Term
Summer 2026
Capstone
Capstone Project
Degree Name
MA-TESOL
Facilitator(s)
Karen Moroz, Julia Reimer
Content Expert
Steven Wicht
Abstract
Employment interviews represent high-stakes communicative events that can present particular challenges for adult English learners (AELs). Despite this, existing interview preparation materials often emphasize rehearsal of common questions, memorization of responses, and adherence to cultural norms instead of an intentional focus on the linguistic resources characteristic of employment interview discourse. This capstone project addresses that gap through the design of an eight-week curriculum for intermediate-level AELs. The curriculum is informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics, the Sydney School approach to genre pedagogy, Interactional Sociolinguistics, the Teaching and Learning Cycle, and Understanding by Design. Together, these frameworks guided the development of a language-driven curriculum that presents employment interviews as a spoken genre, encouraging learners to recognize and strategically apply linguistic resources in authentic communicative contexts. The completed project includes an eight-week course framework, assessment system, instructional materials, and nine representative lesson plans illustrating the developmental progression of the course. Through the curriculum design process, the project's instructional purpose evolved from preparing learners to produce successful interview responses toward helping them become more aware, capable, and confident language users. The resulting curriculum provides a theoretically grounded model for applying genre pedagogy to spoken workplace communication in adult English language education.
Project Type
Curriculum
Keywords
Adult Education, Curriculum, ESL/ ELLs, Genre
Recommended Citation
Schueler, Caitlin, "A Genre-Based Approach to Teaching Employment Interview English for Adult English Learners in the United States" (2026). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects. 1226.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/1226
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Education Student Capstone Projects