MODULE OVERVIEW
As an experienced engineer in the company, you now have to cope with different problems and consideration related to the product. Be careful, your company may stand chances of being sued.
You’ll deal with the area of safety and quality (i.e. safety and quality management in engineering, financial issues in engineering).
Module 4: Safety and Quality Matter Together
GENRES:
● Risk assessment template
● Internal project meeting
● Oral presentation to team members
● Meeting requests/invitations
● Articles
● Extracts from directives, manuals, reports
● Manuals
● Articles
● Reports,
● Video-Conferencing through Skype
● Meeting,
● E-mails
Learning objectives for the whole module
Within the area of dealing with the issues related to the product
SKILLS
Becoming acquainted with the stages involved in determining a safety or quality issue in a product: brainstorming, reading, speaking, listening and writing on the detected issues
● Reading: Reading a booklet on risk assessment, reading a text on hierarchy of control measures, reading about a real-life case scenario of a safety issue, readings on different quality dimensions and issues
● Writing: Writing a formal report including introduction, body and concluding paragraphs using appropriate language
● Listening: Past and current state of quality and issues of quality
● Speaking interaction: Discussing the potential risks and hazards at workplace settings, discussing about possible control measures, speaking about risk management, discussing about quality issues in informal settings and participating in formal meetings on quality issues
● Speaking production: Presenting on a proposed a risk management action plan, using appropriate register and turn-taking strategies during a formal meeting
LANGUAGE
● Vocabulary: Verbs concerning safety (e.g. check, measure, monitor, assess, evaluate, etc.), verbs that refer to what machines and devices do (run, break, etc.), abbreviations and acronyms (e.g. CE- Conformité Européenne, OSHA- Occupational –Safety and Health Organization), vocabulary of meeting requests, vocabulary on quality dimensions, quality assurance, quality control, ISO standards, quality methodologies, quality instructions
● Grammar & Discourse: Language to describe warnings and health and safety requirements (e.g. modal verbs, imperative statements), grammar & discourse structures of meeting requests, formal register (passive voice, cleft sentences), making suggestions (should)
● Pronunciation: Different accents, stressed and unstressed words, stressed and unstressed words or British-American versions of engineering terminology with respect to quality
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (IC): IC features of occupational health and safety regulations, the real-life activity which involves participation of colleagues from different countries.
Assessment: Peer assessment and teacher evaluation based on the provided criteria on writing a report.
VIRTUAL REALITY: two activities in this module, one at the end of Task 1, another at the end of Task 2.
TASK 1: Internal meeting to discuss the preparation of a report for the manager on problems and issues detected in the production and lifespan of the product
Learning objectives for TASK 1: Risk Assessment and Management
SKILLS: By the completion of this task, the students will be able to do the following:
READING:
● B1-Read through longer texts in the field and gather information and opinion from different texts in order to complete a specific task.
● B1- Follow clearly written instructions or help indications within the engineering field
● B2-Understand a fairly wide range of specific and more complex texts, with the occasional use of a dictionary.
WRITING:
● B1-Write simple connected texts on familiar topics marking relationship between ideas, with reasonable grammatical correctness.
● B1-Make comparisons to help descriptions of situations with reasonable grammatical accuracy.
● B1-Use the passive voice to express ideas that require an impersonal construction or when it is more convenient to stress the thing done than the doer.
● B1-Ask for or give, via e-mails, short simple factual information to colleagues.
● B2-Plan, review, and check pieces of my writing with the help of a dictionary and other refence sources.
LISTENING:
● B2-Follow a spontaneous lively conversation between native speakers if they use clear standard language Follow complex lines of an argument.
● B2-Use a variety of strategies to achieve comprehension, including listening for main points and using contextual clues.
● B2- Follow the essentials of professional presentations in their field.
SPEAKING PRODUCTION:
● B1-Control sufficient vocabulary to express the main points without much difficulty.
● B1-Give brief explanations for opinions real or hypothetical plans, and actions.
● B1-Structure a simple talk in a comprehensible way, indicating the beginning and end of each section using cohesive devices, and present it clearly speaking from notes or visual aids.
● B1-Give clear, detailed presentations on the specific subject, expand the significant points and give examples, spontaneously and from notes.
● B1/B2-Explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options
SPEAKING INTERACTION:
● B1-Exchange points of view and personal opinions in an informal discussion with friends.
● B1-Show agreement or disagreement about what has been said, politely.
● B1-Indicate, maintain and end discourse naturally with effective turn-talking.
● B2-Work in a team exchanging detailed factual information and opinion on the specific field.
● B2-Comment on other’s opinions showing PROs and CONs from the students’ viewpoint
● B2-Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible. I can take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts, accounting for and sustaining my views
LANGUAGE:
● Vocabulary:
Verbs concerning safety (e.g. check, measure, monitor, assess, evaluate, etc.),
Verbs that refer to what machines and devices do (run, break, etc.), abbreviations and acronyms (e.g. CE- Conformité Européenne, OSHA- Occupational –Safety and Health Organization),
Vocabulary of meeting requests
● Grammar & Discourse:
Language to describe warnings and health and safety requirements (e.g. modal verbs, imperative statements)
Grammar & discourse structures of meeting requests
PROUNCIATION: Different accents, stressed and unstressed words
GENRES:
Risk assessment template
Internal project meeting
Oral presentation to team members
Meeting requests/invitations
Articles
Extracts from directives, manuals, reports
GAME ELEMENT: Activity 2, Step 4 (KAHOOT)
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (IC): IC features of occupational health and safety regulations
TASK 2: Writing a report for the manager on problems and issues detected in the production and lifespan of the product (i.e. disposal and recycling), ethical issues and quality/safety.
Learning objectives for task 2:
SKILLS – By the completion of this task, the students will be able to do the following:
READING:
● B1-Read through longer texts in the field to gather information and opinion from different texts in order to complete a specific task.
● B1-Understand simple messages from people who share interests (e.g. e-mails, webchats) and formal standard letters on expected topics.
● B1-Follow clearly written instructions or help indications within the field (e.g using a piece of equipment).
● B2-Understand a fairly wide range of specific and more complex texts, with the occasional use of a dictionary.
WRITING:
● B1-Write simple connected texts on familiar topics marking relationship between ideas, with reasonable grammatical correctness.
● B1-Use the passive voice to express ideas that require an impersonal construction or when it is more convenient to stress the thing done than the doer.
● B2-Write clear and detailed texts such as reports on topics related to the field of interest, varying vocabulary and style according to the kind of text.
● B2-Write a report evaluating different ideas or solutions to a problem, using polite academic language with occasional errors.
LISTENING:
● B2-Follow a spontaneous lively conversation between native speakers if they use clear standard language.
● B2-Use a variety of strategies to achieve comprehension including listening for main points and using contextual clues.
SPEAKING PRODUCTION:
● B1-Control sufficient vocabulary to express main points by transmitting without much difficulty on familiar topics.
● B1-Give a description of an issue within the field of interest, though with some errors influenced by mother tongue.
● B1-Give brief explanations for opinions, real or hypothetical plans, and actions.
SPEAKING INTERACTION:
● B1-Exchange points of view and personal opinions in an informal discussion with friends showing agreement or disagreement about what has been said, politely
● B1-Formulate the most important points of what somebody has told to make sure what has been understood.
LANGUAGE:
● Vocabulary: Vocabulary on quality dimensions, quality assurance, quality control, ISO standards, quality methodologies, quality instructions
● Grammar & Discourse: formal register (passive voice, cleft sentences), making suggestions (should)
PRONUNCIATION: Stressed and unstressed words OR British-American versions of engineering terminology with respect to quality
GENRES: Manuals, articles, reports, video-conferencing through Skype, meeting, emails
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (IC): Intercultural communicative competence will be improved through the real-life activity which involves participation of colleagues from different countries.
FOLLOW-UP/REFLECTION UPON TASKS TO ACTIVATE LEARNING
The students will analyse a product (although it is a manufactured one, the student will imagine the product before the manufacturing process) The analysis will be done from the patent document and the manual, the students will be provided with a template of possible issues (environmental, quality, ethical & regulations, safety, and the students will determine the strengths and weaknesses of the product and in groups they will present the issues(this time quality issues) and possible solutions (quality issues) and video-record them for the teacher to evaluate. They will also write a report on the safety issues and the solutions. The students will watch an authentic video and answer the questions related to the video.