ECTS credits ECTS credits: 6
ECTS Hours Rules/Memories Hours of tutorials: 3 Expository Class: 18 Interactive Classroom: 30 Total: 51
Use languages Spanish, Galician, English
Type: Ordinary Degree Subject RD 1393/2007 - 822/2021
Departments: English and German Philology
Areas: English Philology
Center Faculty of Business Administration and Management
Call: First Semester
Teaching: With teaching
Enrolment: Enrollable | 1st year (Yes)
This course has been designed for students with little or no previous experience in the business world and with a pre-intermediate level of English, which corresponds to the A2 level on the Common European Framework for Languages (CEFR).
The main objective of the course is to improve students’ communicative skills so that they can interact in everyday work situations. At the end of this course students should reach level B1 (CEFR).
To reach this general objective, students will have to develop their Business English language skills, with a focus on technology, and work on reading, writing, listening and speaking. This will allow them to improve their fluency, and to gain confidence when using English in work situations as a means of communication, both written and spoken.
The specific objectives of this course are the following:
• To introduce students to basic concepts of business, with a focus on technology
• To stimulate students’ interest in the subject
• To develop students’ reading, listening, writing and speaking skills
• To focus on language functions and structures particularly useful in business life
• To increase the students’ knowledge of specific vocabulary and idioms used in a business context
• To give students practice in writing business communication documents
• To give students practice in listening to and extracting information from recorded material containing natural speech in business situations
The course has three modules:
1.- Business Language Basics
• Greetings and introductions in formal and informal situations
• Spelling names
• Using symbols and abbreviations
• Dealing with numbers
2.- Business Communication
• Writing emails
• Writing business letters
• Making business calls
• Applying for a job
3.- Business Administration
• Understanding business organisations and job titles
• Describing trends and graphs
• Giving presentations
• Attending meetings
Each module comprises two main sections:
Business Theory:
Through the reading of commercial texts and documents, students will get familiar with specific concepts and vocabulary related to the fields of business and business technology.
Business Language and Skills:
This section focuses on vocabulary (words and phrases), language functions, and the skills needed to deal with different business situations. This involves mastering different skills, knowing specific terms and learning the structures and vocabulary to perform different functions in English.
In addition, students will be provided with the opportunity to review basic grammar points (below) as well as learn new key aspects of grammar that will allow them to confidently express themselves in relevant contexts.
1. VERB TENSES 1: PRESENT
2. VERB TENSES 2: PAST
3. VERB TENSES 3: FUTURE
4. THE PASSIVE
5. CONDITIONALS
6. COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
7. ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS (COMPARATIVES & SUPERLATIVES)
8. QUANTIFIERS, and other relevant grammar points
BASIC:
SMITH, A. (2013). Best Commercial Practice. Eli.
• Any grammar practice suitable for intermediate and upper intermediate level (see below: 1 GRAMMAR AMD PRACTICE section).
• A bilingual English-Spanish, Spanish-English dictionary and a good Business English dictionary (see below: 2 DICTIONARIES section).
COMPLEMENTARY:
SKOESTER, A., PITT, A., HANDFORD, M. & LISBOA, M. (2012). Business Advantage (Intermediate). Cambridge University Press
1 GRAMMAR AND PRACTICE
ALEXANDER, L.G. (1990). Longman English Grammar Practice. Longman
BRIEGER, n. & SWEENEY, s. (1994). The Language of Business English: Grammar and Practice. Prentice Hall
CUDER DOMÍNGUEZ, P. y R. LÓPEZ (2005). Gramática Oxford para estudiantes de inglés: Bachillerato. Oxford U.P.
DUCKWORTH, M. (2003). Business Grammar and Practice. Oxford U.P.
EASTWOOD, J. (1999). Oxford Practice Grammar. Oxford U.P.
MURPHY, R. (2002). English Grammar in Use. Intermediate. Cambridge U.P.
SWAN, M & C. WALTER (1997). How English Works. Oxford U.P.
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/index.cfm
http://www.englishpage.com/grammar/
2 DICTIONARIES
Cambridge International Dictionary of English. Cambridge U.P.
Diccionario Oxford Inglés Español, Español-Inglés. Oxford U.P.
Oxford Dictionary of Business English. Oxford U.P.
Longman Business English Dictionary. Longman.
Diccionario Oxford Business Español-Inglés Inglés-Español. Oxford.
LOZANO IRUESTE, J.M.; Diccionario Bilingüe de Economía y Empresa. Pirámide
https://www.oed.com https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/
http://www.ldoceonline.com/
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
http://thesaurus.reference.com/ http://www.wordreference.com/
3 VOCABULARY
FLOWER, J. (1990). Build your Business Vocabulary. Language Teaching Publications
HORNER, H. & P. STRUTT (1996). Words at Work. Cambridge U.P.
LEWIS, M. (Ed.) (1987). Idioms at Work. Language Teaching Publications
MASCULL, B. (1996). Key Words in Business. HarperCollins Publishers
MASCULL, B. (2017). Business Vocabulary in Use: Intermediate. Cambridge U.P.
REMACHA, S & MARCO, E (2007). Professional English in Use ICT. Cambridge
4 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
ASHLEY, A. (1984). A Handbook of Commercial Correspondence. Oxford U.P.
BRUCE, K. (1992). Telephoning. Longman
ELLIS, M. & N. O'DRISCOLL (1987). Socializing. Longman
FARRAL, C. & M. LINDSLEY (2008). Professional English in Use: Marketing. Cambridge U.P.
KERRIDGE, D. (1988). Presenting Facts and Figures. Longman
NATEROP, B.J. & R. REVELL (1997). Telephoning in English. Cambridge U. P.
O'DRISCOLL, N. & A. PILBEAM (1987). Meetings and Discussions. Longman
PRODROMOU, L & LUCIA BELLINI (2012). Flash on English for Commerce.
STRUTT, P. (1995). Longman Business English Usage. Longman
5 PRONUNCIATION
HANCOCK, MARK (2003). English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge
6 FURTHER PRACTICE
http://esl.about.com/od/intermediateenglish/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/
http://www.elionline.com
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students who take this module must…
C1. Apply effective communication skills in a business and technological environment, both in their own languages and in English
HD1. Use, prepare and communicate information in a foreign language.
HD5. Handle oral and written communication in a precise and clear way to convey knowledge, methodologies, information, results, problems and solutions.
HD6. Demonstrate capacity for autonomous learning and self-assessment.
The course has a practical and functional approach. The objective from the very beginning is that the students use the type of language that they are going to need during their professional career. Students will have to interact among themselves and actively make an effort to use the language to communicate. Different activities have been developed to help students to communicate effectively in a business environment by exposing them to a specific type of language that is used in this field.
Classes will be based on a combination of theoretical explanations, language activities (using oral and written texts from the business world which will allow students to see the language in use) and homework. Extra material will be given in order to complete classwork and is expected to be completed at home. Classes will be primarily practical and, therefore, active student participation is essential and will be evaluated throughout.
Practical activities include going over homework activities and clarifying any doubts, practice of grammatical structures and communicative skills, as well as simulation of real-life situations in which spoken and written English will be required and presentations.
To complement these activities, the students will also be expected to complete scheduled assignments and oral or written tests.
Students will also have the chance to speak to professors concerning any questions or doubts they may have, or if they would like any tailored feedback, during weekly office hours, which will be confirmed by the teaching staff at the beginning of term, or via email.
Assessment will be based on the continuous evaluation of the students throughout the course, as well as written and oral tests according to the following parameters:
I. ORDINARY EXAM PERIOD (January)
I.1.- Students who regularly attend classes.
Assessment will be continuous and based on the student performance throughout the year. Homework completion, active participation in class alongside written and/or oral tasks done during the year will all be taken into account.
The final mark will be calculated as follows:
a) Continuous assessment (30%)
• Active participation, assigned written tasks, and tests
b) Final exams (70%)
• Final written exam 60%
• Oral exam 10%
The date for the oral exam will be announced in class. The final exam will be held on the official date set by the Faculty.
Students must achieve a minimum of 5 out of 10 in both the final exam oral exam to pass the subject.
I.2.- Students who have special permission not to attend classes
These students must complete and hand in continuous tasks and assignments by the agreed date, which will account for up to 20% of the final grade, the final tests will account for the remaining 80%.
The final mark will be calculated as follows:
a) Continuous assessment: assigned written tasks, and tests (20%)
b) Final exams (80%)
• Final written exam 60%
• Oral exam 10%
• Final task (agreed with the teacher) 10%
The date of the oral exam will be announced at some point during the term. The final exam will be held on the official date set by the Faculty unless stated otherwise for specific cases.
A minimum of 5 out of 10 in both the final and the oral exam is required to pass the subject.
I.3.- Students who are retaking the course.
The assessment system for these students will be the same as for students in I.1 above.
II. EXTRAORDINARY 2nd SITTING (July)
The same system which is outlined for the ordinary January exam opportunity applies for the July resit. The continuous assessment grade of the first opportunity will apply.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
In the event of fraudulent or plagiarised work or submissions in tests or exercises, the terms stated in art. 16 of the “Normativa de avaliación do rendemento académico dos estudantes e de revision de cualificacións” will be applied.
This course is a compulsory subject taught during the first semester of the Grado en Empresa y Tecnología and is worth 6 ECTS.
The workload for students should be around 150 hours. Fifty-four hours correspond to classwork and the remaining 96 are devoted to personal and autonomous work. Broadly speaking, we could say that the average time of dedication to this subject is approximately 10 hours per week including class sessions.
Regular class attendance to class is essential, as well as the completion of the assigned tasks, including homework. Students’ active participation in class is an integral part of both their personal development, and that of the course itself. Missing classes, not completing the tasks or lack of participation will have a negative impact on students’ final grade.
Exercises, whether they be in class, as homework or online, are intended to consolidate the points explained in class.
Students are strongly recommended to make use of external resources in English, such as films, songs, the Internet and magazines, to increase their degree of exposure to the English language, not restricting themselves to the input provided during class sessions.
It is also recommended that they study on a daily basis, rather than solely relying on one or two sessions per week to revise the entire course content.
Antonio Alvarez Rodriguez
Coordinador/a- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- antonio.alvarez [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: University Lecturer
Veronika Prokopova
- Department
- English and German Philology
- Area
- English Philology
- veronika.prokopova [at] usc.es
- Category
- Professor: Reader
| Thursday | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:30-12:50 | Grupo /CLE_01 | English | Classroom 6 |
| 01.23.2026 12:00-15:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Main Hall |
| 06.19.2026 09:00-12:00 | Grupo /CLE_01 | Classroom 6 |