Study Guide

Objective

1. The student is aware of the strenghts and developmental needs of his/her language competence.
2. The student recognises how media, contextual, interpersonal and cultural factors affect interaction processes. S/he is able to adjust his/her speech and written communication accordingly to communicate effectively in various business situations.
3. The student can communicate professionally, naturally and effectively in English in the most common business situations.
4. The student can write well-structured, effective and accurate emails and business letters in English.
5. The student can interact with international customers in face-to-face and technology-mediated encounters.
6. The student knows the language of meetings and negotiations and can take part in meetings conducted in English.

Content

Telephoning, business letters and online communication
Face-to-face interaction and nonverbal communication
Speeches and presentations (incl. trade fairs)
Meetings and business negotiations
Social interaction and business behaviour around the globe

Materials

Course book: Niskanen, T.; Vetter, J. & Urbom, R. 2008.Business Express. Helsinki: WSOY. Muut aineistot: Airas, P. & Junkkari, T. 2001.New Business Friend 3.Porvoo: WSOY. Valmiit ja opettajan laatimat verkkoaineistot

Student workload

Student's workload is 80 hours, which contains:

contact teaching and webinars 24 hours
pair and group work assignments and self study (incl. portfolio work) 48 h
Assessment and feedback 8 h

Content scheduling

Contact teaching takes place during 20-21 August, 7.-8 September and 7.-9. October
Webinars mostly in the evenings starting at 6 p.m.

Evaluation scale

H-5

Assessment methods and criteria

Written communication skills are assessed through a Business Communication portfolio (40%)
Spoken language, communication and interaction skills are assessed in a meetings assignment(in small groups) and in a spoken exam (in pairs) (40%)
Active participation in face-to-face and online learning can impact the final grade by 20% (one grade point)

Assessment criteria, fail (0)

The student has not shown enough evidence of his/her skills, for example, has not completed the required assignments on time or taken part in the spoken test.
The written messages are incomplete, are not spell-checked or have major language errors that impede understanding.
The student is not able to convey the intended meanings and content in a comprehensible way to the audience and cannot contribute to the group discussions.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

The student has demonstrated such spoken and written communication skills that s/he can actively take part in basic business conversations in English and is able to produce comprehensible text in form of business messages (emails and letters). His/her speech and writing can be easily understood. The texts have been spell-checked and follow the conventions of business writing (e.g layouts and punctuation). Student is able to use feedback and external sources to improve his/her language and communicative ability.

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The student is able to communicate the necessary content and intended meanings clearly, accurately and professionally in most of the routine and in some more demanding business situations.S/he can produce speech and text that is easy to follow and understand His/her pronunciation and articulation is accurate and s/he is able to understand and use professional terms and idioms typical for spoken or written messages in the given context. S/he knows the differences between spoken and written language and is able to use neutral business style and polite tone in English. His/her English is free from typos and spelling errors and follows the grammar rules of the English language and the conventions of international business communication. S/he understands how cultural, social and contaxtual factors impact international communication.