vcc.ca
ELSK 0580: EAL for Health Care Intermediate
Effective date
September 2025
Department
ESL Pathways
School
Arts and Sciences
Description
This course focuses on the development and application of essential English communication skills for health care settings at an intermediate (CLB 5-6) level. Key components of the course are building health care vocabulary, practicing common professional interactions, and developing communication strategies and skills for successful oral and written interactions with patients, visitors, colleagues, and other health professionals.
Credits
0.0
Year of study
Prerequisites
CLB 4 Listening, CLB 4 Speaking, CLB 4 Reading, and CLB 4 Writing, or department approval.
Corequisites
None
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Identify the basic structure of the Canadian and BC healthcare systems and roles within these systems.
- Identify and apply basic strategies to practice socio-cultural competencies.
- Use a communication framework to structure oral and written communication in the health care context.
- Select appropriate vocabulary, tone, register, and non-verbal language to use in common health care settings and with various audiences.
- Identify and apply basic strategies for note-taking, reading formatted and unformatted texts, and responding to written communication common in health care contexts.
- Use reflection journals to increase self-awareness in communication habits, learnings, perceptions, and biases.
- Honour and be aware of the impacts of colonization on Indigenous Peoples’ access to and experiences with healthcare in Canada.
Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR)
None
Hours
Lecture, Online, Seminar, Tutorial: 40
Total Hours: 40
Total Hours: 40
Instructional Strategies
Lectures, demonstrations, role-plays, audio/video recording, case studies, self-study, pair and group discussion, ongoing feedback, Moodle
Grading System
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Passing grade
60%
Evaluation Plan
|
Type |
Percentage |
Assessment activity |
|
Assignments |
40% |
Listening and Speaking tasks |
|
Assignments |
30% |
Reading and Writing tasks |
|
Quizzes/Tests |
20% |
Short quizzes |
|
Participation |
10% |
Active involvement in live instructional sessions and online activities |
Course topics
- Effective Communication and Barriers to Effective Communication
- Socio-cultural Competencies
- Communication Frameworks
- Telephone Language & Strategies
- Note-taking Strategies
- Professional Email Structure
- Vocabulary Development Strategies
- Culture, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion
- Impacts of colonization on Indigenous Peoples’ health and access to healthcare in Canada
- Digital Literacy
Notes:
- Course contents and descriptions, offerings and schedules are subject to change without notice.
- Students are required to follow all College policies including ones that govern their educational experience at VCC. Policies are available on the VCC website at:
https://www.vcc.ca/about/governance--policies/policies/. - To find out if there are existing transfer agreements for this course, visit the BC Transfer Guide at https://www.bctransferguide.ca.