ELC 650: ENGLISH FOR PROFESSIONAL INTERACTION

ASSESSMENT II: DISCUSSION OBSERVATION (25%)

GUIDELINES

General Information

Assessments II and III are linked as they are based on a similar stimulus. These two assessments
which evaluate the students’ oral and written communication are conducted consecutively in the
classroom.

GUIDELINES

Students will be required to participate in a project planning discussion. Each group of 4 will be
given a situation, and students will have to brainstorm ideas and plan a project. Students are to
take brief notes during the discussion which they may use to develop their email.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Presentation time: 20 minutes

SAMPLE DISCUSSION OBSERVATION SITUATION

Instructions for Project Planning Discussion

 Read the situation below.

 You are given five (5) minutes to prepare.
 You are given twenty (20) minutes to present the discussion.
 Each student is responsible to introduce one of the aspects given, but all students should
contribute to the discussion.
 Remember to take brief notes which you may use to develop your email.

SITUATION
A group of you have been given the task of planning an event as part of your company’s corporate social
responsibility (CSR) initiative. Have a discussion on the following aspects:

 the kind of event you would like to carry out and the objectives
 the activities to be held as part of the event
 budget, funding and promotion of the event to the staff
 committees and duties for staff to help run the event
Elements to consider when conducting the Discussion Observation

During the group discussion, students should:

 exchange greetings,
 introduce task at hand,
 present ideas, opinions and suggestions,
 agree and disagree,
 justify and clarify points,
 give feedback,
 negotiate,
 decide on suitable action(s),
 use appropriate language functions for discussion,
 use appropriate non-verbal communication,
 use appropriate language to close the dialogue,
 take notes, and
 keep in mind positive values when interacting, for example politeness, honesty, openness
and gratitude among others.

The oral component of this assessment seeks to encourage and develop interpersonal
communication in relation to planning a project or an event. The focus should be on the following:
 group discussion skills
 personality and conflict
 tone
 interpersonal communication styles
 problem solving skills
 listening skills
 negotiation skills
 decision making skills
 use of appropriate language functions for interpersonal communication
 attitudes and behaviour
 professional etiquette