Business English: Evaluating Job Candidates Task

Overview: Marketing Manager Candidate Evaluation

Engaging Business English Students with Real-World Decision-Making

This dynamic learning activity brings real-world hiring processes into the classroom, allowing students to sharpen their business English, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Students will join two engaging podcast hosts as they evaluate candidates for a marketing manager position, offering a unique blend of professional communication practice and active listening development.

Highlights of the Task

• Real-World Context: Students take on the role of hiring committee members, mirroring real-life responsibilities of evaluating candidate profiles, assigning scores, and making data-driven decisions.
• Interactive Podcast Component: The task incorporates excerpts from a professional podcast. Students first listen to a two-minute segment to understand the task setup, then later compare their group decisions with the hosts’ reasoning in an extended segment.
• Jigsaw Activity: Learners collaborate in groups, with each member analyzing one candidate’s profile. They exchange information orally to complete a shared scoring table, fostering professional communication and teamwork.

Integrated Skills Practice:

• Listening: Students practice attentive listening through podcast segments and group discussions.
• Speaking: Clear articulation and negotiation skills are developed as students justify their decisions.
• Critical Thinking: Students apply a structured scoring system, weighing both quantitative and qualitative factors to choose the best candidate.
• Authentic Problem-Solving: The scoring system mirrors real-world decision-making frameworks, teaching students to evaluate qualifications, experience, and cultural fit holistically.

Activity Flow

Introduction

• The instructor plays a short audio segment introducing the scoring system and job requirements.
• Comprehension questions ensure students understand the evaluation framework.

Candidate Evaluation

• Students are assigned one candidate profile each and review it individually.
• In groups, they share their findings, ask clarifying questions, and complete a shared scoring table collaboratively.

Guided Discussion

• Students discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.
• Using their completed tables, they decide on the best candidate and justify their choice.

Compare with Podcast Hosts

• Students listen to an extended podcast segment where the hosts solve the same problem.
• They compare their group’s decision with the hosts’ approach, reflecting on similarities and differences in reasoning.

Follow-Up Task

• Students design a custom scoring system for hiring a position within their own field, prioritizing the most relevant criteria (e.g., education, experience, personality).

Key Learning Objectives

• Enhance business English proficiency in real-world contexts.
• Build confidence in professional communication, negotiation, and decision-making.
• Develop critical listening skills through authentic audio input.
• Practice collaborative problem-solving and reasoning skills.