Languages at Work (LANG30001)

Learning a language culminates not only in linguistic and cultural proficiency but also in the development of advanced skills in areas valued by industry: intercultural competence, communication and lateral thinking. This subject offers students the opportunity to recognise and extend these skills by engaging with an industry collaborator in target-language communities in Australia. Students will work in teams to develop solutions, either to progress an existing project or to initiate a project, in consultation with the industry partner and in line with the rigour of workplace knowledge and processes. The subject brings together students from a mix of language majors and is taught in English, but will result in assessable outcomes in a target language.

The subject comprises three phases: 1) three initial weeks of seminars (delivered in English to students in all language streams) which introduce students to team- and project-work strategies, workplace culture, career pathways, as well as the industry partner’s multi-dimensional real-world challenge ; 2) eight weeks of collaborative work in a target language in response to a project brief, under close supervision and to a schedule of reporting deadlines; and 3) the presentation of project outcomes in the target language to an audience of industry specialists, community members and peers.