Syllabus

Title
4252 Fremdsprachliche Wirtschaftskommunikation II - Englisch
Instructors
Lauren Landsmann, B.A.,M.Sc.
Contact details
lauren.landsmann@wu.ac.at
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
03/02/18 to 03/06/18
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Bachelor Programs
Foreign Language Business Communication II - English
Elective Course II - Foreign Language Business Communication English
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Monday 03/12/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 03/19/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 04/09/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 04/16/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 04/23/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 04/30/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 05/07/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 05/14/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Friday 05/18/18 09:00 AM - 10:30 AM TC.5.12
Monday 05/28/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 06/04/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 06/11/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08
Monday 06/18/18 01:00 PM - 02:30 PM TC.3.08

On this page:

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Contents

THIS IS A PILOT LV AND DIFFERS FROM REGULAR EBC2 LVs, SO PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ALL THE INFORMATION PROVIDED UNDER 'SYLLABUS'.

THIS LV IS DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALREADY TAKEN AND PASSED A PILOT EBC1 LV USING THE TEXTBOOK 'BUSINESS PROFICIENCY'. FOR SUCH STUDENTS, SPECIAL REGISTRATION ARRANGEMENTS WILL APPLY, DETAILS OF WHICH WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN GOOD TIME ON LEARN@WU.

YOU WILL NOT NEED EITHER THE EBC2 COURSEBOOK OR THE NEW HANDBOOK OF BUSINESS ENGLISH FOR THIS LV, WHICH IS INTENDED TO HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY AS REGULAR EBC2 LVs. IF YOU PASS IT, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PROCEED TO EBC3 AS NORMAL.

The syllabus for this LV consists of all material contained in the specified units of the textbook (see Literature).

Please note that the information provided here may be revised as necessary.

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Learning outcomes

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

  • (LO1) to demonstrate a level of English communicative competence equivalent to B2 (upper) on the Common European Framework with respect to reading, writing, and listening skills;
  • (LO2) to understand and apply important concepts from the fields of business communication, specifically mergers & acquisitions, money & payment, finance & investment, and economics, and to recall and appropriately use the essential terminology and other typical features (structures, collocations, etc) associated with them;
  • (LO3) to combine the various abilities mentioned above in order to understand intermediate level written texts about these business fields, and to discuss the above fields in an appropriate manner;
  • (LO4) to understand the principles of paragraphing and argumentation, and to apply these in a short written text;
  • (LO5) to understand and interpret content from a variety of recorded oral business communications and lectures, and to be able to present this in small groups.

In addition, this course fosters the ability:

  • to explain and summarise, in German (or other native language), English texts relating to the business fields mentioned;
  • to read a text to grasp the main ideas quickly (skimming) and to locate specific information (scanning);
  • to engage in spoken business communication in a variety of contexts such as meetings and presentations.
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Attendance requirements

As with all PI courses, attendance is a requirement to pass EBC2. As a special concession, you may miss up to three (3) meetings of your LV. However, if you miss a fourth, you will no longer be able to pass the course. This condition applies whatever the reasons for your absences may have been.

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Teaching/learning method(s)

The course is divided into thirteen units, each based on an aspect of one of the business fields mentioned in learning outcome LO2 and the communication skills in LO3 to LO5 above. Classes involve a range of activities, including:

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

Additionally, the final three units will include student presentations in small groups, with peer and teacher feedback.

 

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Assessment

As with all PI courses, attendance is a requirement to pass this LV (see above).

If you satisfy the attendance requirement above, your final score will be made up of the following three elements:

  • Presentation - 20%
  • Home Exercise - 5%
  • Feedback - 2%
  • Final Test - 73%

In general, no dictionaries or other reference materials are allowed in the test. Exceptionally, if you are neither a German nor an English native speaker, you may use a bilingual dictionary of German and your mother tongue (but NOT any form of electronic translation device) in the Final/Exceptional Test.

Your grade will be based on your final score, as follows:

  • 0-59% - grade 5
  • 60-67% - grade 4
  • 68-75% - grade 3
  • 76-84% - grade 2
  • 85-100% - grade 1

This LV is a PI, so if you receive a grade 5 you will have to re-take EBC2 in a later semester in full (i.e., including class attendance and all 4 assessment elements).

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Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

Registration

You must have passed EBC1 and all exams in the CBK to take EBC2. It is strongly recommended that you take this course if you did the EBC1 pilot with "Business Proficiency".  You can register 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 this is a PI course, there is no need to register separately for any of the tests (see above).

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Readings
1 Author: Ashford, Stephanie & Smith, Tom
Title:

Business Proficiency. Wirtschaftsenglisch für Hochschule und Beruf

Publisher: Ernst Klett Verlag Stuttgart
Year: 2017
Content relevant for class examination: Yes
Recommendation: Essential reading for all students
Type: Book
2 Author: Mautner, G.
Title:

Englische Grammatik für die Wirtschaftskommunikation

Publisher: Linde
Edition: 3., überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage
Year: 2014
Content relevant for class examination: No
Recommendation: Strongly recommended (but no absolute necessity for purchase)
Type: Book
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Recommended previous knowledge and skills

In order to take EBC2 you must have:

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Availability of lecturer(s)

You can contact your instructor during their office hours, immediately before or after class or by mail.

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Study tips
  1. As EBC2 covers more complex areas of business and economics than EBC1, you may not have studied these in your own language yet; or, if you have done so, you may have found them quite difficult. In either of these cases, you should consider reading (more) in your own language about the basic ideas they involve BEFORE you try to deal with them in English.
     
  2. You should continue to apply the good study habits you have hopefully developed in EBC1. Remind yourself about these on the EBC1 portal. In particular, in order to obtain feedback on your written work or raise questions about the business content, you should make use of the Office Hours (Sprechstunden) held by your EBC2 instructor. If they are at times unsuitable for you, please contact her / him to arrange an alternative appointment.
     
  3. You should maintain your regular reading of relevant business and economic texts, extending to include more challenging sources such as the Economist, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal.
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Unit details
Unit Date Contents
1

Corporate strategy (Mergers and Acquisitions) (Unit 16)
2

Argumentation 1 (based on M&As)
3

Argumentation 2 (based on M&As)
4

Money and payment (Unit 3) and/or argumentation 3
5

Finance and investment (Unit 11)
6

Presentations: basics
7

Argumentation continued (based on investment advice)
8

Economics 1 (Unit 13)
9

Economics 2 (Unit 13)
10

Economics 3 (Unit 13)
11

Group presentations 1 (4 groups)
12

Group presentations 2 (3 groups) & revision
13

Group presentations 3 (3 groups) & revision
Last edited: 2018-03-07



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