DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

DEGREE IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SYLLABUS ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS I ACADEMIC YEAR 2010-11 CONTENT: YEAR: Compulsory First

1.- PROGRAMME OF STUDIES Course Subject Subject type Module Degree Year/ Semester Department Lecturers Class timetable Office hours Exam dates English for Business I Modern Languages II Compulsory Modern Languages International Business First year (first semester) Filologia Anglesa i Alemanya http://www.uv.es/filoangal Class GO: Dr. Elena Bosch Abarca (Subject Coordinator). Room: 2F12 (Faculty of Economics) Email: elena.bosch@uv.es http://www.uv.es/economia/guia/ http://centros.uv.es/web/departamentos/.../ http://www.uv.es/economia/guia/ 1

2.- INTRODUCTION English for Business I, is a compulsory subject designed for students of the International Business Degree, first year (first semester). This subject is further developed in the second semester through English for Business II. The course provides the necessary practical skills (writing, reading, speaking and listening) for students who will need English in the business environment. The course will be followed by English for Business II which will provide students with ample opportunity to further develop this basic knowledge and essentials of business communication. The course thus aims to introduce business concepts and as it is a first year subject, it will also provide students with key communicative skills and culture at work features they will need in their jobs. The course uses a practical communicative methodology, based on tasks and questions designed to help students understand the basics of business communication. 3.- WORKLOAD English for Business I is a module of 6 ECTS. As one credit ECTS makes 25 student s workload that means 150 hours of student work (6ECTS x 25 hours/ects= 150 hours). The total workload is distributed as follows: A. 1. Presence time in the lecture room o 1 hour x 15 weeks = 15 hours A. 2. Practical work and laboratory tasks o Practical work: 1 hour x 15 weeks= 15 hours o Laboratory tasks: 2 hours x 15 weeks= 30 hours A. 3. Writing assignments o 2 assignments x 7.5 hours= 15 hours A. 3. Reports on assigned reading, work on case studies, presentations o 4 reports/presentations x 4 hours = 16 hours A. 3. Completion of homework tasks o 1 hour x 14 weeks = 14 hour A. 4. Tutorial attendance o 2 tutorials x 1 hour = 2 hours 2

A. 4. Individual study time for classes and final examination o Estimated time: 40 hours A. 4. Final test o Estimated time for final test: 3 hours PRESENCE TIME 65 h A.1 Lectures 15 h A.2 Practice sessions 45 h A.4 Tutorials 2 h A.4 Exams 3 h PRIVATE STUDY TIME 85 h A.3 Written assignments 15 h A.3 Reports on reading material 16 h A.3 Homework tasks 14 h A.4 Preparation for classes and examinations 40 h TOTAL: 150h 4.- GENERAL OBJECTIVES Students will have to express business concepts in English and be capable to communicate ideas with this specialist knowledge (business vocabulary and businessrelated topics) so as to keep up with developments in the business world. As English is the language used for communication, the students will have practice in language and professional communicative skills: listening and speaking (interviews, meetings, telephone conversations or negotiations); reading (business letters, emails, reports, articles, information on the Internet, etc.); writing for business purposes (examples of business writing, especially letters and emails). 5.- COMPETENCES Students will develop the following list of course and subject competences, divided into three different types: degree generic competences (G), degree specific competences (S), and subject specific competences (SS). These competences have been 3

grouped into four levels of importance depending on the degree of development within the course (minimum * and maximum ****): (*) Between 0 and 25% of the competence is acquired with this course. (**) Between 25% and 50% of the competence is acquired with this course. (***) Between 50% and 75% of the competence is acquired with this course. (****) Between 75% and 100% of the competence is acquired with this course. Oral communication in English in socio-cultural and professional *** contexts. SS1 Written communication in English in socio-cultural and professional contexts. *** SS2 Ability to retrieve and analyze information from different sources. *** SS3 Competence in using specialized vocabulary in English at intermediate level. *** SS4 Grounding in basic discourse knowledge of the profession in international settings. *** SS5 Concern for English-speaking cultures and their linguistic variation. ** SS6 Appreciation of multi-cultural diversity. * SS7 Analysis and synthesis capabilities. * G1 Organizing, planning and using time effectively. * G2 Fluency in oral and written communication in English. *** G4 Searching and analyzing information from different sources.. * G6 Problem solving and working under pressure.. * G7 Decision making and enhancing others capabilities. * G8 Promoting awareness and respect for human rights and the culture of peace. * G9 Developing professional practice by being deferent to people s equal rights and opportunities. * G10 Fluency in oral and written communication in English in a business context. *** S11 Intercultural awareness and capability to adapt to other social and geopolitical contexts. ** S12 Working in multidisciplinary and intercultural teams. * S13 4

Learning to detect inequalities between people, in order to design, implement and assess relevant policies that prevent discrimination in companies and institutions. * S32 6.-LEARNING OUTCOMES Ability to communicate orally in English in socio-cultural and professional contexts within international economic and business environments. Ability to communicate in written English in socio-cultural and professional contexts within international economic and business environments. Capacity in the use of information management skills. Knowledge of specialized vocabulary in English at intermediate level. Grounding in basic discourse knowledge of the profession in international settings. Concern for English-speaking cultures and their linguistic variation. Appreciation of multi-cultural diversity. 7.- COURSE CONTENTS 1. Contacts 2. Data 3. Etiquette 4. Products 5. Companies 6. Meetings 7. Appointments 8. Careers 9. Online business 10. Price 11. Presentations 12. Service 13. Productivity 14. Creativity 15. Presentations 5

8.- CHRONOGRAMME Week/Unit 1 Contacts 2 Data 3 Etiquette 4 Products 5 Companies 6 Meetings Lecture Practice session Laboratory/ Group work tasks 7 Appointments 8 Careers 9 Online business 10 Price 11 Presentations 12 Service Introducing yourself/explaining your job/e-mail (1) Information gathering/data/letter writing (1) Being polite/make small talk/e-mail (2) Product description/ Promotion/Memorandum Company history/ Company information/email (3) Describe plans/make phone calls/make predictions/meetings Making appointments/ future plans/ E-mail: arranging appointments Interviews/Job-seeking/ Letter: applying for a job Selling/ Ordering goods/ E-mail: instructions, request information, placing orders Trends/ Graph description/report writing Motivate/Personal qualities/short reports Solving problems/ Dealing with complaints/ Letter: complaining, responding to complaints tasks Other activities Report 1 (review) Report 2 (review) Tutorial/ Assignment 1 Report 3(review) Report 4 (review) 6

13 Productivity 14 Creativity 15 Revision Describing a product/ Feedback on service/ Memo: responding to questions Discussing/suggesting ideas/ finding solutions/ E-mail: making suggestions Tutorial/ Assignment 2 9.-BIBLIOGRAPHY Basic references: Barral, I & N. Barral (2008). Intelligent Business. Elementary Business English. Coursebook. Pearson, Longman. Barral, I & N. Barral (2008). Intelligent Business. Elementary Business English. Workbook. Pearson, Longman. Barral, I & N. Barral (2008). Intelligent Business. Pre-Intermediate Business English Pearson, Longman. Cotton, D.; D. Falvey & S. Kent (2002). Market Leader. Pre-Intermediate Business English. Longman Johnson, C.(2008). Intelligent Business. Skills Book. Pearson, Longman. Whitby, N. (2006). Business Benchmark. Pre-Intermediate to Intermediate Preliminary. Cambridge. Supplementary material: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2002) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Diccionario Español-Inglés/Inglés-Español Collins (2000). Barcelona: Grijalbo Fernández Carmona, R.; Fraile del Pozo, A.; Zarzalejos Alonso, A. (2001). English Grammar with Exercises. Madrid: Longman-Pearson Educación S.A. Gershon, S. (2002). Present Yourself. Cambridge. Guffey and Du-Babcock (2008). Essentials of business communication. Hood, M. (2007). Dynamic Presentations. Pearson and Longman. Lesiker, Flatley, and Rentz (2008). Business communication: Making connections in a digital world. International Student Edition. Lott, H. (2008). Real English Grammar. Marshall Cavendish Education Murphy, R. (1999) English Grammar in Use (with answers). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ober (2004). Fundamentals of contemporary business communications. Speak Up (revista) Sweeney, S. (2003). English for Business Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 7

10.- PREREQUISITES It is assumed that students will have a good basic knowledge of general English (A2) as it is a intermediate course (B1). 11.- METHODOLOGY The methodology applied will mainly be communicative and participative seeking to promote the students operative and expressive effectiveness throughout the different specific professional tasks presented during the course. If necessary, and depending on the students pragmatic level of business English, other complementary instructional activities might be inter-changed to repair existing grammatical or linguistic deficiencies in order to help the group improve their formal competence together with their overall communicative performance. On these lines, each unit is divided into three parts or sessions. First, in a lecture, the unit topic, contents and main concepts will be introduced (following the structure included in section 7 of this guide). Secondly, in a more participatory session, the unit contents will be applied through a series of activities designed to make students develop the communicative skills in English implied or related to the topic of the unit. Finally, in a group-working session students will practice, both individually and in teams, diverse communicative tasks characteristic of current international business environments (e.g. writing professional documents, searching for data, dealing with case studies and participating in interactive contexts such as debates, negotiations and meetings). In addition to this, classroom work students will have to dedicate several hours of independent work to each unit (e.g. elaborating assignments, reports, homework activities and exams). The planning of this subject includes several tutorial sessions arranged with the lecturer to revise and complement the contents, together with the achievement of a set of additional tasks and the practice of some of the most complex skills adapted to the specific needs of the student or of his/her work group. 8

12.- ASSESSMENT Students achievement of learning outcomes for English for Business I will be assessed as follows: Continuous assessment of coursework progress (theory and practice) will make up 30% of the student s grade. This assessment will be based on the student s regular attendance, performance of different assignments, practicing laboratory skills, etc. The summative assessment will probe the student s theoretical and practical learning of the coursework input of the syllabus. This summative assessment will make up 70% of the student s grade. The continuous assessment grade will be added to the summative assessment only if the student gets at least 5 points (out of 10 points) in this summative assessment. Students not participating in the continuous assessment can only achieve a maximum final grade of 7 in the final test. This exam is obligatory and passing it is a compulsory requirement in order to obtain the final qualification. The student's final mark will be obtained by adding the continuous assessment mark and the final examination mark (providing that the final examination has been passed). If the final examination has been failed, the final mark will never surpass 4.5 (out of 10). Cheating on an exam or plagiarizing the written work of others is considered a very serious offence and will not be tolerated in this course. 9