Course description
Title of the Teaching Unit
English - Corporate communication skills and socio-economic issues - Bilingual program
Code of the Teaching Unit
11ULG14
Academic year
2023 - 2024
Cycle
Number of credits
5
Number of hours
60
Quarter
1-2
Weighting
Site
Montgomery
Teaching language
English
Teacher in charge
GALAZKA Guy
Objectives and contribution to the program
The general objectives of this UE enable the development of the last point of the teaching profile and learning outcomes of the Bachelor and Master cycles: "to be able to communicate orally and in writing in several languages" (LG5)
In addition, the type of exercises done in class also aim at LG1 (acquiring tools and knowledge for the professional world) and LG3 (openness to the world).
The objective is to equip management students in a fast-changing world with the language skills and tools that will enable them to perform at academic level and be life-long learners. The course focuses on corporate communication, socio-economic skills and the English language.
This English course is designed for students following the bilingual Bachelor in Business Management and aims at activating the language and some topics covered in the other courses taught in English (Management, Marketing and Political Economics). It will also be closely linked to the Methodology seminar.
English courses at Ichec aim at making students fully operational in English and increasing the possibility of international exchanges during their studies as well as their employability on a local and international fast-changing job market.
Learning outcomes in terms of knowledge:
At the end of the course, students will be able to use with ease and fluency orally and in writing:
-the vocabulary developed in a corporate and socio-economic context. This is linked to the life of a company and to economic, political and cultural news. It will also be linked to the other courses taught in English: Management, Marketing and Political Economics and the Methodology seminar.
-the grammar corresponding to level B2 from the European framework designed by the Council of Europe.
Learning outcomes in terms of skills:
This includes the professional skills from the : «COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK (CEF) – BUSINESS SKILLS ».
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
-language skills:
*(speaking): present a corporate or socio-economic topic, debate, give their opinion and develop their argumentation, give feedback (about a presentation), take part in a conversation in which people don’t adapt for non-native speakers.
*(listening): identify essential information from an oral source (News, conference, …) and report its content into (correct) English
*(reading): read, understand, summarize (orally and in writing) a text from the press (generic, specialized, business) and research articles linked to management and marketing. Respect copyright rules.
*(writing): write well-structured and clear essays and reports, e-mails (in a professional context), use connectives and guiding language to structure, take notes from a written or oral source, a presentation.
*communication skills: be ready to speak up, to use corporate and generic communication tools given in class.
The skills listed below will be developed throughout the course. Students will be given feedback but won’t be assessed at the summative evaluation.
-soft skills:
*ability to work with others: team work, listening to others, managing a conversation/debate
*ability to reflect upon oneself: intra-personal skills (talking about your
motivation).
-thinking and critical thinking skills: memory, observation, analytical skills
-digital skills:
*searching for information on Internet (generic press, specialized and research articles) to illustrate a topic and process the information with accuracy.
*using sources critically
*working collaboratively and organizing work with digital tools in groups
of 2 or more.
*respecting copyright rules
-communication: body language and attitude
Prerequisites and corequisites
Prerequisites:
Students should be comfortable with a B2 English level of the European Common Framework for Languages of the Council of Europe.
Level of the course:
At the end of the course, students should have reached a B2 level (from the Common European Framework) for speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. The B2 skills and knowledge will have to be extended to the fields of corporate communication, socio-economic issues, management, marketing and political economics.
Content
A/ Interactive course: (2 hours/week in class)
Chapters covered in Q1:
1- Start with you: motivation and leadership
2- Taste the (junk) food sector
3- Reading & summing-up strategies
4- Critical thinking and cognitive bias
5- Company presentations
6- Talking about brands
- In collaboration with the management course, the students will produce a group video on the theme “What makes a good leader?”.
Chapters covered in Q2:
7- Academic writing
8- Corporate communication
9- Going green: fashion and biomimicry
10- Oral exam practise
- A grammar revision program is to be carried out in self-study, with follow-up and reinforcement in class.
- The vocabulary will be extended to socio-economic themes, based on the sources seen in the course as well as the book Advanced Business Vocabualry in Use.he student must actively attend to take part in a set of oral communication exercises.
Students will be first exposed passively to the vocabulary corpus and will activate it through interactive activities (speaking, reading, writing, reading), following a spiral pattern. The scope of discussions and vocabulary will be extended to the fields of management, marketing and political economics. Extracts of the textbooks (and extra topics of these three subjects) may be referred to throughout the course. Strategies and skills developed are closely linked to the Methodology Seminar from Management and Marketing.
Vocabulary (self-study)
Vocabulary enrichment is a keystone of the bilingual program and is part of the self-study programme. Vocab from courses Political economics, Management and Marketing fields will be dealt with. You should be able to use all vocabulary words from the different sources covered in class (all activities in lessons), listening, texts and the book Business Vocab in Use: Advanced. The book is available at the SIC and is also used in the second year.
Mascull, B. (2017) Business Vocabulary In Use: Advanced. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. (Available at the SIC)
The vocabulary covered includes:
-Course vocab (all activities in lessons in the syllabus)
-Listening exercises
-Texts (including reading comprehension)
-Vocabulary from Business Vocabulary in Use: Advanced.
To support students in their mastery of the language, particularly for vocabulary and grammar, a (compulsory) continuous evaluation programme (consisting of 10 tests mixing vocabulary and grammar) is available on Moodle. All the information, deadlines, contents to cover are detailed on the Moodle platform of the course. This includes vocabulary from all sources of the course (see above), as well all items covered in the grammar refresher course.
B/ "Remediation" course
- a. Grammar refresher course
A grammar revision program is to be carried out as self-study, with follow-up and reinforcement in class in bigger groups.
-Tenses (basic & advanced)
-Connectives & guiding language
-Conditionals
-Passive forms
-Modals
-Resources: Documents posted on Moodle, the textbook, MyGrammarLab (Pearson), Wallangues.
In addition to the standard class, students will need to revise the B2-level grammar via a self-study program on MyGrammarlab (access to the platform available at SIC). Some follow-up and reinforcement sessions will be organized in class. The self-study program and all other necessary information will be given in class and/or posted on Moodle.
- b. Soft skills workshop
This workshop (second term) focuses on non-verbal communication, active speaking and listening activities. Participation is not compulsory but is strongly encouraged. It will also put the emphasis on a tool called the Message map, which enables you to present your idea concisely and convincingly, so that your message or product – no matter what it is – can reach the stars. Students will be working individually, with partners or in small groups.
Organisation for the workshops:
- The face-to-face course takes place every two weeks, at the scheduled time. The breakdown of groups can be found on Moodle.
- Face-to-face classes are "surrounded" by a vast online program.
- Registration for each session on Moodle
NB: depending on the sanitary conditions, the face-to-face program may switch to Teams.
Teaching methods
This course consists of two parts:
A/The interactive course (2 hours/week with your TP)
B/ The "remediation" course
a) grammar refresher course (self-study programme + follow-up and reinforcement at Ichec or online) - Q1 (first term)
b) soft skills workshop - Q2 (second term)
A/ The interactive course:
The interactive course is the keystone of the program. The student must actively attend to take part in a set of oral communication exercises.
The interactive course takes place every week, at the scheduled time.
- interactive classes are "surrounded" by a vast online program.
- Depending on the sanitary situation, the interactive program may switch to Teams.
Attendance is compulsory.
B/ The "remediation" course:
- a. Grammar refresher course
A grammar revision program is to be carried out as self-study, with follow-up and reinforcement in class in bigger groups.
Students will need to revise the B2-level grammar via a self-study program on MyGrammarlab (access to the platform available at SIC). Some follow-up and reinforcement sessions will be organized in class. The self-study program and all other necessary information will be given in class and/or posted on Moodle.
- b. Soft skills workshop
This workshop (second term) focuses on non-verbal communication, active speaking and listening activities. Participation is not compulsory but is strongly encouraged. It will also put the emphasis on a tool called the Message map, which enables you to present your idea concisely and convincingly, so that your message or product – no matter what it is – can reach the stars. Students will be working individually, with partners or in small groups.
Organisation for the workshops:
- The face-to-face course takes place every two weeks, at the scheduled time. The breakdown of groups can be found on Moodle.
- Face-to-face classes are "surrounded" by a vast online program.
- Registration for each session on Moodle
- Depending on the sanitary conditions, the face-to-face program may switch to Teams.
Remark: A student may record or film a course with prior agreement of the teaching staff but mustn’t post those recordings on the Internet and, more specifically, social networks.
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
- Attendance is compulsory.
- If you were absent for a test without any certificate, your mark will be zero for that test. If you were absent for a test with a medical certificate, please hand it in as soon as possible to the secretariat AND to your teacher.
Assessment method
- Formative evaluation (speaking skills, written and oral expression, vocabulary) throughout the year.
- Summative evaluation
1. Written evaluation
Q1 /20:
Writing: Express your opinion
Listening (to be confirmed)
Integrated vocabulary and grammar.
Q2 /20:
Listening (to be confirmed)
E-mail writing / Describing a graph
Integrated vocabulary and grammar
Total year : /40 -> /20
2. Oral evaluation
Q1
Team work: Video project “What makes a good leader?”
(10 % of the final grade of the oral evaluation)
Q2
Oral exam June
(Discussion & argumentation question about any topic since September)
Total year : /100 --> /20
Total oral + written evaluation:
Total written evaluation (Q1+Q2) :/20
Total oral evaluation (Q1+Q2) : /20
Total year :
/40 --> /20
*To succeed, students will have to demonstrate a sufficient mastery of BOTH written and oral skills, and to comply with the required B2 level of the European Framework for Languages defined by the Council of Europe. Moreover, students will have to demonstrate the appropriate business skills from the European Framework (see above).
*The final grade will be given ONLY IF students have completed both the oral and written exams.
*To progress throughout the year, students are encouraged to participate actively in the Interactive class. This oral participation is also taken into account in the evaluation.
*The assessment procedures may vary from one exam session to the other.
Students may be evaluated by other language teachers, in order to make grading as objective as possible.
-At the written exam in June and August, you may be tested on any material seen in the first semester and the second semester (all material since September)
-Oral: Video project, oral presentations, oral activities in class and oral exam in June. The oral exam covers the course content of the whole year, since September.
Content of the oral exam: "Express your well-structured and well-informed opinion about any topic (texts, videos, discussions) covered from September 2023 until May 2024. You should use accurate vocabulary related to the chapters covered as well as connectives, guiding language and expressions to express your opinion. You should be able to demonstrate you can skilfully use this vocabulary with spontaneity and accuracy."
Video project: The deadline for handing in the video project "What makes a good leader?" is 4/12/2023 (11:55 p.m.). It is part of the oral evaluation: 10 % of the final grade of the oral evaluation.
The exam of August covers all the material seen since september. Both the oral and written exams must be taken.
*If students are not able to attend for medical reasons (including illness from covid19, a period of quarantine, or else), they will have to retake the January exam in June or August.
*Exams may take place online depending on the sanitary conditions
References
The syllabus English B1 – 11ULG14A – English corporate communication and socio-economic issues
-All the resources posted on Moodle (documents, videos, lessons, vocabulary resources, …). They are an integral part of the study material.
-All the material from the other courses taught in English for the bilingual program: Management, Marketing, Methodology Seminar and Political Economics.
Course slides posted on Moodle.
Bibliography:
Bailey, S. (2018). Academic Writing. A handbook for international students. London and New York: Routledge.
Ffion, L. (2015). The Seven Pillars of Storytelling. Bristol: Sparkol Books.
Kotler, P., Keller, K. (2016). Marketing Management. Harlow: Pearson.
Kotler P. , Armstrong G. , Harris L. and He (H). (2019) Principles of Marketing. 8th European Edition. Pearson.
Jones-Macziola, S. (1999) Further Ahead. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lussier, R. N. (2020). Management fundamentals: Concepts, applications, and skill development. SAGE Publications.
Mascull, B. (2017) Business Vocabulary In Use: Advanced. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
MyGrammarLab - Intermediate B1/B2, Pearson, www.mygrammarlab.com
Murphy, R. (2004). English Grammar In Use, Third Edition, Cambridge University Press.
Paquet, G., Schrooten, V. et Wattier, S (2020). Séminaire de méthodologie et d’initiation à la démarche scientifique. Syllabus. ICHEC, Bruxelles (available on Moodle)
McCarthy, M. & O’Dell, F. (2016). Academic Vocabulary in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Robbins, S., Coulter, M. (2018). Management. Harlow: Pearson.
Wadsö-Lecaros, C. (2016) Academic writing: Structuring paragraphs – MOOC, Lund University. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa2btnwJqzs
The CORE project. The Economy. Retrieved from https://core-econ.org/the-economy/book/text/0-3-contents.html
The Language Team (2018-19) Syllabus: Introduction to Socio-Economic Issues, Ichec Brussels Management school.
The Language Team (2020-21) Syllabus: English – Corporate Communication Skills and Socio-economic issues.
European Framework for Languages. Retrieved from https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168045b15e
Additional textbooks and sources used in the Management, Marketing and Political economics courses may be added to this list.