Business English 3.1

Business English 3.1 is an evening course of 56 hours at about B2+ level.

The course gives students the bankable language skills required by any employer operating in the English-speaking world. It will help learners develop the confidence to communicate clearly in the corporate world, building English language skills through a variety of up-to-the-minute content. 

In lively and thought-provoking sessions, we will be talking about four main themes:

Market research                                                                           
The employer/employee relationship
Managing money                                                                      
Facing challenges

We will observe and put to use a wide range of advanced grammar, including:

Question tags                                                                 
Reporting verb patterns
Cleft sentences                                                                       
Future perfect
Phrasal verbs                                                                  
Participle clauses
Weak forms in perfect tenses                                                               
Compound nouns & adjectives

We will be carrying out a range of activities aimed at honing business skills, including: 

Market research planning 
Negotiating and renegotiating 
Proposing changes & responding to questions 
Leading and participating in meetings
Using bullet points in complex emails 
Working on surveys
Writing the recommendations section of a report 
Proposing and planning a documentary                                                                                   

To continue students’ pathway towards proficiency in English, especially with a view to working in an English-speaking context in a wide range of fields, e.g. international banking, marketing, sales, communication, advertising, etc.

This is the first of two 56-hour courses (see also Business English 3.2). At the end of the second course, students should be able to operate in the business context in English as described by the Common European Framework for Reference for Languages, with particular capabilities in the business context:

• Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer clauses and recognise implicit meaning.
• Can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
• Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.
• Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

In presence

This course is taught in person in the spring semester for a total of 56 hours (4 hours/week). We will be using a range of material including video, articles and audio. A wide range of online material is also available through MyEnglish Lab (see Bibliography) offering students a wealth of self-study opportunities. Learning is founded, as always, on the four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), and there is a strong emphasis on active participation through discussion, practical business-related tasks, etc. 

Students who have attended 80% of classes or more will be invited to sit a final test in the last week of the semester, and on successful completion will receive a Business English certificate, which is a valuable addition to any job candidate’s CV. In addition, BECOI students who have earned two Business English certificates (level 2 and above) are eligible to take English for Economists in the BECOI programme.

Further information about language examinations at USI can be found on the LLM website.