Academic Year:
2022/23
432 - Joint Law - Business Administration and Management Programme
30639 - Foreign Language for Business (English, French or German)
Teaching Plan Information
Academic Year:
2022/23
Subject:
30639 - Foreign Language for Business (English, French or German)
Faculty / School:
109 - Facultad de Economía y Empresa
Degree:
432 - Joint Law - Business Administration and Management Programme
ECTS:
5.0
Year:
6
Semester:
First semester
Subject Type:
Optional
Module:
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1.1. Aims of the course
The general aim of this English for Business course is to enable students to communicate at a reasonable level of accuracy in the present international business environment. More specifically, students should develop their proficiency in listening, reading, speaking and writing texts related to business topics and practice, including knowledge of how the language is used, how it works and how to analyse it and the contexts in which it is spoken.
These approaches and objectives are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 agenda (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/en/), contributing, to some extent, to their achievement. Whenever possible, texts used in class will deal with the said objectives, particularly objectives 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17
1.2. Context and importance of this course in the degree
This is an optional module of 5 ECTS included in 1st semester of the 4th year programme of the degree course, provided by the Department of English and German Studies. The course seeks to provide practical learning resources focusing on a range of documents and texts (written and oral) related to the students' future professional careers and, thus, enhance their employability in the international business world.
This course should also help students to understand, analyse and produce academic texts related to other subjects in their degree course.
These approaches and objectives are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 agenda (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/en/), contributing, to some extent, to their achievement. Whenever possible, tasks used in the module will deal with the said objectives, particularly objectives 1; 2; 4; 5; 7; 8; 10; 12; 13; 16 and 17.
1.3. Recommendations to take this course
To be successful, the student is recommended to start with at least the level of general English (written and oral) acquired in Bachillerato, and which is similar to B1 of the Common European Framework. At the end of the course, students should reach a higher level of English.
The programme is fully taught in English and communication in the classroom takes place only in this language too. The student is also advised to work on it steadily.
2.1. Competences
Specific Skills
E1: Writing advisory reports on specific situations related to markets, economic sectors and organizations or firms and to their respective functional areas.
E2: Understanding and applying professional criteria and scientific rigour to the solving of economic, firm or organizational problems.
Transferable Skills
T1: Communicate in oral and written English in a way which is appropriate to the business professional context.
T2: Communicate in oral and written English with emphasis on developing arguments properly.
T3: Have theability to analyse and summarise.
T4: Have the ability to Search for and assess information from a variety of sources
T5: Have developed negotiation and problem-solving skills.
T6: Have the ability to work in a team
2.2. Learning goals
1:Communicate fluently and clearly at an intermediate-advanced level of English (oral and written) and in areas related to business practice.
2:Understand and make critical comments on the English texts including issues related to business functional areas.
3:Present and interpret data relating to fields of business management using the specific language strategies and techniques (oral and written) for this type of discourse in English.
4:Use the corresponding language strategies for organising and summarising information in oral and written texts.
5:Have reasonable command of a range of vocabulary on familiar and some business specialised topics to be able to communicate effectively with other professionals in English.
Given that students are recommended to start with at least a B1 level of general English (written and oral) (Common European Framework), at the end of the course, students should reach a higher level of English
2.3. Importance of learning goals
The skills acquired through the English for Business course are key for students of Business Administration and Management. Nowadays, they are crucial to access knowledge and enhance their employability within the growing international business practice, where a proficient command of English is specially required.
3. Assessment (1st and 2nd call)
3.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)
The students will prove that they have achieved the expected learning results by means of the following assessment activities:
A global final exam that will assess their oral and written specific English language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). This exam will be based on the contents and practical activities of the course and will seek to allow the students to prove their communicative, written and oral competence in the English language used in the realm of the economy.
The exam will consist of:
- Speaking skills: Delivery of an oral presentation in groups of three or four students followed by questions. Students will be able to choose the date to deliver the presentation from these two options: either on the dates proposed by the teacher during the last week of the semester, or on the official exam dates set by the Faculty (see calendar of exams on the Faculty website). Students will choose one of these two dates by writing down their names in the corresponding time-slot in a schedule sheet which will be available in Moodle. They will have to choose the date in due time, at least two weeks in advance.
- Listening, reading and writing skills: Listening and reading comprehension, vocabulary and grammar test, and writing of texts that will include the use of the specific vocabulary and register of the English language in the context of economics and the economy.
The official hours and dates of the final exams can be found on the web page of the faculty.
Assessment criteria:
Correction in oral and written production, management of content and discourse coherence, correct use of specific vocabulary and generic conventions proper to the formal language register of Business English, as well as correction in pronunciation, intonation, grammar and fluency, will be valued.
The oral language skills assessment (presentation and listening) will represent 50% of the final mark
The written language skills assessment (reading comprehension, test and written text production) will represent the other 50% of the total mark.
To pass the course it is necessary to pass both parts separately (oral and written) with a minimum of 50% in each part (5 points out of 10). Only one part may be compensated with another, if one of them obtains a rating of 4.5 points out of 10.
It will be verified that the vocabulary, language and grammatical and syntactic structures used by the student do not show significant level discrepancies between his/her oral and written exams and between their corresponding activities.
Participation in class, as well as carrying out the assignments recommended by the teachers, will be aspects to be considered when adjusting the final mark or granting an honors grade.
The final assessment will be prepared to be carried out as face-to-face examination, but if health circumstances do not allow it, they will be carried out by doing it entirely online or in a blended way. In the case of online exams, it is important to highlight that, the student may be recorded, and he or she can exercise his or her rights by the procedure indicated in.
https://protecciondatos.unizar.es/sites/protecciondatos.unizar.es/files/users/lopd/gdocencia_reducida.pdf"
The necessary software will be used to check the possibility of plagiarism. The detection of plagiarism or copying in an activity will imply that the activity or exam will be marked 0/10.
4. Methodology, learning tasks, syllabus and resources
4.1. Methodological overview
The course has a practical orientation, with an emphasis on students participation, and it is developed through the application of linguistic content and contextual / business concepts to practical exercises, to be carried out both individually and in groups. These practical exercises consist of:
Oral and written communication tasks.
Analysis and production of written texts relating to business topics as well as copies of the most common documents and correspondence to be encountered in the business professional practice.
Representation and description of trends and statistic data. Oral presentation of a business project or new ideas.
Simulation of real business situations
There is no set textbook. The supporting printed learning materials for the course will be available from the corresponding faculty reprography service. The activities carried out in the classroom are complemented with audiovisual and written resources that are presented on the subject's Moodle virtual platform: https://moodle2.unizar.es/ (Lengua extranjera empresarial (inglés).
4.2. Learning tasks
1:Lectures: with the main objective of conveying the fundamental concepts of the module, so that goals set by the teacher are achieved. The lecture is expected to be participatory and to encourage debate and clarify issues and questions based on the learning materials. 20hrs
2:Practice sessions: individual and group tasks on business related discussions, team work and group interaction, preparation and presentation of companies, projects or ideas, simulation of business situations. 30hrs
3:Tutorials: individual or group sessions which allow a more direct and personal support to students in order to monitor tasks, answer questions and guide them in the study. Self-study, assignments, exam preparation and assessment activities (75h)
The teaching methodology is planned for face-to-face classes. However, if necessary for health reasons, teaching could be delivered on line or in a blended way.
4.3. Syllabus
1. The company
Description of a company organization: hierarchy and functions Description of job positions and responsibilities
Profile of a company
2. Socialising and telephoning
Greetings and introductions Telephone language
Cross-cultural (mis)understanding
3. Recruitment
The process of recruitment: job offers
The process of job application: writing a CV and a letter of application The job interview
4. Business Correspondence
Description of the process of an international commerce transaction and its documents Business letters and emails
An international commerce transaction
5 Business Presentations
Preparation of a business presentation Structure of a presentation
Language reference and instructions for delivering a presentation Instruction for the presentation of a project
4.4. Course planning and calendar
The timing of the sessions will be announced on the websites of the Facultad de Economía y Empresa and the Facultad de Empresa y Gestión Pública respectively. the practice sessions and other activities will be communicated by the teacher at the beginning of the module.
The activities and key dates will be communicated at the presentation of the module for each group and during the semester in due time.
The official hours and dates of the final exams can be found on the web page of the faculty https://econz.unizar.es Note that it is the responsibility of students to ensure that they have read and understood this document and all the information about the course, and have checked lessons timetable and exam dates in advance, so as to be able to plan their work schedule. If you are in any doubt, talk to the teacher in good time.