Language aware orientation
Instructions for taking language into account and supporting language learning in orientation.
employee in charge of orientation, supervisor
Reserving extra time for language issues in orientation.
The new employee learns relevant language in orientation.
Well-planned orientation takes into account the employee's language proficiency and supports language learning from the start. Practices adopted in language-aware orientation also support continuous language learning in the work community.
Consider at least the following in language-aware orientation:
Encourage the new employee to observe the linguistic expressions used by other employees and the language used in workplace messages and documents. At the beginning, provide the language learner a Finnish-speaking work pair.
Present work-related vocabulary and expressions by verbalising your actions during orientation.
Prepare glossaries of typical vocabulary used at the workplace. Together with the language learner, you can also discuss which expression would suit a particular scenario or how different expressions change the tone.
Give the new employee the opportunity to practise using language in work situations. You can discuss suitable expressions and basic phrases in advance.
During the orientation, provide the language learner opportunities to use the language in authentic situations. In the beginning, you can participate and offer the language learner support and models of language use.
In your feedback, 1) point out the observation, 2) inform the learner of the effects of their language use on the recipient, and 3) suggest a better alternative.
©2024 Johanna Komppa, Eveliina Korpela, Lari Kotilainen, Salla Kurhila and Inkeri Lehtimaja
Language-aware orientation, august 2024, produced by Johanna Komppa, Eveliina Korpela, Lari Kotilainen, Salla Kurhila and Inkeri Lehtimaja, is licensed under a CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The material can be found at kielibuusti.fi. Photos: All rights reserved.
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