module specification

This module is intended to support students who are following pre-MBA studies or who wish to pursue a business related career . Students study business language and communication to achieve a near-native speaker level of proficiency ,CEFR C2 they investigate the contemporary business environment , research and discuss current issues, examine intercultural aspects of business communication and prepare a variety of business related documents and presentations.

The aims of this module are
• To improve the students’ spoken English, reading and writing skills within a business context to reach Common European Framework of Reference Level C2,( University of Cambridge Business English Certificate ‘Higher’).
• To develop their understanding of the business world and current issues and developments and to create an awareness of intercultural issues in business
• To enhance student employability and international mobility
To develop students’ ability to research and produce information using analytic skill and critical thinking.

Notional –functional contexts in which language is investigated include:
Public speaking; employment trends; consultants, banking; project management; training; common company structures and roles; mergers, shares and acquisitions; e-business; cultural diversity; recruitment and staff motivation; corporate culture and diversity; business ethics; global brands and sourcing
Lexical  and phrasing – the following will be analysed and used in a variety of contexts
• Business terminology
• Idiom and collocations
• Dependant  prepositions
• Word building structures: prefixes, suffixes and neologisms
• Multiword verbs and noun phrases 

Reading and writing – students will study texts from a variety of sources and
• Analyse longer texts
• Establish viewpoint and purpose in texts
• Examine the conventions of letter writing and emails: paragraphing and layout, punctuation and clarity analysing layout, function, purpose and requirements
• Write in a variety of registers for different purposes: formal report writing write summaries, reports, executive summaries, emails, proposals, action minutes, mission statements, information for websites, and a range of business letters.(CEFR C2)
Listening – students will be introduced to a variety of authentic and controlled sources (CEFR C2) to
• Identify information from a wide variety of authentic sources delivered at normal speed.
• Identify global and specific information and interpret meaning
• Exchange and select key information in order to complete tasks
• Take notes, summarise and reconstitute
Spoken English – students work on individual presentation and in group discussion to
• Present information: summarising and clarifying and supporting their views
• Discuss and debate , agreeing and disagreeing with proper regard to business etiquette and conventions
• Examine and discuss cultural understanding and misunderstanding in the business world
• Evaluate their own pronunciation and remedy weak sounds

The module is delivered by blended learning:
• lectures, seminars, and tutorials;
• WebLearn is used both for self-study and interactive tasks.
• small group work
• guided writing formative tasks and class based work.
• students reflect on each of the formative and assessed tasks

A. Research a business based problem and propose options and solutions in a report. Writing will be of a proficiency level of expression (University of Cambridge Business English Higher level CEFR C2)
B. Use appropriate business register and terminology in written work e.g. a proposal, an evaluation, standard business correspondence
C. Demonstrate the conventions of academic referencing, recognising sources and avoiding plagiarism
D. Present business information coherently and appropriately in order to support a personal point of view in a presentation
E. Demonstrate an intercultural understanding when approaching business related problems in discussion

Assessment is designed to test the level of the students’ competency in the learning outcomes listed above:
1) Class test: reading, use of Business English (B)
2) Individual presentations (D,E)
3) Coursework: individual writing assignment  (A,C)

New Oxford Dictionary of English (2003) Oxford, OUP
Mascull, B (2004) Business Vocabulary in Use Advanced , Cambridge, CUP
Business English in Practice (2003) Glasgow, Collins Cobuild
Emmerson, P (2007) Business English Handbook Advanced Oxford, Macmillan
Mackenzie, I (2002) English for Business Studies Cambridge, CUP
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/
http://uk.reuters.com/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/