Learning objectives
Upon passing the exam, students
1) Knowledge and understanding
- possess knowledge of the English language, having reached a level of at least B1 according to the CEFR;
- can remember a wide range of terms belonging to the discourse of economics, business and management;
- can understand the gist of written and spoken English used in everyday communicative events linked to their field of study.
2) Applying knowledge and understanding
- can apply their knowledge of English when communicating in professional contexts, by deploying a range of morpho-syntactic structures;
- can work alone and in groups and organise their tasks flexibly.
3) Making judgements
- can select data according to their relevance in order to formulate judgments in their disciplinary and professional domain;
- can evaluate pros and cons of a number of options to solve a given problem.
4) Communication skills
- can communicate effectively and correctly in English and convey general information pertaining to their area of study, by avoiding repetitions;
- can express viewpoints, provide clear descriptions and develop arguments cohesively and coherently;
- can interact with others using a register and level of formality as appropriate to the communicative context and purpose.
5) Learning skills
- can update and consolidate their linguistic knowledge;
- can hone their communicative competence;
- can relate this knowledge and competence to other disciplines in their degree course.
Prerequisites
Students are expected to have reached a B1 level of English according to the CEFR (self-assessment).
Course unit content
The course aims at helping students develop linguistic and pragmatic competences to be applied in international workplace settings, where English is used as a shared language.
The activities are organised following the B1 level in English according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and focus on three areas:
1. in-depth study of the vocabulary belonging to the disciplinary and professional domain which are relevant to the students’ degree course;
2. thorough revision of morpho-syntactic structures of the English language;
3. reading comprehension and writing exercises.
The vocabulary is elicited from articles read in class and for homework, and it deals with a number of topics, e.g.
- types of companies, company structure, employees and management
- health and safety issues at work
- mergers, acquisitions, sell-offs
- basic financial and accounting terms
- figures and currencies
- business across cultures
- human resources
- leadership.
The grammar areas to be reviewed include
- present simple and progressive
- past simple and present perfect
- future tenses
- articles
- modals and semi-modals: should, must, have to
- -ing forms and infinitives
- relative clauses
- reported speech.
Writing production exercises focus on
- informal, semi-formal and formal emails
- short reports describing graphs and tables.
Full programme
Bibliography
Cotton D., Falvey D. & Kent S. (2010) Market Leader Intermediate, 3rd edition, Harlow, Pearson Education Limited (Unit 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11).
Further material to prepare for the exam will be published on the course page in Elly.
The following resources are also needed for self-study:
- a monolingual dictionary of the student’s choosing, e.g. Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
- a grammar book at an intermediate level, e.g. Michael V. & French A. (2011) IELTS Language Practice, Oxford, Macmillan.
Teaching methods
1) Knowledge and understanding: teacher-fronted sessions, Socratic seminars.
2) Applying knowledge and understanding: practice sessions.
3) Making judgements: in-class discussions, group and pair work, peer feedback.
4) Communication skills: practice sessions, group and pair work, role playing.
5) Learning skills: homework, flipped classroom.
The teaching material will be posted in Dolly every week, including the slides projected in class and worksheets for self-study.
Assessment methods and criteria
The final examination consists in one written test. The exam paper is the same for all students, and the exercises are to be completed in 90 minutes. No dictionaries are allowed.
The exam paper includes:
A. one grammar exercise (10 closed questions)
B. one vocabulary exercise (10 closed questions)
C. one reading comprehension exercise (10 closed questions)
D. one email writing exercise (one open question)
C. describing one graph/chart/table (one open question).
For part A, B and C, each right answer is awarded 1 point. For part D and C the score ranges between 0 and 15 points.
To pass the exam, students need to obtain a total score of at least 36/60, and the final grade ranges between 0 and 30. The “lode” is awarded if the highest score is reached in every exercise.
The final grade is published in esse3 within 8 days of taking the exam.
All the components of the final test refer to the grammar areas, the lexis, the text typologies and the topics covered during the semester, with a view to properly assessing the extent to which students have reached the learning objectives described above.
Other information
