Syllabus

Title
2174 Fremdsprachliche Wirtschaftskommunikation I - Englisch
Instructors
Dr. Silvia Jexenflicker
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
09/08/14 to 09/21/14
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Friday 10/17/14 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.2.01
Friday 10/24/14 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.1.01 OeNB
Friday 10/31/14 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.1.01 OeNB
Friday 11/14/14 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.1.01 OeNB
Friday 11/21/14 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.1.02
Friday 11/28/14 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.1.01 OeNB
Friday 12/05/14 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.0.04
Friday 12/12/14 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.2.01
Friday 12/19/14 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM TC.1.02
Contents

The EBC1 syllabus consists of the following:

  • all material contained in the EBC1 Coursebook (see 'Literature' below)
  • all keywords in the New Handbook of Business English (see 'Literature' below) listed in the Coursebook
  • all grammatical issues covered in those sections of the Mautner grammar (see 'Literature' below) explictly mentioned in the EBC1 Coursebook

Learning outcomes

LEARNING OUTCOMES (LOs)
After successfully completing this course, students will be able:

  • (LO1) to demonstrate a level of general English competence equivalent to at least B2 on the Common European Framework with respect to reading and writing skills;                                                                                                                              
  • (LO2) to understand and apply important concepts from the fields of business organisations, personnel management, business transactions and marketing, and to recall as required the essential terminology associated with them;                                                                                                                                              
  • (LO3) to recall at will, and use appropriately, the English equivalents of basic German terminology from these fields, as well as other typical features (structures, collocations, prepositional usage, etc) of the language associated with them;                                                                                   
  • (LO4) to combine the various abilities mentioned above in order to understand lower-intermediate level written texts about the above business fields, and to write appropriate passages of communications relating to them.

In addition, this course fosters the following soft skills:

  • Ability to explain and summarise, in German (or other native language), English texts relating to the business fields mentioned
  • Intermediate-level aural/oral skills
Teaching/learning method(s)

EBC1 is divided into ten units, each centred on an aspect of one of the business fields mentioned in learning outcome LO2 above, and divided into three parts, dealing respectively with business content and terminology, language development, and text comprehension and production. EBC1 classes (one for each of these units) involve a range of activities based on the course literature (see 'Literatur' below), including:

  • discussion of tricky content issues;
  • vocabulary development and reinforcement of grammatical structures;
  • listening comprehension; and
  • examination preparation.
Assessment

EBC1 is a PI course. It is assessed on the basis of class participation, a Mid-Semester Test (MST) and a Final Test (FT). There is no separate registration for these tests.

In general, no dictionaries or other reference materials are allowed in the two tests.Exceptionally, if you are neither a German nor an English nativespeaker, you may use a bilingual dictionary of German and your mothertongue (but NOT any form of electronic translation device).

In order to pass EBC1, you must satisfy ALL of the following criteria:

  • Adequate class participation
  • A score of at least 60 per cent in the FT;
  • An overall percentage score* of at least 60%
    * Your overall percentage score is calculated as follows:
          MST percentage plus 4 times FT percentage, all divided by 5.
          In other words, the FT counts for four times as much as the MST.

Please notethat if you score less than 60% on the MST, you will need toscore more than 60% in the FT in order to satisfy the final requirement; for example:

  • MST 50% -> required FT score = 62.5%
  • MST 40% -> required FT score = 65%
  • MST 20% -> required FT score = 70%
  • MST 0%   -> required FT score = 75%


Ifyou satisfy ALL of the above requirements, you will be awarded a positive grade onthe basis of your overall percentage score (PS), as follows:

  • PS 60-67 -> Grade 4
  • PS 68-75 -> Grade 3
  • PS 76-84 -> Grade 2
  • PS >85 -> Grade 1

If you do not take the MST and attend no classes after Unit 5, you will receive no grade, and you will not lose an 'Antritt'.

NB These arrangements will apply for WS 2014/15. It is possible that some minor amendments may be made to them thereafter. Of course, details of any such changes will be announced here before the start of the semester they come into effect.

Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

Registration
You can register for an individual EBC1 class (LV) ONLY by means of the LPIS system. For exact dates and times of classes, please see the WU's Directory of Classes (Vorlesungsverzeichnis / VVZ).
As EBC1 is a PI course, there is no need to register separately for any of the three tests (see above).

Readings
1 Author: Copnall, A., Komori-Glatz, M., Krieger, W., Landsmann, L. and Ross, C.
Title:

EBC1: Fremdsprachliche Wirtschaftskommunikation 1 - Englisch ('EBC1 Coursebook')


Publisher: MBS
Edition: Sep./Okt. 2014 (will be available in time for the start of WS 14/15)
Remarks: YOU MUST BUY YOUR OWN COPY OF THIS ITEM AND TAKE IT WITH YOU TO EVERY EBC1 CLASS!
Year: 2014
Content relevant for class examination: Yes
Recommendation: Essential reading for all students
Type: Script
2 Author: Obenaus, W./Weidacher, J.
Title: NEW Handbook of Business English

Publisher: Linde
Year: 2006
Content relevant for class examination: Yes
Recommendation: Essential reading for all students
Type: Book
3 Author: Obenaus, W./Weidacher, J.
Title: NEW Handbook of Business English: Dictionary & User's Guide

Publisher: Linde
Year: 2006
Content relevant for class examination: Yes
Recommendation: Essential reading for all students
Type: Book
4 Author: Mautner, G.
Title: Englische Grammatik für die Wirtschaftskommunikation

Publisher: Linde
Edition: 3., überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage (will be available in time for the start of WS 14/15)
Remarks: Contains new chapter on linkers which replaces the document previously downloadable from this portal.
Year: 2014
Content relevant for class examination: Yes
Recommendation: Essential reading for all students
Type: Book
5 Author: Mautner, G.
Title: Language Training for English Business Communication: Prüfungsvorbereitung für EBC1 & EBC2

Publisher: MBS
Edition: 3., überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage
Year: 2011
Content relevant for class examination: No
Recommendation: Strongly recommended (but no absolute necessity for purchase)
Type: Script
Recommended previous knowledge and skills
There are no formal requirements for EBC1; provided you are registered for a Bachelor programme, you may take it. However, please bear in mind that the course assumes that you have reached the level of the Austrian Matura exam in English. This level will be tested in the Mid-Semester Test (see above).
Availability of lecturer(s)

Your EBC1 instructor will hold weekly Office Hours, the times of they will announce. A full list of instructors' office hours can be found on the homepage of the Institute for English Business Communication (http://www.wu.ac.at/ebc/About_us/Contact_Information).



Unit details
Unit Date Contents
1 Business Organisations I: Aims & Activities
2 Business Organisations II: Legal Framework
3 Corporate Management
4 Human Resources I: Personnel Management
5 Human Resources II: Industrial Relations
6 Business Transactions I: Inquiries & Offers
7 Business Transactions II: Orders & Contracts
8 Marketing I: Introduction and Product Policy
9 Marketing II: Price & Promotion
10 Marketing III: Distribution
Last edited: 2014-11-13



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