From foreign language proficiency towards graduates' employability

Abstract

Today's graduates are faced with a quite different employment situation than that of earlier generations. It is not enough to possess good knowledge of foreign language but it is also important to acquire the essential employability skills. Therefore the research problem stands as follows: What teaching strategies should be applied aiming at developing students' foreign language competence and employability skills through Business English/German. Thus, a survey was conducted to discover which employability skills are highlighted by the employers and the students' of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture and which skills should be embedded into Business English/German curriculum. Based on the survey results, the mechanism of curriculum was considered, the tasks and activities that practice the target skills and foreign language fluency were offered. The enhancement of employability skills was supported through team work by using various cooperative learning structures.