The class is intended to convey and train skills and expertise with regard to:

a)presentation

• task comprehension; assessment of available input; working out relevant factual aspects; preparing a line of argumentation;
• adequate consideration of the three key elements: - type of presentation (informative, persuasive, etc.); -type of target group (corporate, in-house, public, academic etc.); - nature of issue;
• creating awareness of the peculiarities of spoken language as compared to written texts; use of written and oral language in presentations;
• adequate structuring;
• argumentation strategies techniques appropriate to issue and situation;
• sensitization to intercultural aspects;
• the significance of aspects such as: - the use of rhetorical questions and their adequate use; - targeted use of pauses as a means ofstructuring; - suitable strategies to bridge blackouts and lapses; - control and effective variation of prosodic factors such as speech rate, volume, intonation, etc;
• consideration of presentation aspects concerning: - body language; - eye contact; - maintaining rapport; - use and extent of notes; format and layout; - use of visual aids (PowerPoint, Prezi).

b)negotiation

• lexis and country-specific technical know-how in such areas as work environment, financial issues, sales, marketing, etc.;
• understanding of a foreign (corporate) culture;
• understanding of use of certain syntactic structures;
• cultural sensitivity with regard to negotiations;
• knowledge of negotiation strategies;
• specific skills in a negotiation setting (e.g. grasping situations and reacting appropriately, comparing alternative solutions, recognizing and applying negotiation strategies);
• intercultural skills (e.g.dealing with coworkers, superiors, subordinates; do´s and don´ts; cultural awareness);
• language skills (e.g. use of appropriate language register and terminology; correct grammatical usage).

Upon completion of the course, students will have

a)presentation

• become aware of the major elements of presenting in French
• learned how to eliminate deficits and "bad habits" with regard to presentation of content, structuring and presentation techniques;
• improved receptive and, above all, productive language competence;
• expanded their command of grammatical-lexical structure;
• eradicated existing sources of systematic errors;
• acquired the competencies for giving professionally designed presentations to different target groups in common business settings with an increased level of confidence.

b)negotiation:

• generally improved productive and receptive language competence (spoken and written);
• improved confidence in concerning business negotiations in a foreign language;
• expertise with regard to the (corporate) culture of the relevant target countries as well as increased intercultural sensitivity;
• improved sensitivity towards the use of negotiation strategies.

80 % mandatory

In line with its practical orientation, this course is based on the principle of interactive teaching and learning. Theoretical aspects will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The communicative skills to be developed in this course will be conveyed exclusively on the basis of practical oral and written tasks to be prepared and performed as home assignments or ad hoc in class. The course will feature regular debriefings which will be used toanalyze and discuss in front of the class the strengths and weaknesses of presentations, negotiations and written assignments (using checklists etc.). Wherever suitable, presentations and negotiations will be videotaped and subsequently assessed.

Language competence will be improved by means of:

• joint development of a stock of linguistic structures (in particular phrases and expressions) relevant for and typical of the individual phases of a presentation or negotiation;
• eliminating deficits of a grammatical/lexical nature by individual support (additional assignments).

In order to familiarize the participants with as broad a spectrum of presentation topics and occasions as possible and, at the same time, to ensure far-reaching lexical enrichment, the issues covered in the course will include a broad variety of business areas.

Assessment is based on the following components:

a) presentation:
presentation type A: product presentation or presentation of a topic within ageneral subject area defined in class (~10 min., prepared in advance) (20%);
presentation type B (~10 min., based on input material and prepared ad hoc)(20%);
written task: summarizing a videotaped presentation shown in class (10%).

b) negotiation:
final negotiation (20%)
written exam (20%)

c ) active class participation and homework assignments (10%)

Minimum levels required for passing the course: oral competence B2 levelin LSP (Language for Special Purposes); written competence B1 level inLSP.  Studentswill be assessed on:

• linguistic competence (phonology, grammar, lexis);
• situationally adequate language use and strategies;
• problem-solving expertise;
• know-how concerning cultural aspects of the target countries.

The following table serves as an indication of the relation between language levels and grades awarded: written level + spoken level = grade; B1 +B2 = 4; B2 + B2 = 3; C1 + B2 = 2; B2 + C1 = 2; C1 or C2 + C1 or C2 = 1

Once the minimum level is achieved, grades may vary if an intermediate level is achieved (e.g. B2 up + B2 up = 2).

Jean-Philippe Cretin, Mag.; Campus WU, building D2/D (Foreign Language Business Communication), office D2 2.184. Consultation: For consultation see www.wu.ac.at/roman [Erreichbarkeit / Sprechstunden] (during the free period, by arrangement); E-mail: jean-philippe.cretin@wu.ac.at

Peter Handler, Assistant professor, Dr. phil.; Campus WU, building D2/D (Foreign Language Business Communication), office D2 1.232. Consultation: For consultation see www.wu.ac.at/roman [Erreichbarkeit / Sprechstunden] (during the free period, by arrangement); E-mail: peter.handler@wu.ac.at

Administrative support for this course: Sekretariat des Departments fürFremdsprachliche Wirtschaftskommunikation, D2/D, 2nd floor, front office, Tel:31336/4161 ; E-mail: nora.weinberger@wu.ac.at