De Plaats Van de Vreemde Talen in Een Beroepsgerichte Technische Opleiding Als De H.T.S.

The College of Technology student is trained to use technology in practice. In his profession he is society orientated, and his language education should be so too. At this level it is for the first time that languages are no longer an aim in themselves, but that they have the function of serving professional needs. The task of the (foreign) language teacher is to relate language to technology, in order to make its relevance clear.The student should be given insight into the communicative skills which he will need in his professional life. The qualified engineer can expect to have to write reports, letters and summaries, or to give these verbally in both his own as well as in other languages. He may also need to conduct sales talks and give work instructions to those who use a second language as a mutual means of communication. A good vocational language course should prepare him for these activities.But who should instruct the College of Technology student in these various communicative skills? An engineer with interest in language, or a linguist who, in the most favourable instance, has some interest in technology?In practice every teacher does his best according to his own insight into the professional requirements of engineers. A carefully balanced training in the combination of language and technology does not (yet) exist, but the need for this and the interest in combined initiatives is growing.