Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - Barcelona

Business English 4

• code 09320
• course 99
• term
• type op
• credits 3

Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: Spanish

Head instructor

Office hours

By appointment 

The aim of this programme is primarily to provide students with the skills and knowledge to practice and perform the communicative tasks related to employment in the business world, with a multicultural and international scope.

The course includes three elements that include class-based lessons, tutorials and self-study.

The teacher-led lessons focus on different issues affecting recruitment and selection processes in the 21st century, introduce different resources for job-seekers and promote the development of the communicative skills relevant for participating in different professional scenarios through case studies.

Tutorials promote the development of interpersonal, communicative and critical skills through case studies.

The self-study or ‘distance learning’ component of the course primarily focuses on the individual development of a portfolio of resources for seeking employment and on consolidating linguistic functions and specific lexis relevant to the business world. It also aims to promote intrapersonal skills and student autonomy with respect to learning a foreign language.

All three elements have been specifically designed to provide students with the skills, knowledge and resources needed to increase their confidence in communicating effectively in English in professional situations.

Preferred minimum global level is that of a B1+/B2 before the start of the course

Classroom lessons:

To introduce students to different issues and resources in terms of employment in the business world in the 21st century.

To develop students’ communicative competences in professional situations, such as negotiating and decision making.

Tutorial:

To develop students’ critical, communicative and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work cooperatively with others in both their native languages and an additional language.

Self-Study:

To promote students’ autonomy with respect to the preparation and revision of the different tasks and projects assigned. To develop students’ competences using distance learning and Internet-based resources with the aim to acquire second language communicative competences independently.

• 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.
• 60 - To acquire knowledge that promotes respect for other cultures and habits.
• 67 - To be able to express oneself in other languages.
• 52 - To develop interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
• 53 - To acquire the skills necessary to learn autonomously.
• 58 - To be able to develop self-assessment exercises.
• 64 - To be able to plan and organise one's work.
• 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.
• 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.
• 54 - To be able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in a logical and coherent way, both verbally and in writing.

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.

Communicative skills:

Students will develop competences for marketing themselves as job seekers. They will also develop skills for interacting in different professional situations through case studies aimed (at) and negotiating and reaching a consensus. Furthermore, students will develop their receptive competences through exposure to a variety of oral and written texts in the second language. Emphasis will be placed on effective cross-cultural communication.    

Language knowledge:

Students will revise/consolidate the vocabulary and language structures contextualized within tasks and projects with a professional outlook.

Through a task and project-based approach, students will be actively engaged in constructing an understanding of employment in the 21st century business world by interacting with different oral and written texts in English. They will also prepare themselves for the professional world by developing a portfolio of resources for gaining employment. Students will further take part in case studies or simulations carried out in pairs or small groups aimed at preparing them for real professional situations and at developing skills such as negotiating and decision making.

Emphasis will also be given to self-study using distance learning tools and internet materials, equipping and motivating students for the life-long learning of English.

Teacher-led lessons will be based on the linguistic competencies outlined in the degree programme and will be evaluated in the following way:

Course Exams 20%

Final Exam 20%                                       40 %

1.2 ECTS

The tutorial project will incorporate a task-based learning approach and will involve students participating in oral presentations of case studies or simulations. This element will be evaluated through the competencies outlined in the degree programme and evaluated in the following way:

Case studies:                                                                                                                       20 %

0.6 ECTS

The autonomous learning or self study will take a project-based approach and include a range of guided tasks for students to pursue and complete outside of class, with the aim of increasing their autonomy with respect to language learning.

The autonomous element will require students to utilize different web-based resources in consolidating and developing their communicative and ICT skills and knowledge according to their individual level, needs and interests.

This element will be evaluated in accordance with the competencies pertaining to the degree programme and/or the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFRL) or a combination of both.

Professional portfolio:                           40%

1.2 ECTS

Class-based materials will be provided by the teacher.

Intranet and internet based materials for self study:

Distance Learning Programme (intranet forum)

Student English File Resources (bcn) (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.