Communication skills for specific purposes 1

obligatory courses

BA level studies

English Philology - Practical Profile

semester 1

full time studies

practical profile

foreign languages
obligatory courses

(in Polish) Realizowany w sali

ECTS points in relation to student’s duties

total number of ECTS: 3

2 ECTS – 60 hours in class

0,5 ECTS – 15 hours preparation,

0,5 ECTS - 15 hours direct contact with the instructor

Course content

The course Communication Skills for Specific Purposes 1 provides students with predominantly oral and listening practice based lessons around business topics which reflect the day to day realities of business and work life. Students will be using business case studies to reflect, think and communicate their way through challenging scenarios.

Course objectives

The objective of the course is providing students with an extended English communication practice for business at C1 level..

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Course content:

1. Human Resources – manpower, skills, performance evaluation, appraisals, conflict resolution, recruitment, training and development, well-being of staff.

2. Organizations – different types of teams, decision-making process, autonomy, authority, supervision, decentralized structures.

3. Change – business models, market forces, change agents and change champions, restructuring, cultural mindsets, implementation and resistance.

4. Responsibility – CSR, Corporate Citizenship, good conduct, sustainable development, climate change, human rights, ethical business, risk management.

5. Governance – Corporate governance, stakeholders, regulatory agencies, legislation, incentives, shareholder activism.

6. Start-ups – ventures, entrepreneurs, market research, feasibility, business plan, incubators, venture capital firms, business angels, capital and grants.

7. Resources – limited supplies, energy, minerals, capital, renewable resources, sustainable resources, non-renewable resources, geo-political pressures, scarcity, security concerns, global warming, carbon emissions.

8. Power – leadership, behaviour, power, leaders, business agenda, status, hierarchy, management, followers, subordinates, empowerment, abuse and exploitation.

9. E-marketing – digital technologies, websites, e-mail, sms, pop-ups, banner ads, social media.

10. Risk – Risk exposure, probability of risk, impact, risk management, assessment, mitigation, strategic risk, operational risk, financial risk, hazard risk, contingency planning, insurance and hedging.

11. Misconduct – fraud, money laundering, identity theft, embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, white collar crimes, tax evasion, bribery, whistleblowing, internal controls, law suits.

12. Development – Learning organizations, knowledge management, personal and professional development, academic qualifications, training programmes, coaching, mentoring and e-learning.

13. Exploring business through a series of business case studies.

14. Business in the future.

15. Reflections and conclusions.

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Methods of instruction/ forms of classroom activity:

- case studies

- discussion

- pair-work & small group activities (either face to face or online in breakout rooms)

- ICT tools/MSTeams

- presentations

- oral and listening activities

Reading list

A. obligatory study material (to get a credit):

Trappe, T., & Tullis, G. (2011). Intelligent Business Coursebook.

Business English Magazine. Colorful Media.

B. supplementary study material

Dignen, B. & McMaster, I. (2013). Effective International Business Communication. Collins.

Learning outcomes acc to PRK 2019

Knowledge:

Students know and understand

1. vocabulary, grammar, structures and stylistics in Business English at C1 level; technical, specialist and official (formal) English used for the specific purpose of communicating in the world of business (k_W02/P6S_WG)

2. techniques used in business communication (k_W03/P6S_WG)

3. specific terminology and techniques used in business communication in order to solve specific problems related to the world of business (k_W04/P6S_WG)

Skills

Students can

4. select, evaluate and analyse information in English for specific purposes when completing the progress assessment task (k_U02/P6S_UW)

5. communicate in English for specific purposes, and make presentations on topics related to business, using formal sources (k_U05/P6S_UK)

6. work individually and in teams on communication activities in English for specific purposes (k_U09/P6S_UO)

Social competences:

The students are ready to

7. critically appraise and solve problems arising from the implementation of tasks; act in stressful situations, like giving presentations (k_K02/P6S_KK)

Forms of evaluation of learning outcomes:

1. Active participation in activities and discussion in class - 50% of the final grade (outcomes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7)

(pluses for informed participation in discussions and exercises: 2-3 pluses 3,0; 4-5 pluses 3,5; 6-7 pluses 4,0; 8-9 pluses 4,5; 10 pluses and more 5,0.)

2. An oral presentation in English - 25% of the final grade(outcomes: 1,2,3,5,6,7)

3. A progress assessment test - 25% of the final grade (outcomes: 1,2,3,4)

A progress assessment test scoring scale:

grade 2,0 (fail): 0–49%

grade 3,0 (average): 50–60%

grade 3,5 (plus average): 61–70%

grade 4,0 (good): 71–80%

grade 4,5 (plus good): 81–90%

grade 5,0 (very good): 91–100%

All grades are discussed with students individually.

pass at 60% of the final grade