ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Hours of tutorials: 14 Expository Class: 4 Interactive Classroom: 24 Total: 42
Use languages Spanish, Galician
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: English and German Philology
Areas: English Philology
Center Faculty of Business Administration and Management
Call: First Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable | 1st year (Yes)
This course has been designed for students with little or no previous experience in the business world and with a pre-intermediate level of English, which corresponds to the A2 level on the Common European Framework for Languages (CEFR).
The main objective of the course is to improve students’ communicative skills so that they can interact in everyday work situations. At the end of this course students should reach level B1 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).
To reach this general objective, students will have to develop their Business English language skills, with a focus on technology, and work on reading, writing, listening and speaking. This will allow them to improve their fluency, and to gain confidence when using English in work situations as a means of communication, both written and spoken.
The specific objectives of this course are the following:
• To introduce students to basic concepts of business, with a focus on technology
• To stimulate students’ interest in the subject
• To develop students’ reading, listening, writing and speaking skills
• To focus on language functions and structures particularly useful in business life
• To increase the students’ knowledge of specific vocabulary and idioms used in a business context
• To give students practice in writing business communication documents
• To give students practice in listening to and extracting information from recorded material containing natural speech in business situations
The course has three modules:
1.- Business language basics
2.- Business communication
3.- Managing people and operations
Each module is divided into three main sections:
BUSINESS THEORY: this section presents different business topics through reading texts and documents and includes comprehensive exercises, vocabulary, listening activities, speaking and writing tasks. Some of the main topics dealt with in this section are: Production, commerce and trade, types of business: private and public sector, technology and business, organizations and their structures, human resources, supply chain management, quality management, …
The material presented in this section will provide students with appropriate and relevant vocabulary in various contexts in the field of business and technology.
BUSINESS PRACTICE: this section contains practical examples and authentic documents related to the topics dealt with in the theory section (financial documents, notes, emails, phone calls, letters, orders, invoices, etc.) It presents various aspects of written and oral business communication, principally focusing on phraseology and functions, completed with a series of consolidation exercises (completion, reordering, matching, True/False) as well as a large variety of exercises for oral and written business communication, with a gradual progression from guided to free production. The aim is to improve students’ communicative abilities in order to allow them to communicate effectively in English both in social and professional situations within a business environment. Students must also actively strive to develop their linguistic ability, build their confidence, and improve their fluency in order to better prepare themselves to employ spoken English, as well as written English, in whatever situation they are likely to face in the future. These situations can be divided into five core subjects: Socializing, Telephoning, Dealing with business correspondence and Exchanging information
BUSINESS LANGUAGE AND SKILLS: this section focus on lexis (vocabulary and phraseology), functions, and grammar. It contains different types of exercises to help students develop and consolidate the specific business vocabulary from within the module. To deal with the situations mentioned in the previous section, it is necessary to master different skills and learn how to perform different functions in English, such as:
• Introducing yourself
• Greeting and introducing people in formal and informal situations
• Offering to help, making requests and asking for permission
• Making and receiving phone calls
• Exchanging phone messages
• Exchanging information over the phone
• Spelling names and saying abbreviations
• Breaking bad news over the phone
• Writing business letters with a correct structure and layout
• Replying to correspondence
• Writing e-mails
• Writing a short report
• Breaking bad news in an e-mail, fax or letter
• Exchanging information about a schedule
• Exchanging information about specifications and numbers
• Discussing an organizational chart
• Explaining how to do things
• Describing processes and procedures
• Introduction to the world of e-commerce
• Describing the impact technology has had on the business environment and business processes
• Discussing the role of social media in business
The Grammar content briefly illustrates and tests the principal grammatical structures using examples taken from the corresponding module or in the same context. This theoretical part has been designed to provide students with the opportunity to review basic grammar points and prior grammar knowledge as well as an introduction to new key aspects of grammar which will allow them to confidently express themselves in relevant contexts.
1. VERB TENSES 1: PRESENT
2. VERB TENSES 2: PAST
3. VERB TENSES 3: FUTURE
4. THE PASSIVE
5. CONDITIONALS
6. COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
7. ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS (COMPARATIVES & SUPERLATIVES)
8. QUANTIFIERS, and other relevant grammar points
COMPULSORY:
• Text book:
SKOESTER, A., PITT, A., HANDFORD, M. & LISBOA, M. (2012). Business Advantage (Intermediate). Cambridge University Press
• Any grammar practice suitable for intermediate and upper intermediate level (see below: 1 GRAMMAR AMD PRACTICE section).
• A bilingual English-Spanish, Spanish-English dictionary and a good Business English dictionary (see below: 2 DICTIONARIES section).
COMPLEMENTARY:
1 GRAMMAR AND PRACTICE
ALEXANDER, L.G. (1990). Longman English Grammar Practice. Longman
BRIEGER, n. & SWEENEY, s. (1994). The Language of Business English: Grammar and Practice. Prentice Hall CUDER DOMÍNGUEZ, P. y R. LÓPEZ (2005). Gramática Oxford para estudiantes de inglés: Bachillerato. Oxford U.P. DUCKWORTH, M. (2003). Business Grammar and Practice. Oxford U.P.
EASTWOOD, J. (1999). Oxford Practice Grammar. Oxford U.P.
MURPHY, R. (2002). English Grammar in Use. Intermediate. Cambridge U.P. SWAN, M & C. WALTER (1997). How English Works. Oxford U.P.
2 DICTIONARIES
Cambridge International Dictionary of English. Cambridge U.P.
Diccionario Oxford Inglés Español, Español-Inglés. Oxford U.P.
Oxford Dictionary of Business English. Oxford U.P.
Longman Business English Dictionary. Longman.
Diccionario Oxford Business Español-Inglés Inglés-Español. Oxford. LOZANO IRUESTE, J.M.; Diccionario Bilingüe de Economía y Empresa. Pirámide
3 VOCABULARY
FLOWER, J. (1990). Build your Business Vocabulary. Language Teaching Publications
HORNER, H. & P. STRUTT (1996). Words at Work. Cambridge U.P. LEWIS, M. (Ed.) (1987). Idioms at Work. Language Teaching Publications MASCULL, B. (1996). Key Words in Business. HarperCollins Publishers
MASCULL, B. (2002). Business Vocabulary in Use: Intermediate. Cambridge U.P. REMACHA, S & MARCO, E (2007). Professional English in Use ICT. Cambridge
4 BUSINESS ENGLISH
ASHLEY, A. (1984). A Handbook of Commercial Correspondence. Oxford U.P. BRUCE, K. (1992). Telephoning. Longman ELLIS, M. & N. O'DRISCOLL (1987). Socializing. Longman
FARRAL, C. & M. LINDSLEY (2008). Professional English in Use: Marketing. Cambridge U.P. KERRIDGE, D. (1988). Presenting Facts and Figures. Longman
NATEROP, B.J. & R. REVELL (1997). Telephoning in English. Cambridge U. P. O'DRISCOLL, N. & A. PILBEAM (1987). Meetings and Discussions. Longman PRODROMOU, L & LUCIA BELLINI (2012). Flash on English for Commerce. ELI SMITH, A. (2013). Best Commercial Practice. ELI STRUTT, P. (1995). Longman Business English Usage. Longman
5 PRONUNCIATION
HANCOCK, MARK (2003). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge ONLINE RESOURCES http//www.elionline.com
1 DICTIONARIES
https://www.oed.com https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/
http://www.ldoceonline.com/
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
http://thesaurus.reference.com/
http://www.wordreference.com/
2 GRAMMAR
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/index.cfm http://www.englishpage.com/grammar/
3 PRACTICE
http://www.english-test.net/
http://esl.about.com/od/intermediateenglish/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students who take this module must…
C1. Apply effective communication skills in a business and technological environment, both in their own languages and in English
HD1. Use, prepare and communicate information in a foreign language.
HD5. Handle oral and written communication in a precise and clear way to convey knowledge, methodologies, information, results, problems and solutions.
HD6. Demonstrate capacity for autonomous learning and self-assessment.
CP9. Approach problems and challenges from different points of view with the ability to adapt to new situations and realities.
The course has a practical and functional approach. The objective from the very beginning is that the students use the type of language that they are going to need during their professional career. Different activities have been developed to help students to communicate effectively in a business environment by exposing them to a specific type of language that is used in this field.
Being an online learning course, a large autonomous and personal workload is expected. Before starting each module, a teaching guide will be provided with detailed information about the objectives, the activities, the material needed and the schedule of activities and tasks to be carried out, as well as the submission deadlines for the assigned work. The student has to review the material of each module and do the assigned activities before the due date. To complement these activities, the students will also be expected to complete scheduled assignments and oral or written tests.
There will be a weekly tutorial session through Microsoft Teams, in which students who wish to do so will be able to consult any doubts they have. or questions that may arise. The schedule of this tutorial will be published by the teacher at the beginning of the course.
The USC Virtual Campus will be used for the publication of study materials and the activities.
Assessment will be as follows:
I. ORDINARY EXAM PERIOD (January)
Final oral and written exams
• Final written exam 80%
• Oral exam 20%
I.1.- Students who are retaking the course.
The assessment system for these students will be the same as for students in I above.
II. EXTRAORDINARY 2nd SITTING (July)
The same system which is outlined for the ordinary January exam opportunity applies for the July resit.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
In the event of fraudulent or plagiarised work or submissions in tests or exercises, the terms stated in art. 16 of the “Normativa de avaliación do rendemento académico dos estudantes e de revision de cualificacións” will be applied.
This course is a compulsory subject taught during the first semester of the Grado en Empresa y Tecnología and is worth 6 ECTS.
The workload for students should be around 150 hours devoted to personal and autonomous work. Broadly speaking, we could say that the average time of dedication to this subject is approximately 10 hours per week.
Regular completion of the assigned tasks is essential. Exercises and practical tasks are intended to consolidate the student’s learning.
Students are strongly recommended to make use of external resources in English, such as films, songs, the Internet and magazines, to increase their degree of exposure to the English language, not restricting themselves to the input provided.
It is also recommended that they study on a daily basis, rather than solely relying on one or two sessions per week to revise the entire course content.
Antonio Alvarez Rodriguez
Coordinador/a- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- antonio.alvarez [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
Veronika Prokopova
- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- veronika.prokopova [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: Reader
| 01.10.2025 16:00-19:00 | CLE_01 | Seminar 1 |
| 06.13.2025 16:00-19:00 | CLE_01 | Seminar 1 |