Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Business English 2
Teaching staff
By appointment
Introduction
The aim of this programme is primarily to provide students with the skills and knowledge to practice and perform the linguistic tasks related to areas of business at an academic level and with a multicultural and international scope.
The programme contains 3 elements that include class-based lessons, tutorials and self study. The teacher-led lessons focus on developing students’ academic skills through critical reading, listening and note-taking in lectures, delivering oral presentations and transmitting ideas as well as interacting with fellow students. Tutorials will focus on student development and interpersonal skills and will include an evaluated group project. The final part being the self study or ‘distance learning’ element which primarily focuses on developing listening skills, consolidating grammar, specific lexis and increasing the autonomy of the learner with respect to learning a foreign language.
All three elements have been specifically designed to provide students with the skills, knowledge and resources that will increase their confidence in order to communicate effectively in English.
Pre-course requirements
Preferred minimum global level is that of a B1+ before the start of the course
Objectives
Classroom:
To prepare and equip students with the necessary lexical and grammatical knowledge and understanding in order to become effective communicators in English within the professional field of business.
To reinforce the receptive skills of reading and listening through practice, using a variety of stimuli and to facilitate the development of the productive skills of speaking and writing.
Tutorial:
To develop students’ interpersonal skills and ability to work with others in both native and an additional language.
Self Study:
To develop reflective writing skills through journal writing, develop listening skills for academic lectures, carry out individual and group work related to a variety of themes within the field of business. In addition, students will learn how to utilize ICT and internet based resources in order to learn a language independently.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 27 - To be able to read and understand literature on economic and business issues.
- 28 - To be able to work in another language and use terminology and structures related to the economic-business world.
- 39 - To acquire the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on relevant information, applying the appropriate methods and situating the problem within the organisation as a whole.
- 46 - To acquire the ability to understand and participate in conferences and lectures in an academic context.
- 50 - To acquire the ability to relate concepts, analyse and synthesise.
- 52 - To develop interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
- 53 - To acquire the skills necessary to learn autonomously.
- 54 - To be able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in a logical and coherent way, both verbally and in writing.
- 58 - To be able to develop self-assessment exercises.
- 60 - To acquire knowledge that promotes respect for other cultures and habits.
- 64 - To be able to plan and organise one's work.
- 67 - To be able to express oneself in other languages.
Learning outcomes of the subject
The student will be able to:
1. Understand financial and business-related bibliography and literature in English, as well as the specific structures and terminology they employ.
2. Undertake verbal/written work involving the analysis and synthesis of information in English.
3. Understand the key ideas expressed in English by speakers, lecturers, professionals or other students when discussing financial and business-related subjects. They will also be able to formulate or respond to questions, and express their own ideas in an ordered and coherent manner.
4. Work in a team and/or resolve problems and make decisions within small groups, thereby developing interpersonal skills.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of other cultures and customs and respect them.
6. Work autonomously, planning and organising their own learning and self-evaluating their work in both specific and general language, as well as preparing themselves to engage in lifelong learning in English.
Syllabus
Topics
The course will cover a series of areas which relate to: setting up a business, franchising, company risk, company performance, and takeovers and acquisitions.
Language skills applied to an academic context:
Students will learn toread and understandcontent relevant to the field of business. Furthermore, they will learn to recognize and use the vocabulary specific to the main areas in business. In addition they will practice note-taking skills in preparation for listening to lectures. Students will learn to present and transmit ideas and interact with fellow students or professionals.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
Students will become actively engaged in the process of reading material related to the world of business and of writing about what they read as well as listen to simulated lectures on a variety of themes relevant to their professional field. Students will be exploring the ideas individually, in discussion groups and will share these ideas with their colleagues in order to stimulate reflection and discussion.
Emphasis will also be given to preparation for autonomous learning using self study and internet materials, and this will form an essential part of the course, equipping and motivating students for the life-long learning of English.
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | COMPETENCES |
|---|---|
| magister class | 27 28 46 54 67 |
| tutorials | 52 54 67 |
| self-appraisal | 27 28 53 54 58 64 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The classes are based on the competences described in the degree programme and are evaluted in the following way:
1 Progress test: 15%
1 Final exam: 30%
1 Essay: 10%
1 voice recroding: 5%
2 Group presentations: 30%
Attendance and participation: 10%
The objective of the group presentations is learning based on the idea that the student will do both individual work and group work. This will be presented in both written in oral form. The project will be evaluated using the competences for the subject.
Autonomous learning and work is based on a series of activities that students will do outside of class with the objective of improving their ability to learn the language on their own.
Evaluation for the class:
Students must attend 80% of the class in order to do the final exam. If the student receives a grade between 4 and 4.9 (fail) he or she will have to make up work that they haven't done or re-do work that had previously received a failing grade.
Second sitting for grades between 4-4.9:
These can be made up:
1. The final exam
2. The progress test
3. The essay
4. The voice recording
You can not make up the presentations or the attendance and participation.
|
Activity |
% Final of grade |
Learning outcome |
|
Essay
|
10%
1 essay
|
Able to express oneself in other languages (67) Read and understand literature on economic and business issues (27) Ability to work in another language and able to work with terminology and structures related to the economic-business world (28) Able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in a logical and coherent way, both verbally and in written form (54) Able to plan and organize one’s work (64). |
|
Progress test
|
15% 1 progress test |
Acquire abilities for independent learning (53) Ability to work in another language and able to work with terminology and structures related to the economic-business world (28). |
|
Group projects / presentation
|
30%
2 projects
15% each |
Able to develop abilities in interpersonal relationships and teamwork (52). Able to express oneself in other languages (67). Ability to work in another language and able to work with terminology and structures related to the economic-business world (28). Able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in logical and coherent way, both verbally and in written form (54). Acquire the abilities to solve problems and make decisions using relevant information, applying the appropriate methods and placing the problem within the organization as a whole (39). |
|
Final exam |
30% |
Able to express oneself in other languages (67) Read and understand literature on economic and business issues (27). Work in another language and with terminology and structures related to the economic-business world (28). |
|
1 voice recording
|
5% |
Able to express oneself in other languages (67). Ability to work in another language and able to work with terminology and structures related to the economic-business world (28). Able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in a logical and coherent way, both verbally and in written form (54). |
|
Attendance and participation |
10% |
|
Grades below a 4 in the second sitting:
Students with a mark lower than 4 in the first sitting will have to make up 100% of the subject in the second sitting by producing a dossier before a tribunal and taking a final exam. In both sittings, students must demonstrate a B2.1 level of English to pass the course.
The dossier: A research project consisting of a 10 minute individual presentation, a 10 page written report and a final exam which demonstrates that you have mastered the concepts from the course.
In order to pass, you must get a minimum of 5 on each part:
1. The exam 50%
2. A 10 minute presentation showing the results of a research project. This will be accompanied by a written dossier de 10 pages minimum excluding the cover page, without drawings and using an 11 font size.
Presentation: 25%
Report 25%
Bibliography and resources
Class-based materials will be provided by the teacher.
Intranet and internet based materials for self study:
Distance Learning Programme (intranet forum)
Bibliography:
An English-English dictionary of the student’s choice.
An English Business dictionary of the student’s choice.
A Thesaurus of the student’s choice.