Workplace English for Non-Profits: Using Visual and Specific Purposes Pedagogy
Faculty Mentor
Gina Petrie
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-14-2026 2:00 PM
End Date
4-14-2026 4:00 PM
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
English as a Second Language
Abstract
Between April and June 2025, I designed and taught an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) workshop series for Refugee and Immigrant Connections Spokane (RICS) in Spokane, Washington. The purpose of this workshop series was to provide RICS’s employees, who were advanced English learners, instruction and practice with the nuances of professional communication, especially email communication, and vocabulary unique to their career in a non-profit organization. The workshop was entirely voluntary, provided online over Zoom after their workday had ended, and met once a week for one hour. I designed this workshop series using the pedagogy of ESP: conducting a thorough needs analysis and incorporating workplace-authentic materials and opportunities to use language. In addition, I utilized a visual pedagogy to facilitate student engagement and spur natural and automatic memory formation.
Recommended Citation
Brown-Fries, Emma, "Workplace English for Non-Profits: Using Visual and Specific Purposes Pedagogy" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 32.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/ps_2026/p3_2026/32
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Workplace English for Non-Profits: Using Visual and Specific Purposes Pedagogy
PUB NCR
Between April and June 2025, I designed and taught an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) workshop series for Refugee and Immigrant Connections Spokane (RICS) in Spokane, Washington. The purpose of this workshop series was to provide RICS’s employees, who were advanced English learners, instruction and practice with the nuances of professional communication, especially email communication, and vocabulary unique to their career in a non-profit organization. The workshop was entirely voluntary, provided online over Zoom after their workday had ended, and met once a week for one hour. I designed this workshop series using the pedagogy of ESP: conducting a thorough needs analysis and incorporating workplace-authentic materials and opportunities to use language. In addition, I utilized a visual pedagogy to facilitate student engagement and spur natural and automatic memory formation.
