Advanced Business English

Home Institution: Alecu Russo Balti State University, Republic of Moldova

Course pre-requisites: B2 or higher in English on the European CEFR

Course Overview
Business English skills are essential for every person who wants to excel and achieve career success. This course is designed as a practical one meant to help learners improve their business English vocabulary as well as grammar in order to enable them to communicate effectively in English in professional settings. In particular, the activities are designed to develop the learners’ interview skills, business correspondence skills as well as to increase their awareness of business topics and issues. During the course, the learners will be helped to acquire the appropriate language for everyday business contexts such as: telephoning, introducing/describing a company, requesting and getting job-related information, making presentations, organizing meetings, emailing, writing a cover letter, requesting/confirming a service, writing various business letters (e.g. reminder letters, personal business letters, etc.). Similarly, the learners will be encouraged to express their point of view on the following topics: building relationships, setting goals, team building, and dealing with people at work.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course learners will be able to:

expand business English vocabulary;
use the appropriate language for business contexts;
understand and prepare business correspondence;
understand business style, grammar and usage, and mechanics;
deepen their knowledge related to current job-related issues;
make a presentation on a business topic;
understand the role of various factors influencing the present work-environment;
use grammatical structures appropriately in both written and oral business contexts.

Course Content
Day 1: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Telephoning

Focus on writing skills: Writing a cover letter

Focus on reading: Building working relationships

Focus on grammar: Review of tenses

Day 2: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Introducing a company

Focus on writing skills: Requesting/confirming a service

Focus on reading: Setting goals and respecting deadlines

Focus on grammar: Articles

Day 3: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Requesting/giving job information

Focus on writing skills: Requesting/proving information

Focus on reading: How about now? Questioning techniques

Focus on grammar: Question forms

Day 4: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Presentations

Focus on writing skills: Ordering supplies/confirming an order

Focus on reading: Team building

Focus on grammar: Modal forms

Day 5: Focus on speaking skills: Presentation of ‘Business @ the speed of thought’ by Bill Gates

Mid-term test

Day 6: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Meetings

Focus on writing skills: Writing/replying to reminder and collection letters

Focus on reading: Building working relationships

Focus on grammar: Review of tenses

Day 7: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Introducing a company

Focus on writing skills: Requesting/Confirming a service

Focus on reading: Briefing, assigning tasks

Focus on grammar: Relative clauses

Day 8: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Entertaining and socializing

Focus on writing skills: Writing employee/customer relation letters

Focus on reading: Negotiating

Focus on grammar: The passive

Day 9: Focus on speaking and listening skills: Emailing

Focus on writing skills: Writing personal business letters

Focus on reading: Dealing with people at work. Interpersonal relationships

Focus on grammar: Adjectives and adverbs

Day 10: Final exam

Instructional Method
The course is intended as a series of interactive activities meant to develop the learners’ business vocabulary as well as their ability to fluently speak and write in English in business settings. Thus, the learners will be actively engaged in the process of instruction. They will be encouraged to work in pairs and small groups. Similarly, they will be asked to participate in class discussions when tackling a current issue related to the business environment.

Required Course Materials
Access to a computer with an internet connection will be needed as well as the following software: word-processing, and presentation software.