English for specific purposes for the strengthening of employability in students of technical and professional secondary education in Chile

Abstract

This research sought the connection between the English language for specific purposes with the future employability of technical-professional high school students, with the idea that English is a useful tool for the world of work and a bridge to promote equality in education in public schools. In this way, an exploratory mixed sequential study with equal Qual/Quan status is undertaken to diagnose the levels of English language for specific purposes in students of technical and professional secondary education. For such purposes, an instrument is validated by means of a non-probabilistic sample consisting of 116 fourth-year students of the technical specialties of administration and accounting, together with a Focus Group carried out post-results to 3 teachers and 2 head teachers, all members of a polyvalent professional technical High School, located in Maipu, Santiago-Chile. he results indicate that students graduate with a low command of English, which is not very useful to understand or produce texts for specific purposes, where the English language in professional technical secondary education turns out to be an undeveloped tool to improve job insertion and the employment opportunities of the graduates. KEYWORDS : Technical and vocational education, Education and employment, Professional competence, Second Language Teaching, Linguistic Competence. DOI: 10.21703/rexe.20191836espinoza16