YOUNG LEAVERS
The units in this section fall into two groups: those that are concerned with various aspects of our relationships with other people, and those that deal with the demands of getting and starting a job.
Relationships
What is usually called 'getting on with other people' is closely bound up with our assumptions about, and attitudes towards, them. Two units explore this at a general level, F3 'Tags for people' and F4 'National characteristics'.
F2 'Man's job/woman's work' provides a general introduction to the problems of getting on with other people at work. It looks at the way in which assumptions about the respective parts played in life by men 'and women are embedded in the vocabulary. K5 'Starting work' and JI 'Belonging to a group' are more directly concerned with the problems that face a newcomer who has to cope with existing patterns of relationships.
Theme H contains a number of units that look at particular aspects of' such relationships, among them H3 'Playing many parts', H4 'Changing jobs' and H5 'Keeping up appearances. H 7 'Pub and club' might then be used to lead to units which focus more closely on the linguistic features of our interaction with others such as J4 'Social talk' or J6 'Conversation between friends'.
E3 'Reticence' could conclude this sequence of units. It examines the problems of talking about topics like death and illness which require very delicate handling if people's susceptibilities are to be respected.
The demands of the job
When the time comes to consult career literature, two units may help; B7 'Fact and fiction', which can be used to approach career novels, and K9 'Projecting an image', which can be used as an introduction to books and pamphlets about firms and careers. The process of applying for a job is explored in K4 'Applying for a job' and J8 'Being interviewed'. Further practice in writing the relevant letters could be provided by K7 'Letters'.
Applicants often have to fill in a form. G5 'Making up questionnaires' requires the class to draw up a questionnaire so that they have to examine the design of forms and the function of the questions asked in them, while K I I 'Reports from interviews' examines in its third session various kinds of insurance proposal forms.
When the individual starts a job, he find himself faced with a whole new range of demands upon his language. He will only be able to meet them adequately by becoming familiar with the particular demands of the firm in which he finds himself, but his task will be made easier if he is already aware of the nature of some of these demands. BI 'Formal and informal' explores our intuitions about levels of formality in language, while K6 'Communicating' explores the ways in which communications are maintained in large organisations.
The telephone plays a part in every job at some time or other. A7 'Operating instructions' and J10 'Talking on the telephone' may be used to look at the problems of communicating effectively by telephone. Taking and passing on messages creates special problems, especially when technical details are involved, and these are explored in J11 'Taking messages'.
Many jobs require the exercise of tact in dealing with other people, and H8 'Being tactful' develops an awareness of the type of response to others that this involves. Other jobs need skill in maintaining some distance between oneself and a patient, a customer or a client, and H8 'Keeping one's distance' gives the class an opportunity to examine what is involved. Sooner or later, the individual is likely to be concerned, directly or indirectly, with negotiations. K3 'Negotiating' helps the class to look at the part played by language in the often delicate business of trying to reach an agreement.