16918 - Business English

Learning outcomes

This course introduces students to the use of English in business. By the end of the course students are able to: (a) understand the main ideas of different types of texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in the field of economics and management; (b) interact with a good degree of fluency and spontaneity, highlighting the personal significance of events and experiences, supporting their views by providing relevant explanations and arguments; (c) expand their vocabulary range and accuracy to communicate effectively on common, concrete and business-related topics. The course is part of the integrated course “Business English and Cultural Management” that would like to enable students to effectively work in teams both thanks to specific linguistic competences (acquired in the course “Business English)” and cultural ones (in the course “Cross Cultural Management”).

Course contents

• Company profiles;
• Presentations;
• Language for business meetings; negotiating a deal and cultural implications;
• Customer service;
• Competition;
• Advertising and marketing;
• Networking;
• Leadership;
• Statistics and trends: discussing trends, graphs and charts;
• Small talk;
• Problem solving;
• Business emailing;
• CV.

Readings/Bibliography

No specific textbook will be used. Material coming from the real world, such as company profiles and presentations, articles and videos from economic and financial newspapers and magazines, company performance analyses, etc.

Teaching methods

Interactive, student-focused teaching methods: students should actively participate in communication tasks, such as role-plays, brainstorming, discussions, text analysis. There will be a combination of grammar with business language together with the cultural implications of the different structures. This method aims at helping students boost their communication skills in multicultural contexts. This course will be strictly connected with the Cross-Cultural Management course. Therefore, attendance to both Business English and Cross-Cultural Management courses is highly recommended.

Assessment methods

The assessment includes three components, all contributing to the final grade with a relative weight indicated by the percentages

Active participation in class: 10%

Company profile project: 30%

Final exam: 60%

The final exam will be made of two COMPULSORY sections:

1. a multiple-choice question test (1 point per correct answer; 0 points for wrong answers or unanswered questions) concerning all of the material available on Virtuale;

2. 2 open question (15 points max.): a business letter (6 points max.) and a graph description (9 points max.)

Teaching tools

apps and websites for students to improve their skills in English

Office hours

See the website of Paola Scalzotto