Advanced Business English

Teacher(s)

Gibbs Nicholas (coordinator); Kefer Adrien; Lambert Caroline; Volpe Marine;

Language

English
> French-friendly

Prerequisites

B2+ level of English from 3rd year Bachelor course (e.g. LANGL1532).

Main themes

This course has three main themes:

1. Networking
2. Presentations
3. Writing

Each theme is presented and practised in business contexts.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Learners will be able to network with confidence, both on-line and in-person. You will attend an in-class networking event where you will be able to put into practice the networking best practice that we have established in the input session. You will design a Linked-In page and use the tool to further your goals.
2	Learners will be able give an effective business presentation, and develop their own presentation style.
3	Learners will write a business report or a proposal, learning about paragraph development and good business writing style.

Content

On this course, we will develop some of the essential skills that you will need to survive and thrive in the business world. This course is divided into the following three modules:
·       Networking
·       Writing
·       Presentations
We will spend two lessons on each module. In the first lesson, we will review elements of ‘best practice’ in the skill area; in the second, we will put these skills to the test in a variety of practical exercises.
Attendance is obligatory for the 6 sessions. There is a maximum of 20 students in each course group.

Teaching methods

This is an interactive course and each class is limited to 20 students. Students actively participate in class through role plays, pairwork, small group exercises and peer feedback sessions.
Attendance is obligatory for the 6 sessions

Evaluation methods

Final grades are based on how well students complete the following assignments:

• Attend a networking event simulation and design a Linked-In profile = 30 %
• Write a summary of a business topic or a pitch proposal = 30 %
• Give either a presentation (based on the sumamry) or a pitch (based on the proposal) = 30 %
• Attend and participate in all classes = 10 %

Online resources

http://moodleucl.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=11403

Bibliography

• In  Company 3.0 Upper Intermediate (B2), by Mark Powell and John Allison 2014
• Business Networking by Heather Townsend, Prentice Hall 2011
• Brilliant Networking Steven D’Souza Prentice Hall 2008
• Linked-In or Linked-Out – 107 Ways To Grow Your Business Using Linked-In, Sam Rathling and Derek Reilly, Amazon 2013
• Writing, Nick Brieger, Harper Collins 2011
• Writing for Impact, Tim Banks, 2012 Cambridge University Press
• Business Grammar Builder, Paul Emmerson Macmillan 2010
• How to Write Effective Business English, Fiona Talbot, Cogan Page 2016
• Email English, Paul Emmerson, Macmillan 2010
• Presenting in English, Mark Powell, Heinle 2002

Faculty or entity

> ILV