Syllabus

Title
4390 Fremdsprachliche Wirtschaftskommunikation III - Englisch
Instructors
Mag. Barbara Filzmoser
Contact details
barbara.filzmoser@wu.ac.at
Type
PI
Weekly hours
2
Language of instruction
Englisch
Registration
02/21/23 to 03/07/23
Registration via LPIS
Notes to the course
Subject(s) Bachelor Programs
Foreign Language Business Communication III - English
Elective Course III - Foreign Language Business Communication English
Dates
Day Date Time Room
Thursday 03/16/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 03/23/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 03/30/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 04/20/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 04/27/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 05/04/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 05/11/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 05/25/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 06/01/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.07
Thursday 06/15/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.05
Thursday 06/22/23 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM TC.3.03

On this page:

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Contents
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.
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Learning outcomes

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 (globalization, international trade, sustainability, legal matters, risks, countertrade, tender procedures, financial management, financial markets) 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 understand upper-level written texts about the above business and economic fields, to plan and hold an oral discussion (presentation & interaction) in small groups on a relevant topic, and to write communicatively-effective texts, both descriptive and analytical (specifically reports).

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
  • Improved ability to analyse and understand texts in general
  • Effective university-level study
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    Attendance requirements

    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.

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    Teaching/learning method(s)

    This EBC3 course consists of a mix of self-study, interactive online activities, and live/on-campus classes relating to different aspects of the course. Classes are of a workshop nature and involve a wide range of activities based on the course literature. These will include some or all of the following:

    • response to student questions and other discussion about tricky content;
    • reading and working with texts;
    • development of report-writing skills;
    • further language development, involving both vocabulary and more advanced structures;
    • writing and evaluating of short texts in response to instructions.

    Self-study materials
    Self-study materials will be posted regularly and are designed to be used alongside class materials. These comprise language, comprehension and content exercises to help you understand and be able to discuss business topics pertaining to globalised trade and sustainable business, international market entry, risk in international trade, financial management and legal English.

    Interactive activities
    During the course you will be invited to participate in a range of synchronous and asynchronous interactive activities, such as creating a mini-presentation, posting and responding to threads in a discussion forum, peer-reviewing reports, and working together in small groups (2-4 people) on a report. These activities are intended to help build a class community as well as help you go deeper into the material and prepare for the assessments.

    Live/on-campus sessions
    The live/on-campus sessions will be held during the scheduled class times and will have a content and/or language focus, depending on the relevant unit. EBC3 is currently scheduled to take place on campus but this may change depending on developments with Covid-19 and the government regulations. Please keep checking your WU email, MS Teams and the notices (Ankündigungen) on LEARN for up-to-date information. These sessions will also comprise a mix of teacher-led input, spontaneous and prepared presentations and discussions, and preparation for the assessment elements.

    Please note that the attendance requirement refers to these sessions, and will be upheld regardless of whether we have class online or on campus.

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    Assessment

    As EBC3 is a PI course, you must meet the Learning Outcomes by completing various tasks:

    (1) Oral group discussions (15%): This element includes an oral assessment in which you will need to demonstrate proficiency in spoken English at the level of (or very close to) C1 under the European Framework of Reference, which is defined as follows:

    • Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning.
    • Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
    • Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

    In groups of 3-4 people, you will discuss current business topics.

    (2) Report practice and peer review (10%): This is practice for the Final Report (see below). I will inform you about requirements and will set a deadline by which the homework must be submitted. You will receive 3 points for the timely submission of a reasonable draft, 2 points for a constructive peer review of one of your colleague's reports, and up to 5 additional points for the quality of your final submission.

    (3) Participation and interaction (10%): There will be a range of small activities and synchronous/asynchronous tasks throughout the course which are intended to encourage interaction and peer learning. You will find details about requirements, point allocation and timeframes on Learn once the course starts.

    (4) Final Report (35%): In this assessment element you will need to write a new report on a market entry topic, as practised in (2) above. This will take place in class on 15 June but you may use a computer/laptop if you wish.

    (5) Business English in Context (30%): This will be an on-paper test combining the content knowledge covered in the course with reading comprehension and text-based tasks. This will take place in class on 22 June and can be taken on paper only.

    In order to pass the course, you must fulfill the following requirements:
    • score at least 60% of the overall points total achievable
    • complete at least THREE of the interactive elements (participation and interactive tasks and/or orals)
    • not miss more than 3 sessions in the live online/on-campus classes AND complete the Final Report and Business English in Context tests.

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    Overall grade
    Finally, if you satisfy the conditions specified for ALL the individual assessment elements above, you will be given an overall score (OS).

    OS under 60%  ->   Grade 5; OS 60-69%     ->   Grade 4; OS 70-79%     ->   Grade 3; OS 80-89%     ->   Grade 2; OS 90-100%    ->   Grade 1

     

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    Prerequisites for participation and waiting lists

    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.

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    Readings

    Please log in with your WU account to use all functionalities of read!t. For off-campus access to our licensed electronic resources, remember to activate your VPN connection connection. In case you encounter any technical problems or have questions regarding read!t, please feel free to contact the library at readinglists@wu.ac.at.

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    Recommended previous knowledge and skills

    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)
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    Availability of lecturer(s)

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

    Last edited: 2022-11-28



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