Study Guide

Objective

Students will learn to present themselves and to describe their education. They will know central vocabulary in the health and social field and elderly care, and they will be able to describe the scope of their future work and the health and social service delivery systems for elderly people. They will be able to manage common workplace situations, e.g. interviewing and advising elderly clients. They will also be introduced to academic language use and to reading scientific texts.

Content

Terminology and language use pertaining to studies, social and health services and elderly care. Introduction to scientific English.

Materials

Material as indicated by the lecturer. www.stm.fi, www.kela.fi and other online material.

Evaluation scale

1-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Students manage in routine oral and written communication situations in multi-professional work communities (e.g. e-mail, filling out forms, CV, presenting the workplace). Students are able to give simple instruction to individual clients/groups orally and in writing. They know how to ask for and document clients'/patients' essential information to secure correct care or follow-up. Students understand texts related to their own duties in the health and social field. They make mistakes in grammatical structures, which complicate communication and may cause misunderstanding and require reformulation. Students know basic vocabulary for health and social welfare so that they give the necessary information to the listener or reader. Their pronunciation is understandable, but sometimes inaccurate in special terminology. Students can find the information they are looking for in texts that deal with familiar topics. They use common means to support communication.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Students are able to communicate with a multi-professional work community both orally and in writing (e.g. telephone conversations, consultation, oral and written reports, oral presentations). Students know how to give and explain individual client/patient instructions, explain common procedures and examinations, report on patients'/clients' current health/life situations and ask for additional information. Students enter the information onto documents to ensure correct care or follow-up and reply clients'/patients' questions. Students mostly use correct grammatical structures and correct themselves in case of misunderstanding. They know the central vocabulary for health and welfare services well and are rather familiar with special terminology in their own field. They seek to adapt their communication style to the situation at hand. Their pronunciation is rather natureal and clear. They know how to scan professional texts to find the main points. They use various means to support communication.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Students communicate accurately and appropriately both orally and in writing, even in demanding interactive situations in multi-professional and multi-cultural work environments (meetings, care negotiations, feedback discussion). They fluidly and extensively present alternative solutions in counselling situations, taking into consideration clients' cultural background. Students know how to interview clients/patients in a professional manner, even in challenging, unexpected situations. Students use a wide variety of grammatical structures almost flawlessly. Their vocabulary, including special terminology, is extensive and their pronunciation is clear and natural. They adapt their communication style to the situation at hand. Students are able to scan texts rapidly to evaluate their reliability as sources of information. They effectively use various means to support communication.

Qualifications

No previous studies are required.