Course Overview
Certificate Business English
SWK: Written communication for students of business and economics
Attendance:
For credit you need to attend 80% of all meetings.Excuses are irrelevant. The
last required class meeting will take place on place on June 27. An optional class meeting will take place on July 3 as preparation for the exam.
Homework:
For course credit you will need to complete all homework assignments minus one.
Pass/Fail:
Each student will receive either a pass or fail grade based on attendance, homework assignments,individual classroom participation, as well as performance on in-class quizes.
Exams:
Written Certificate exam / UNIcert® III: July 4 from 11:00 to 14:30.
Oral exams: by appointment over two days during the following week.
Office Hour:
Tuesday from 13-14 in AB 125
Skill Sets:
Writing Skills:
- Practice in writing reports, essays and summaries.
- Attention to paragraphs, coherence, patterns of essay organisation, sentence structure.
- Discussion of assigned readings through which students will learn to recognize and emulate processes and strategies used in academic writing.
- Revision and incorporating suggestions from peer editors and course instructors.
- Practice various rhetorical modes, including hedging, defining, cause-effect reasoning, comparing and contrasting, as well as learning techniques to write effective argument.
You will need to complete a series of short written exercises and at least one summary and one essay.
Reading
Reading
texts include a variety of reading from periodicals (especially The Economist
and the Wall Street Journal) to classic economic texts to stock analysts' research
reports. One would expect students business and economics to regularly read
periodicals business texts out of personal interest. In this course you are
encouraged to do so. Some of the assignments require researching texts on the
Internet, which provides of course a vast resource of reading material.
Coursework is designed to develop learners' ability to read written texts (understanding relationships, understanding reference, predicting
content, reading for signifigance and for detail, inferring meaning from context.)
Vocabulary
The vocabulary relevant to the course is extensive. Different classes of vocabulary include:
- Expressions directly related to academic and professional business/economics contexts: revenue, bottom line, leverage, P/E ratio, ramp up"
- Not specifically 'business' expressions, but frequently found in the context of business texts: don't knock it, thwart, soar, tout, bolster, revamp.
- More 'fashionable' terms used in some professional contexts: out of the box, dog and pony show, bounce it off.
For the most part, vocabulary is not a separate part of the course syllabus, but integrated into other course activities. Students are individually responsible for actively developing (especially when reading) their vocabulary. This results from the sheer amount and variation of the possibly needed development in their vocabulary.
Grammar
Although grammar instruction is not an explicit part of the course syllabus,
problems with grammar are dealt with as needed. Examples of problem areas which
are often dealt with include the usage of some transitional words (e.g., although
and despite), definite/indefinite articles, or verbal tense and agreement.
Self-study:
You need to be pro-active in developing your language skills and
expanding your vocabulary. Set aside time in the week for self-study, whether
in the SLZ or at home: from newspapers and journals (such as the Economist and
Wall Street Journal) from print media or on the Internet. You are expected to
read articles (outside of class reading assignments) from a business
journal almost daily. Be prepared to discuss in class the articles you've read.
It's important to keep reviewing vocabulary learned. From time to time we will use the fololowing books:
English for Business Studies
(in the Lehrbuchsammlung: HD 232 M156).
The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investing, by Morris, Kenneth M.
(in the Lehrbuchsammlung:40/QK 600 M87 ).
The undercover economist, by Tim Harford
(in the Lehrbuchsammlung: 18/QD 110 H278).
Take time to read and study the chapters we haven't covered in class. Those of you who feel the need to practice grammar and idiom should try doing some of the exercises in
The Language of Business Englishby Brieger and Sweeny.
(in the Lehrbuchsammlung: HD 232 B853 L 28).
Thematic Foundation
In this course we seek to develop rhetorical skills for students of English as a second language in the context of business and economics.
An entry in Wikepedia about rhetoric begins as follows:
"Rhetoric is the art of using language to communicate effectively and persuasively. It involves three audience appeals:
logos,
pathos, and
ethos."
Wiktionary gives the following definiton of rhetoric:
rhetoric
1. The art of using language, especially public speaking,
as a means to persuade.
2. Meaningless language with an exaggerated style intended to impress.
In this course we will focus on understanding and creating persuasive texts in business and economics (the first point). Such texts can range from an analyst's recommendation for buying the stock of a particular company to an argument against governmental plans to stimulate the economy.