Listening comprehension and specialised (business) English oral exercises

Teacher(s)

Knorr Sabrina; Starrs Colleen (coordinator);

Language

English

Prerequisites

B2 level of the 'Common European Framework for Languages'.

Main themes

The main aim of this course is to improve students' listening comprehension skills and  to develop their knowledge of (specialised) vocabulary. The course also aims to improve students' oral skills in addition to revising certain grammatical points.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	Listening Comprehension At the end of this course students can follow recordings of interviews, discussions, presentations, documentaries etc. featuring both native and non-native speakers with various accents talking about complex business topics (e.g. training, finance and banking, strategy etc.) and are able to take notes, select relevant information, understand specialised terminology and answer questions based on the recordings. Level C1 of the "Common European Framework for Languages "
2	Speaking Skills - Individual: At the end of this course students can give their opinion on the topics in the recordings and texts covered in class. make a presentation based on a subject related to one of the themes covered in class (group presentations). Speaking Skills - Interactive: At the end of this course students can participate fluently and effectively in discussions in class. Emphasis is on: content management spoken fluency coherence and cohesion vocabulary range grammatical accuracy phonological control presentation techniques Level B2+ of the "Common European Framework for Languages "
3	Reading Comprehension At the end of this course students can read specialised business texts and are able to select what is important or relevant for a specific task or to answer a specific question. understand specialised terminology in texts e.g. business vocabulary, idiomatic expressions etc. Level C1 of the "Common European Framework for Languages "

Content

The course covers listening comprehension, reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and oral skills. The material covered relates to a specialised field (business).

Teaching methods

Class time is used for activities to develop students’ language skills.

Evaluation methods

Continuous assessment: 15%
 
Grammar and vocabulary refresher: 5%
Students have to complete certain exercises on Moodle (progress bar) by the end of the term.

Mini-presentation: 5%
Students have to make a  mini-presentation based on a topic related to their field of study. They also have to prepare some questions for a discussion based on the topic they present.

Business podcast review: 5%
Students have to choose a business-related podcast episode, listen to it, and present it in class.
 
Important:

• Detailed instructions for each activity are provided in class and in the course notes.
  
• The continuous assessment mark reflects the work carried out during the term.
  
• The dates for the mini-presentations and business podcast reviews are scheduled in advance. All students are expected to be present. Students who are absent for (one of) these parts will get zero for the part(s) they do not complete.
  
• The completion date for the Moodle exercises (progress bar) is fixed in advance. Students are expected to complete all exercises by the deadline. Non-completion of exercises will result in zero for these components.
  
• Students are expected to attend classes, prepare before every class and participate actively in all class activities:
  La présence au cours est obligatoire. Si l'enseignant·e le juge utile, il/elle pourrait proposer au jury de s'opposer à l'inscription à l'examen du cours pour un·e étudiant·e qui n'aurait pas suivi régulièrement les activités d'apprentissage (RGEE - art. 72).
   
  

Oral exam: 25% 
Students have to make a group presentation based on a subject related to the world of business or the workplace. Detailed instructions are provided in class and in the course notes.

The group presentations take place in December. The dates are scheduled in advance. All students are expected to be present.

Written exam: 60%

• Listening comprehension questions (35%) based on all of the material covered in class and at home and other unseen material.
  
• Vocabulary questions (25%) based on all of the material covered in class and at home, i.e. all listening comprehension material, vocabulary exercises, other exercises, etc. as well as all of the vocabulary from the book ‘Business Vocabulary in Use - Third Edition’ which is self-study material.
  

The written exam takes place during the exam session in January. Once the date has been fixed, it cannot be changed.

Important:

• Both the oral exam and written exam are compulsory. Students who are absent for one of these parts will be considered as absent for the January session.
  

September session
The exam consists of the following parts:
 
Oral exam: 35%
This part has the same format as the oral exam in December, i.e. students have to make a presentation on a subject related to the world of business or the workplace. In September students have to make an individual presentation. Detailed instructions are provided in the course notes.

Written exam: 65%
This part consists of the material covered in the January exam:

• Listening comprehension questions (35%) based on all of the material covered in class and at home and other unseen material.
  
• Vocabulary questions (30%)  based on all of the material covered in class and at home,  i.e. all listening comprehension material, vocabulary exercises, other exercises, etc. as well as all of the vocabulary from the book ‘Business Vocabulary in Use - Third Edition’ which is self-study material.
  

Important:

• Students who sit the exam in the September session can choose to only repeat the part(s) where they got below 10 OR they can repeat all of the parts if they want to improve their grade for each section (oral exam and written exam). They must inform their teacher of their choice no later than the first day of the session. Students who are absent for one part of the exam will be considered as absent for the September session.
  

Online resources

https://moodle.uclouvain.be/enrol/index.php?id=652

Bibliography

Mascull, B. (2018). Business Vocabulary in Use Advanced. Third edition. Cambridge.
ISBN 978-1-316-62823-2

Teaching materials

• Notes de cours
• Moodle UCL

Faculty or entity

> ILV