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English for economists - Advanced course

People

Bostock L.

Course director

Description

Objectives

The objective of the course in Advanced English is to give students the opportunity to explore and discuss issues in Economics through contact with a variety of material, and to encourage confident use of the language in a variety of situations. In addition, students are provided with the advanced skills in English that they will need in the future, either in academia or in careers in Economics.

 

Content

The course is divided into three modules, each concentrating on a specific group of skills: reading & writing, speaking & listening, and documents for the job market. 

 

Learning method

Each two-hour session is divided into two parts. The session kicks off with the free discussion of input material, either from classic texts in Economics or from the current debate in the media (e.g. The Economist, The Financial Times, Business Week, Forbes, etc.), or recordings of lectures and news briefings (e.g. from Ted.com, BBC Radio, etc.). Students will be asked to prepare in advance a short talk on the issues raised in the input material so as to open up a discussion in class. This part of the session will include comprehension question-and-answer if necessary.

The second part of each two-hour session is devoted to a more focused exploration of the language, which is centered not on grammar, but on those skills that can be used to decipher the language on the fly or to produce strong language output such as essays, reports, presentations, etc.

As with all language courses, students will be expected to devote a fair amount of private study time to developing their vocabulary and be able to demonstrate this work in progress. Students should register for the iCorsi Platform, where important information and extra material will be placed as the course progresses.

 

Examinations

Assessment is by final exam, which will include written and listening comprehension along with an essay or other written piece. Speaking skills will be assessed on group presentation towards the end of the course. Students will be required to demonstrate English language skills at C1 level. Consistent attendance and participation in class will also be reflected in the final grade.

Students from all Master’s programmes of the Faculty of Economics, as well as Erasmus or exchange students, are welcome to attend.

 

References

No prescribed textbooks. Reading material will be made available by the teacher.

 

Recommended: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Macmillan 2018; Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, OUP; Hewings, M., Advanced Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press 2013.

 

 

Education