Course detail

Business English 1

FP-HA1PAcad. year: 2011/2012

The course follows up on language studied at the secondary school. It requires good knowledge of general language at pre-intermediate level as minimum. The course is focused on characteristic features of business professional communication. It provides students with the relevant specialist language and professional communication skills they will need in the workplace.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

2

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Learning outcomes of the course unit

The course is intended to deepen the student’s language skills necessary for professional communication using relevant vocabulary. It will familiarise the students with basic economic terminology and enable them to understand professional economic texts.

Prerequisites

Good level of English at pre-intermediate level as minimum. Grammar: Nouns – articles, countable and uncountable nouns, expressing quantity; adjectives and adverbs – comparative and superlative, comparison; pronouns – personal, possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, indefinite; numerals – cardinal, ordinal; prepositions – local and time expressions; verbs – present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present perfect simple, present perfect continuous, future – simple, continuous, other expressions of future (going to, present continuous), past perfect simple, past perfect continuous, modal verbs, question forms, negative, short answers, passive and active voice, imperative, conditional, gerund; sentence – word order, there is/there are, question forms, complex and compound sentence – time clauses, conditionals, using of infinitive. Vocabulary: socializing, personal data, school, job, daily routine, leisure time, family, food and drinks, shopping, travelling, clothing, housing, health, public services (post, bank, authorities), environment, weather.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Teaching methods depend on the type of course unit as specified in the article 7 of BUT Rules for Studies and Examinations.

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

Credit requirements: Participation and work in the exercises is systematically controlled, 60% points at the credit test as minimum.

Course curriculum

1. U1 Working life - Describing work. Talking about work and responsibilities.
2. U1 Working life - Socializing. Introducing.
3. U1 Working life - How to express interest in business conversations.
4. U2 Projects - Talking about projects.
5. U2 Projects - Meetings. Updating and delegating tasks.
6. U2 Projects - How to start and end phone calls.
7. U3 Leisure time - Talking about work-life balance.
8. U3 Leisure time - Exchanging information. Exchanging contact details
9. U3 Leisure time - How to end conversations politely.
10.U4 Services and systems - Presenting.
11.U4 Services and systems - Explaining how something works.
12.U4 Services and systems - How to introduce information. Making comparisons.
13.Credit test

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The aim of the course is to acquaint the students with language skills used in professional communication (reading, listening, speaking, writing) and provides them with basic terminology and specific structures of professional language.

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Students’ participation and their work in the exercises are systematically controlled. Absence may be compensated for by the agreement with the teacher.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

COTTON, David, David FALVEY, Simon KENT, Bill MASCULL a John ROGERS. Market leader: intermediate: business English. 3rd ed. Harlow: Pearson Longman, 2010. ISBN 978-1-4082-3695-6. (EN)

Recommended reading

MASCULL, B.: Business Vocabulary in Use Intermediate, CUP 2010 (EN)
MANN, Malcolm a Steve TAYLORE-KNOWLES. Destination B1: grammar and vocabulary : [with answer key]. Oxford: Macmillan, 2007. ISBN 9780230035362. (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BAK Bachelor's

    branch BAK-EP , 1. year of study, winter semester, compulsory
    branch BAK-UAD , 1. year of study, winter semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Language exercise

26 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer