The CATESOL Journal

This paper discusses the strategies used to develop a “professional register” in three Generation 1.5 students at Kapi’olani Community College in Hawaii who were having difficulty with the practicum, or clinical which was required for the AS degree in the Allied Health field. These three students were referred to the ESOL instructor by their department chairs. The ESOL instructor agreed to work with these three students for a semester. The instructor had five goals: (1) to convince the students of the need for developing a professional register; (2) to develop appropriate pronunciation; (3) to develop appropriate discourse; (4) to train the students to use a rehearsal technique; (5) to encourage the students to listen for and recognize discourse patterns used in their professions. This paper describes how the instructor attempted to attain these goals.