The curriculum of this class is comprised of general language skills, core business content (i.e. the understanding of business principles and activities, technical terminology and registers) and communicative competence.

Please note that this course uses the Canvas learning platform. You will be expected to work through self-study material and asynchronous contributions on a regular basis as well as participating actively in class. There is a strong focus on interaction both in and out of class. Please read the syllabus through carefully to make sure you wish to participate in this class! However, if you are able to engage with the course, it should be interesting and rewarding.

THIS COURSE IS COMMONLY KNOWN AS 'ENGLISH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION3' (EBC3). Bachelor students are required to have passed EBC2 prior to attending EBC3.

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 C1 on the Common European Framework;
• LO2: to understand and apply concepts from certain business and economic fields (globalisation and sustainability, international market entry, financial management, legal English) and to recall as required the essential terminology associated with them;
• LO3: to recall at will, and use, the English equivalents of basic German terminology from these fields, as well as other typical features (structures, collocations, prepositional usage, etc) of the associated language, to discuss the above fields in an appropriate manner, to understand the principles of report writing, and to apply these in practice;
• LO4: to combine the various abilities mentioned above in order to:
  a) understand upper-level written texts about the above business and economic fields
  b) write communicatively-effective texts, both descriptive and analytical (specifically reports), relating to these
  c) plan and hold an oral discussion (presentation & interaction) in small groups on a relevant topic
  d) role-play a simple negotiation with students from a foreign university

In addition, this course fosters the following soft skills:

• Explanation and summary in German (or other native language) of English texts relating to the business fields mentioned
• Improved aural/oral skills, particularly in discussions and simple negotiations
• Improved ability to analyse and understand texts in general
• Critical thinking
• Intercultural communication and using English as a business lingua franca
• Effective university-level study

As with all PI courses, attendance is a requirement to pass EBC3. 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.

Please note that the online session on 2 November is a class that is held jointly with students from NHH Bergen (Norway). It is not necessary to attend it (providing you can otherwise meet the regular attendance requirement), but it is strongly recommended as it provides you with a unique opportunity to work with students from a different university. There are also 3 participation points linked to this session.

Students going on exchange in January 2023 can start the course in October and complete the continuous assessment elements (Teilleistungen) which take place until December. If desired, you can also participate in the class report writing task in January while you are abroad as it will be held online. The Content & Reading test will be an on-paper test and you can take it (and the report writing task, if you prefer) at the end of the next semester, when you return (i.e. in June 2023).

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The grade boundaries for EBC3 are as follows:

Grade 1: 90-100%
Grade 2: 80-89%
Grade 3: 70-79%
Grade 4: 60-69%
Grade 5: 0-59%

Bachelor students must have passed EBC2 prior to attending EBC3. Please note that registration via LPIS is required for 'EBC3'.

Registration is effected on a first-come, first-served basis. Any unfilled slots will be filled from waiting lists in accordance with study progress and in cooperation with the Vizerektorat für Lehre und Studierende.

Individual EBC3 instructors are NOT involved in registration and will NOT reply to mails on the subject.

In order to take this course you must have passed

• the course EBC1
  
• the course EBC2 (at the latest, at the Exceptional Test before the start of the semester in which you wish to take EBC3)

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

Please note that, while all scheduled dates are confirmed, the exact content of each class and/or the order of the topics covered is still subject to change.