English for business communication skills

Introduction

SKILL BASED COURSE TO REALISE LEARNER’S FULL POTENTIAL OF ENGLISH AT WORK,
TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY, AND CONFIDENTLY IN AN INTERNATIONAL PROFFESSIONAL CONTEXT
TO BE BETTER EQUIPPED FOR THE BUSINESS WORLD WITH PRACTICAL SKLLS, SUCH AS GIVING PRESENTATIONS,
CHAIRING A MEETING, NEGOTIATING A CONTRACT, WRITING EMAILS, SOCIALIZING.

Acquis d'apprentissage

Students will be able to:
• Understand important information and/or arguments included in a variety of source texts (written, audio, and graphic) on a specific (not very specialized) topic, of average complexity and then to transfer these to a new, well-structured, coherent and take good notes;
• Transfer information from notes to a new, well-structured, coherent text, in a more condensed form (summary), appropriate to the context of situation;
• Differentiate variety of essay styles and produce a well-balanced, discursive essay;
• Effectively use prosody, pitch, pacing, and volume, and contrast and metaphor in a short oral presentation.

Students who complete this course will have demonstrated the ability to:
• Take detailed notes from a variety of sources and summarize salient information in one coherent, condensed text (summary), appropriate to the context of the situation;
• Write a well-balanced discursive essay;
• Effectively use prosody, pitch, pacing, and volume, and contrast and metaphor. In a short oral presentation.

Contenu

Learners will aim to advance further their academic and professional English, as applicable across a variety of skills and contexts, and work to apply this knowledge in the creation of professional-style documents fit for purpose in an international organisation.

Attentes du cours

Students should be ready for a high degree of interaction: in pairs, groups and in open class environments. Discussion will be the norm and everyone is expected to contribute in every class. Students will be called on during every class to contribute and should be ready to activate their microphone when called on.

Students should arrive to class ready to participate with the necessary materials. In addition to the regular classroom materials`, this includes a computer equipped with a webcam, microphone, and active high-speed internet connection for the duration of each session.

Evaluation

All Grading will be on a scale of 0 to 20, unless otherwise stated.

1/3 CF: A written response to given input, produced in an academic style
1/3 CC: Selected Classroom assignments, as detailed by the teacher.
1/3 PP: Presence & Participation (each representing 50% of the PP grade)

CF (both questions, common to all):
1. A summary based on three documents (1 video, 1 text, 1 graph) related to the same subject (up to 400 words) 1hr;
2. A discursive essay based on a topic evoked in the in the above documents (up to 400 words) 1hr.

CC:
General marking scheme (out of 20)
0 Work not done, incomplete or of insufficient standard.
1-5 Work completed, but of minimum quality, poor structure; irrelevant, unrelated illogical content; unstructured, very poor language makes comprehension difficult
6-10 Fair but many important mistakes, gaps, unclear structure, confusing, language
11-14 Good but some important mistakes or gaps.
15-20 Work done to a high standard with few or no mistakes.

Typical CC Assignments
1. a summary (to be set by the class teacher);
2. a discursive essay (to be set by the class teacher);
3. a 15-minute oral presentation with visuals based a topic related to the theme of the class;

PP:
Presence: Students will receive credit for attending class regularly, up to a maximum of 1/6 of their total grade. Unjustified absences will thus have a direct impact on student’s overall grade.
Participation: Students will be assessed on their participation in class, according to the criteria in ‘classroom expectations’

Validating the tandem programme will add 2 bonus points to a student’s CC grade (CC) of the corresponding language course.
It is the responsibility of the student to make up for any missed work in order to avoid these absences further impacting final grades.

CEFR Grade (A1-C2)
Students will be continuously assessed as to their language level relative to the CEFR criteria.
There is NO DIRECT RELATION between a student’s CC/CF/PP and their CEFR level.

For more information, please refer to the LSH website. https://lsh.imt-bs.eu/

Approches pédagogiques

The participation grade will be based on the following criteria:
• Punctuality: on-time and ready to work (non-disruptive in time-keeping)
• Motivation: Only speaking English in Class, no use of translation tools
• Professional: Appropriate setting, actions and interaction for professional context.
• Engagement: Participating appropriately in whole-class activities
• Focus / Responsiveness: Remaining focused during teacher input and on class tasks. Responds immediately and appropriately when asked.
• Committed to Homework: Homework delivered on time and to the best of your ability.
• Positive: Contributing to positive class atmosphere


General rules for ‘live’ sessions:
Think ‘COPP’: Camera On (Mic. off unless contributing), Professional, Positive.

Attendance will be taken at the beginning, end, and at random intervals during the class. If a student arrives late, or experiences technical problems, it is the student’s responsibility to signal this to the teacher immediately, and to the Helpdesk if necessary. Absences and lateness, as with any lack of participation, will affect the final grade. Severe lateness will be treated as absence.


Pedagogical materials (non-contractual):
Students will analyse a range of supports from different media sources.

Texts: Students will be supplied with texts from differing sources and of differing lengths. Students will be asked to analyse, deconstruct, and/or reconstruct according to the objective at hand. Students will be asked to produce texts conforming to the genre studied.
Students may be asked to read aloud for practice in pronunciation. Full effort is required for pronunciation practice, so a ‘theatre’ mindset is required.
While studying texts, students should make notes / highlight unknown words, phrases and rhetorical devices during reading to ask questions during the class
New Media: Short videos or digital media will be presented in class with associated questions / tasks based on the input. Students should take notes on content during all presentation unless otherwise instructed.
Interactive: Any interactive material will require autonomous participation from the student. However, the student must signal problems and/or questions to the teacher at the earliest opportunity.
Collaborative: Group projects will be conducted regularly, and students will generally NOT be allowed to chose their group. This is to respect diversity and group dynamics. It is the group’s responsibility to make sure that all members conduct an equal amount of work.
Peer-grading: Students may be asked to grade each other’s work based on objective criteria, and provide feedback. Students are encouraged to grade honestly to better help their colleagues.
Vocabulary journaling / revision: Students should keep a vocabulary log and self-test on learned vocabulary throughout the semester.

Programme

Programme grande école,Programme Ingénieur,Programme Bachelor