- Code
- EMS 221
- Name
- Advanced English I
- Semester
- 3
- Lecture hours
- 3.00
- Seminar hours
- 1.00
- Laborator hours
- 0.00
- Credits
- 3.50
- ECTS
- 5.00
- Description
-
The Advanced English/ English for Business Studies course is an upper-intermediate to advanced level reading, listening, speaking, and writing course for learners who need to understand and express the key concepts of business and economics in English. It covers the most important areas of management, production, marketing, finance, and macroeconomics. The units are grouped in five sections: management, production, marketing, finance, and economics. The units begin with lead-in questions for discussion. Nearly all the discussion activities are designed to be done by pairs or small group of learners
- Objectives
-
Throughout this course, students will embark on a journey aimed at elevating their proficiency in Business English, tailored specifically to the demands of professional settings. The primary objective is to facilitate a comprehensive understanding and practical application of language structures, vocabulary, and communication strategies essential in diverse business scenarios. Through a curated selection of materials and practical exercises, students will delve into refining their grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, fostering the ability to articulate themselves confidently and effectively in professional contexts. Furthermore, the course will focus on honing critical skills such as drafting professional documents, delivering impactful presentations, navigating various business scenarios including negotiations and meetings with cultural sensitivity, fostering collaboration, and familiarizing themselves with digital tools pertinent to contemporary business communication. Additionally, students will explore nuances of cross-cultural communication, enhancing their adaptability and understanding in a globalized business environment. Ultimately, the course aims to instill confidence, professionalism, and a robust foundation for successful communication and relationships within the dynamic landscape of business.
- Java
- Tema
- 1
- Management / Work and motivation In this unit students will be involved in a listening activity about the qualities required by managers. They will deal with a text summarizing the different functions of management as defined by management theorist Peter Drucker, and a short communicative activity about recruiting the right manager. Students will discuss activities about the different factors that might motivate workers in both types of jobs, and about whether it can be argued that people in general like or dislike working.
- 2
- Company structure / Managing across cultures In this unit the students will read a text about ‘wikinomics’ and another outlining the most common traditional organizational systems. They will be involved in an exercise focusing on the potential conflicts between the different departments of a manufacturing organization, and listening and discussion activities concerning the advantages and disadvantages of working in big and small companies. Also, they will deal with listening exercises based on the opinions of MBA students from three continents, a text that describes cultures in different parts of the world, and several discussion and writing activities about cultural attitudes.
- 3
- Recruitment In this unit students will learn about the process by which companies and other organizations recruit new members of staff, and discuss what kind of information given on a curriculum vitae or resume might help a job applicant to be selected for an interview.
- 4
- Women in business In this unit students will discuss on some extracts from an interview with Alison Maitland, co-author with Avivah Wittenberg-Cox of Why Women Mean Business, a newspaper article about legislation concerning women company directors. Also, they will make a discussion activity about male and female ways of thinking and behaving at work; and a role play about a company that wants to increase its number of women managers.
- 5
- The different sectors of the economy In this unit students will read a description of part of the economic infrastructure, seen from an airplane, extracted from David Lodge's Nice work. Also, they will get involved in discussion activities and a reading about the pros and cons of manufacturing, as compared with service industries, and a listening involving business news items about different economic sectors.
- 6
- Production / Logistics In this unit students will get involved in vocabulary and reading exercises relating to production capacity and inventory decisions; extracts from an interview with Alan Goodfellow of Leica Microsystems in Cambridge in which he talks about purchasing and low-cost manufacturing; an extract from Thomas Friedman's well-known 500k The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, about what he calls (with tongue in cheek) “The Dell Theory of conflict Prevention”; and a case study about potential procurement risks for a multinational hi-tech manufacturer. Also they will learn about supply chains — the sequence of organizations and activities involved in acquiring components and raw materials, and producing and delivering goods or a service to the final consumers, and so on.
- 7
- Quality In this unit students will discuss about quality, and read a text about TQM (Total Quality Management). They will have listening exercises based on an interview with a manager responsible for setting up new hotels in Britain, and a role play about quality decisions in a hotel chain.
- 8
- Midterm Exam
- 9
- Products / Marketing / Advertising In this unit students will analyze a text about products and branding strategies, an interview with the director of a chain of juice bars in Switzerland, and a case study about launching a business. They will get involved in reading exercise about product life cycles, discussion activities about pricing and distribution channels, reading a text extracted from a well-known article in the Harvard Business Review, a text on advertising and viral marketing discussion activities about different advertising and sales promotions techniques, and so on.
- 10
- Banking / Venture capital In this unit students will get familiar with the basic vocabulary of personal banking. They will read texts about the different types of banks and financial institutions, and the credit crisis that began in 2008. Students will analyze extracts from an interview with a venture capitalist in Cambridge, and will have reading exercise about the different elements of a business plan, and a role play about choosing among different investments.
- 11
- Bonds / Stocks and shares In this unit students will get involved in a text explaining bonds, and a listening exercise concerning bonds deriving from mortgage-backed securities. They will deal with texts about different types of bonds, and a case study about selecting among different types of bond funds. Students will learn about stocks and shares; and will do exercises practicing the verbs and expressions people use to talk about rises and falls in asset prices, and so on.
- 12
- Derivatives / Accounting and financial statements In this unit students will get involved in vocabulary and comprehension exercises about financial derivatives, a listening about hedge funds and structured products, a text from the Times Online website about financial spread-betting, and a closing exercise drawing together all the financial instruments. Students will have exercises defining basic accounting terminology and the different areas of accounting. Also, they will have exercises and a role play based on Google's financial statements.
- 13
- Market structure and competition / Takeovers In this unit students will be involved in activities that practice the basic vocabulary of competitive markets, and listening exercises based on an interview with a company director who talks about how new companies can change established industries or initiate new ones. Students will have extracts from an interview with the Press Officer of the UK Competition Commission, and a role play about a potential investigation of a large and successful company by a competition authority.
- 14
- Government and taxation In this unit students will have discussion activities about the role of government and the pros and cons of taxation, an extract from a famously anti-government book by Milton Friedman, and listening exercises based on extracts from an interview with Michael Kitson, a Cambridge economist, MacKenzie 109-113
- 15
- The business cycle / Corporate social responsibility In this unit students will learn about business cycle, its causes, and whether governments can do anything to change it. They will have two reading texts, with accompanying vocabulary and comprehension exercises, and a second extract from the interview with Michael Kitson. Students will read a text containing opposing views of the social responsibilities of business and will be involved in discussion activities concerning the ethics of various business practices, and a role play about problems facing a clothing manufacturer, MacKenzie 114-123
- 16
- Final Exam
- 1
- At the end of the course, students will be familiar with the language and concepts of business and economics found in books, magazines, newspapers, journals, and websites.
- 2
- They will develop their vocabulary through reading, listening, and speaking.
- 3
- They will develop reading skills and practice comprehension of business and economics texts.
- 4
- They will develop listening skills, using interviews with business people, economists, and other experts.
- 5
- They will improve their speaking skills, confidence, fluency, and have the opportunity to express themselves.
- Quantity Percentage Total percent
- Midterms
- 1 50% 50%
- Quizzes
- 0 0% 0%
- Projects
- 0 0% 0%
- Term projects
- 0 0% 0%
- Laboratories
- 0 0% 0%
- Class participation
- 0 0% 0%
- Total term evaluation percent
- 50%
- Final exam percent
- 50%
- Total percent
- 100%
- Quantity Duration (hours) Total (hours)
- Course duration (including exam weeks)
- 16 4 64
- Off class study hours
- 14 4 56
- Duties
- 0 0 0
- Midterms
- 1 4 4
- Final exam
- 1 4 4
- Other
- 0 0 0
- Total workLoad
- 128
- Total workload / 25 (hours)
- 5.12
- ECTS
- 5.00