ENGLISH FOR CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Upper-Intermediate Level (B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – CEFR).
The students’ knowledge will be assessed through a final level B2 written and oral test that will take place on the same day. It is necessary to pass the written test to access the oral part.
1. The computer-based written test lasts 40 minutes and consists in 60 (multiple choice or fill-in-the-gap) questions on Modules A and B.
The final mark is calculated out of 30. Pass mark is 18, which will allow students to access the oral part of the exam. If it is less than 18, the test is not passed and students will have to take the exam again during the following session.
2. For the oral test students will be asked questions about Modules B, C, and D of the course.
The final mark is calculated out of 30. Pass mark is 18. If it is less than 18, the exam is not passed and students will have to take the oral exam again. After passing the oral exam, the final mark will be added to that of the written test, which will result in a final, average mark.
The course aims at:
1. developing/enhancing the students' workplace communication skills in corporate and institutional settings, providing a theoretical foundation of business communication principles and strengthening their capacity for successful communication in the context of business;
2. develop the lexical and morphosyntactic skills required to produce some of the texts that are usually used in the field of communication, such as business email and press releases, in a consistent and coherent manner;
3. acquire basic knowledge of the historical, social and political reasons underlying the notions of English as a Lingua Franca and English as a Global Language;
4. acquire translation strategies to translate corporate (web-based) texts (e.g. a press release) from English into Italian and vice versa.
Specifically, students are required to learn, know and use a proper vocabulary, the main morpho-syntactic structures of English at an advanced (B2+/C1) level, read and understand specialised texts, and to use specialised writing strategies for corporate communication. The main language skills involved are writing, reading and comprehension.
The course is divided into the following modules:
A) Business vocabulary
1. The human dimension;
2. Quality;
3. Competitive strategy;
4. Marketing;
5. Logistics;
6. The Internet;
7. Company finance;
8. Corporate responsibility;
9. The global economy.
B) Corporate writing skills
1. Corporate email messages:
- Conventional expressions according to various communicative situations;
- Registers, formality of styles;
- Requests, suggestions, complaints;
2. Cover letters and job application processes in English-speaking countries;
3. Press release:
- main components of a press release;
- effectively structuring and conveying information;
- analysis of good and bad examples of press releases
C) Specialised translation
1. Theoretical frameworks of translation;
2. Translation online resources;
3. Translation strategies for some of the corporate text types analysed in B (e.g. email messages, press releases).
D) English as a global language
1. English as a Lingua Franca;
2. The historical context;
3. The geopolitical and economic context;
4. The cultural legacy: the media.
The material will be shown/distributed in class and uploaded to the e-learning page of the course.
Bibliography:
MODULE A
- Mascull B. (2017), Business Vocabulary in Use, Advanced, Third edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
MODULE B
- Catenaccio P. (2008), Corporate Press Releases: An Overview, Milan: CUEM.
- Emmerson P. (2013), Email English, London: Macmillan.
- Hughes R. (2005) Exploring Grammar in Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
MODULE C
- Gambier Y., van Doorslaer L. (2009) Handbook of Translation Studies, Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
- Grego K. (2010) Specialized Translation: Theoretical issues, operational perspectives, Monza: Polimetrica.
MODULE D
- Crystal D. (2003), English as a Global Language, second edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Teaching is based on frontal lessons, in which the teacher shows the contents of the course. Students are required to participate actively through exercises, readings, writing exercises, conversation and mock tests with guided correction.
Office hours upon appointment via email: daniel.russo@uninsubria.it