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Course 2018-2019 a.y.

20637 - PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH SEMINARS

Language Center

Course taught in English

Go to class group/s: 2

ACME (2 credits - II sem. - OP)
Course Director:
JOHN Mc HARDY CLARK

Classes: 2 (II sem.)
Instructors:
Class 2: RICHARD NICHOLAS


Class-group lessons delivered  on campus

Prerequisites

To feel comfortable in this course, you should have at least a high B2 level of English.


Mission & Content Summary
MISSION

Communicating in the workplace requires a particular set of skills. Acquiring those skills in our native tongue is challenging enough – learning them in and adapting them to a second language is even harder. Starting from this idea, the mission of this seminar is to explore fundamental aspects of professional communications in a production-oriented environment, offering students the opportunity to develop and use their soft skills in English.

CONTENT SUMMARY

The most important topics we consider during this course are the following:

  • The objectives of professional communication.
  • The soft skills used to reach those objectives.
  • The language choices that facilitate or impede professional communication.
  • Adapting your English to professional situations.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...

After successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Recognize the elements of effective professional communication.
  • Identify the relationship between the purpose of the communication and the soft skills used
  • in communicating it.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...

After successful completion of this course students will be able to:

  • Develop clearer, more effective written messages.
  • Develop clearer, more effective spoken messages.
  • Use their soft skills in English to make it easier to achieve their objectives.

Teaching methods
  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
  • Interactive class activities (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)
DETAILS

During the seminar, students hear short face-to-face lectures exploring various aspects of communicating in the workplace, as well as discussions of the language and soft skills used in professional situations. They spend much of their time on activities, role-plays, and simulations designed to help them identify effective language choices and improve their ability to use their English to communicate in the workplace.


Assessment methods
  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
  •     x
  • Active class participation (virtual, attendance)
  •     x
    ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

    With the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the above-mentioned learning outcomes, the student assessment is based on two main components:

    • In class participation (75% attendance and active participation required for Attending Student status).
    • Final written exam (individual grade, 100% of the final grade), based on the tasks and situations explored during the seminar.

    Non-attending students additionally need to demonstrate their ability to use the communications skills used by Attending Students during their participation in the seminar.


    Teaching materials
    ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

    The main course material, for both attending and non-attending students, is:

    • Materials provided during the course. Students need to refer to the Bboard platform.
    Last change 12/06/2018 21:49