We are presenting a methodological approach that aims to increase students' motivation by asking them to develop tasks based on professional settings. In order to meet this objective a collaborative methodology was designed and applied to two multidisciplinary projects: MARKETOUR and ICT-SUSTOUR. Both projects made students face real workplace situations by working collaboratively through the use of a virtual learning environment (VLE) and other information technology (IT) tools at a national and international level. The methodology proposed offers students a professional scenario in which they are required to develop purpose-based tasks using IT. A virtual learning environment was devised for each project in order to create a real learning community and a website was designed in ICT-SUSTOUR for sharing information. The development of both projects encouraged students to improve their communication skills in English as well as their IT skills with the ultimate objective of increasing their motivation to learn English for specific purposes (ESP). (Contains 3 figures.)