described and what they are called. Give
students a couple of minutes to read and consider
the learning styles before discussing the questions
in the task, in groups of three or four.
• Do class feedback.
5a Students work individually and then in groups.
• Check these lists, as they will form the basis of
Exercise 12.
WRITING SKILLS: a covering letter
6 Read the rubric with students and then check
understanding of the words in the box.
• Students do the activity individually, then check
answers in pairs.
• Check answers and also check that they have
understood the key points of the text.
1 motivate 2 targeted 3 vacancy
4 speculative 5 vital 6 convincing
7 Students order the information individually before
checking their ideas with a partner.
• Elicit answers from the class and ask students to
justify their choices.
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
e1 d2 a3 c4 b5
8 Go through the rubric and then ask students to
predict what they think they are going to hear
under each heading. You could write their
predictions on the board.
• Play the track twice for students to make notes
and check their predictions.
• Let students check answers in pairs before doing
class feedback.
Introduction: focus on the employer’s needs
Strengths: include all your ‘selling points’ and
highlight your strengths Length of letter:
neither too long nor too short: concise but
complete and persuasive Applying for
different jobs: include different points,
depending on the job you are applying for
Ending the letter: sign and print your name
under the signature
Audio script 1.6
OK then, I’ve told you how to organise a covering
letter and what to include in it. Now let me give
you some advice.
First, focus on the employer’s needs and show
how your qualities and skills match what they’re
looking for. And try to avoid starting every
sentence with ‘I’. I mean, you have to talk about
yourself, but do try to vary the way that you do
this.
Make sure you include all your ‘selling points’.
They’re things you can offer which will really
impress the employer. For example, you could
say, ‘I’ve had three years’ experience in the
newspaper industry and was voted Financial
Journalist of the Year in 2006. I speak Spanish and
English and can take notes quickly in shorthand.’
In other words, highlight your strengths and what
you can offer the employer.
Now, be careful about the length of the covering
letter. If you make it too short, you’ll probably
leave out important information and not ‘sell
yourself’ properly. But if you make it too long, the
reader may get bored and might not read it
properly. Remember that some employers have to
read thousands of letters every year, so the letter
needs to be concise and persuasive.
14

And don’t put the same things in every covering
letter you write. Customise each letter so that the
qualities and skills you mention – your strong
points – are targeted at the specific job you’ve
applied for. You may include different points,
depending on the job.
And finally, sign your letter and print your name
under the signature.
Well, everyone, that’s about all I’d like to say
about covering letters. Good luck in your job
hunting. I hope you’ve found this talk interesting
and useful.
9 Refer students to Audio script 1.6 on page 166 and
ask them to check their answers.
• Discuss as a class how different their predictions
were to the answers.
10a Read through the instructions. Before students
do the task, refer them back to Exercises 6, 7
and 8 to help them check Vadim’s covering letter.
• Students work alone for about five minutes and
then for a further five minutes in pairs, before
class feedback.
Vadim has followed most of the rules. He
could have been more specific about the job he
is applying for (Research Assistant with
Euronews Magazine). He could have highlighted
his strengths even more by mentioning his
languages and he should have signed the letter
as well as printed his name.
10b If you think your students may already know
what a topic sentence and a supporting idea are,
you could elicit these before reading the rubric.
For classes in universities and university
preparation courses, recognising topic sentences
can also help structure students’ own writing in
academic essays. Ask students why they should
include a topic sentence in their own writing.
New Language Leader Advanced Education and employment
For classes preparing for IELTS, the IELTS reading
task of matching headings to paragraphs is a
similar skill to matching topic sentences to
paragraphs. Ask students how topic sentences are
similar to paragraph headings.
• Go through the example before letting them work
on paragraphs 3 and 4.
Para 3: topic sentence: My role as a Financial
Analyst … invaluable experience of working in
teams … supporting evidence: It has also
enabled me to develop key skills … ; I am used
to working to tight deadlines.
Para 4: topic sentence: I have travelled widely
in Europe and have gained useful cross-
cultural skills. supporting evidence: I would
be able to fit comfortably into the multinational
teams …
11 Students do the activity as per Coursebook and
check answers in pairs before class feedback.
1 for your consideration 2 company literature
3 challenge 4 invaluable 5 concise
6 working to tight deadlines 7 have gained
8 an asset
12 This can be done either in class or for homework.
Tell students not to write their names on the
covering letter. When they have finished, collect
all the letters, then divide the class into two or
three groups and hand out the letters, making
sure you do not give a group a letter written by
one of the students in that group. The groups
read them and choose the best candidate for the
job, justifying their choices.
HOMEWORK OPTIONS
Students do the writing skills, academic collocations
and pronunciation exercises for this lesson in
MyEnglishLab. This is also a good time to do the
MyEnglishLab video activities.
15