2020/2021

English for Business Purposes. Upper-Intermediate Course - 2

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Optional course

Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages

When: 3, 4 module

Instructors: Alla A. Efimova, Yuliya Suvorova

Language: English

ECTS credits: 5

Contact hours: 88

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The discipline refers to the variable educational tracks offered to students of the curricula for bachelor's and master's degree at choice while mastering the optional course of English in accordance with the Concept of developing English-speaking communicative competence of students of Higher School of Economics — National Research University https://www.hse.ru/docs/381549301.html This course is designed for students who want to communicate effectively in English in the workplace. It allows for personalization of the learning experience with a structured modular approach that gives flexibility to focus on specific needs and learning outcomes. Students who have completed the discipline will learn basic professional terminology and vocabulary for the implementation of business communication and commercial activities and acquire oral and written skills in the field of business communication. Role-playing games involving telephone conversations, exchange of letters, participation in meetings and meetings with business partners, as well as case studies form and develop students' business communication skills in a meaningful and authentic professional context.

Learning Objectives

• The course focuses on introducing students to the general vocabulary of work-place English and the main language functions and is aimed at acquiring language mastery relevant to common business communication areas, such as career choices and professional development, dealing with business sectors and managing projects.
• -To build the basic skills of argumentative communication in English and successful representation of intentions and results to ensure the maximum range and authenticity of business content.
• -To acquire the basic skills of business communication (structural elements, business register peculiarities, essential business vocabulary) within multiple touch points from which to explore the possibilities of use of any given language skill.
• -To master presentation agility and fluency with the various skills, practical training in functional business areas such as presentations, negotiations, meeting facilitation, and brainstorming.
• -To apply BC skills to the specific subject area of International Affairs, from business conversations in the workplace, to negotiations and presentation skills.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• To develop understanding of lectures and learning context
• To form skills of note-taking
• To improve understanding of dialogues and polylogues on both familiar and unfamiliar topics
• To develop skills in writing essays.
• To develop skills of participating in dialogue on general, academic and professional topics.(active listening, questioning, responding to questions, emphasizing, discussion strategies)
• To improve skills of writing e-mails.
• To develop skills of participating in dialogues on general, academic and professional topics. (active listening, questioning, responding to questions, emphasizing, discussion strategies)
• To develop skills of making presentations (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
• To develop skills in delivering a monologue (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
• To develop skills in writing summaries
• To develop skills of using basic listening techniques (predicting, understanding main ideas and details)
• To develop understanding of articles, reports, straightforward and specialised texts concerned with contemporary problems at the threshold/vantage/effective operational proficiency level
• To form understanding of text structure
• To develop skills of using basic reading techniques skimming and scanning (predicting, understanding main ideas, understanding details)

Course Contents

• Logistics
  E-commerce. Driverless technology. Communication skills: Collaborating. Business skills: Negotiating. Writing: Letter of complaint. Business workshop: Robot wanted for warehouse.
• Entrepreneurs
  Fairphone. Young entrepreneurs. Communication skills: influencing. Business skills: Presenting facts and figures. Writing: Summarising. Business workshop: Doable crowdfunding.
• Working abroad
  Global work cultures. Cultural anecdotes. Communication skills: Desion-making. Business skills: Relationship-building. Writing: Making recommendations. Business workshop. Cross-cultural consultant.
• Leadership
  Learning to lead. Neuroleadership. Communication skills: Giving and receiving feedback. Business skills: Leading meetings. Writing: Informing of a decision. Business workshop: Talent management.
• Business strategy
  Food industry strategy. PEST analysis. Communication skills: Solving problems. Business skills: Writing: Reporting reasons and results. Business workshop: Supermarket wars.

Assessment Elements

• Written assessment
  EMAIL ASSESSMENT CRITERIA (max 10 points) Task achievement (max 3 points) 3 points –proper choice and use of language depending on the target audience of the email and the genre. The student shows that he/she gets the idea of the topic. The student has answered the task, mentioning all the key moments in the body of the text. They have done what they were asked to do exactly. All content is relevant to the task. 2 points – there is a salutation, opening, body, closing and signature, used properly and well-structured. Proper choice and use of language, which mainly fits the content of the task. The student shows that he/she mainly gets the idea of the topic and the task is mostly done, minor irrelevances and/or omissions may occur. 1 point –generally proper choice and use of language depending on the reader of the email. The student has not included everything they were asked to/ has written something irrelevant. 0 points – Incorrect use of language for given purpose. The student has not included everything they were asked to and has written something irrelevant. Text organisation (max 2 points) 2 points - there is a salutation, opening, body, closing and signature, used properly and well-structured. The student logically organizes ideas and/or effectively uses a range of sophisticated cohesive devices. The text is well-structured and organized in paragraphs. 1 point – one of the aspects is not given, but others are used properly/ there is a salutation, opening, body, closing and signature, but some of them are incorrectly chosen. Ideas are generally organized, the student uses only basic linking words and/or a limited number of cohesive devices. The text is organized in paragraphs. 0 points – more than one of the aspects is not given/incorrectly chosen. Ideas are not logically organized and/or cohesive devices do not indicate a logical relationship between ideas. The text is not organized in paragraphs. Grammatical Range and Accuracy (max 3 points) 3 points – the student uses a wide range of simple and complex structures with control and flexibility and may make 1-2 minor mistakes; puts right punctuation. 2 points – the student uses a variety of structures and tenses with a good degree of control, but may make 3-4 mistakes, which don’t impede communication; punctuation is mainly correct. 1 point – the student tries to use various structures and tenses, but may make 3-4 mistakes, which impede communication; punctuation is mainly correct 0 points the student only uses basic structures and/or makes numerous mistakes which severely impede communication. They break punctuation rules. Lexical Resource (max 2 points) 2 points – the student uses a wide range of subject-specific vocabulary attempting to use some uncommon lexical items appropriately. There may be 1-2 inaccuracies and/or 1 mistake in spelling, word formation or word choice, but mainly words fit the content of the task. 1 point – the student uses a sufficient range of subject-specific vocabulary appropriately, but may make 2-3 mistakes in spelling, word formation or word choice. 0 points - the student only uses basic vocabulary, with very limited control of spelling, word formation or word choice; errors are numerous (4 and more) and cause strain for the reader.
• Oral assessment
• Independent work assessment
  10-9- 8: educational material fully mastered, creative approach to work entirely obvious, depth of research and analysis of information provided optimal, organization and presentation of material meets requirements, all deadlines met. 7-6: educational material adequately mastered; creative contribution obvious, depth of information analysis sufficient, deadlines met. 5-4 -education material adequately mastered; creative resourcefulness not always obvious; information not processed to the full; deadlines not met. 3-1: educational material is not mastered; creative contribution not evident; information not adequately processed; deadlines not met
• Final assessment
  The final test is held in class within 10 days before the exam period online on Zoom or MS Teams platforms. Students must log in using their first name and surname. If a student connects to the videoconferencing session late, the time allocated for the element of assessment may be extended at the examiner’s discretion (p. 34 of Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at National Research University Higher School of Economics). The exam is conducted in written form online, remotely without proctoring. Taking a break during the Exam is not allowed. To take the exam, a student should: check the operation of the webcam, microphone, headphones or speakers, the speed of the Internet (for the best results, it is recommended to connect the computer to the network via a cable); prepare the necessary items for the exam tasks (pens, A4 paper for a draft); disable other applications in the task manager of the computer, except for the platform (Zoom or MS Teams). The student provides the necessary conditions for the exam: • sufficient level of illumination; • low noise level; • absence of interference with video and audio signal transmission; • a fully operational webcam (including built-in laptop cameras); • a fully operational microphone (including built-in laptop cameras); • a permanent and stable Internet connection with a data transfer rate of at least 5 Mbps. During the writing part of the exam, it is prohibited to: • turn off the webcam and microphone, reduce its level of sensitivity to sound; • use auto-correct functions, notes, textbooks, other educational materials; • leave the desk area during the Exam (leave the visibility zone of the webcam); • use headphones, headsets for any other reason than to complete the Listening section of the exam; • use “smart” gadgets (smartphone, tablet, etc.); • involve another person to help with the Exam, talk with another person during the Exam; • read tasks out loud; In the event of a long-term communication failure with the Zoom or MS Teams platform during the exam, the student must record the fact of the loss of communication with the platform (take a screenshot/photograph of the entire screen so that the time and the application/web browser window are visible, get a response from the Internet provider) and report the problem to the office of the student’s Program and to the teacher (in one email). Note: According to part33 of Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at National Research University Higher School of Economics «…. The use of materials not permitted by this list, attempts to communicate with other students or other individuals (e.g., through electronic means of communication), unauthorized movement in the examination room, having electronic means of communication that are not allowed by the teacher, intended disconnection from the video conference or switching browser tab, when it is clear that the teacher forbids the action, and other violations of examination procedure constitute ground for the end of exam for the particular student (student’s removal from the examination room, disconnection from the videoconference, etc.) with a subsequent “0” grade in the examination grade column.

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (4 module)
  0.3 * Final assessment + 0.25 * Independent work assessment + 0.2 * Oral assessment + 0.25 * Written assessment

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Keys to management, Cotton, D., 1996

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• English for business studies : a course for business studies and economics students: student's book, MacKenzie, I., 1997
• English for business studies : a course for business studies and economics students: student's book, MacKenzie, I., 2012
• Financial English with Mini-Dictionary of Finance, MacKenzie, I., 1998
• Financial English with mini-dictionary of finance, MacKenzie, I., 2000
• Management and marketing with mini-dictionary, MacKenzie, I., 1997