Study Programmes 2015-2016
LANG1956-1  
English 3
Duration :
80h Th
Number of credits :
Bachelor in business engineering7
Bachelor in business engineering7
Lecturer :
Emma Desforges, ISLV, Nathalie Schraepen
Coordinator :
Emma Desforges
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
All year long, with partial in January
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Course contents :
In-class course (80 hours): This course is based on The Level 3 English Course Book for Business Engineers. The subjects covered include communication, international marketing, team building, job satisfaction and management styles, raising finance and company organisation and a further section on writing skills including graph descriptions and letter writing. The course includes the following:
  • Speaking and communication activities in business English: discussions, dialogues, role-plays, oral presentations, etc.
  • Reading comprehension of texts from the Internet or the British and American press dealing with economics- and business-related topics.
  • Quick revision of some grammar points and improvement of the students' command of the language.
  • Further study of business vocabulary.
  • Writing tasks: business letters, graph descriptions, etc.
  • Listening comprehension and speaking activities based on audio recordings dealing with economics- and business-related topics.
Learning outcomes of the course :
As this is a C1-level course, the intended key learning outcomes (compatible with the programme) are for students to be able to:
  • understand extended speech, even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly.
  • understand long and complex factual and literary texts and specialized articles.
  • express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
  • use language flexibly and effectively for professional purposes.
  • formulate ideas and opinions with precision.
  • present clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.
  • express themselves in clear, well-structured texts, expressing points of view at some length.
This is in accordance with the programme objectives for the Bachelor's degree in Business Engineering.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
This is an upper-intermediate to advanced level business course. It corresponds to Council of Europe level C1. The level required to take this course is intermediate to upper-intermediate, Council of Europe level B2, which corresponds to the level of the Level-2 English course ("Anglais 2").
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
This class uses a dynamic, interactive and effective approach to learning business English. The methods and activities used will involve:
  • the transmission of grammar and vocabulary through practice and 4 self-assessment tests.
  • the transmission of relevant grammar and vocabulary through The Level 3 Course book, using material from authentic business sources.
  • interactive role plays based on case studies which will put into practice the students' oral skills and business knowledge.
  • listening activities using authentic business material.
  • group presentations on business related topics to improve the students' public speaking skills.
  • business writing practice testing the students' vocabulary, formality and organisational skills, focusing on describing graphs and writing letters of complaint.
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
The in-class course is taught to about 25 students for three hours every week. Students are required to prepare the exercises, vocabulary and texts from the coursebook every week. This preparation work varies in time depending on the students' previous knowledge. Regular work is essential as students are expected to participate actively in class discussions and debates.
Recommended or required readings :
Compulsory:
  • The level-3 English Coursebook for Business Engineers. This book will be sold by the "centrale des cours" in HEC.
  • Students will also have to read a book which will be presented in class.
Recommended:
  • "Grammaire anglaise de base" (with exercises and key), Editions Ulg, available at the Point de Vue (Sart Tilman).
  • "English Grammar in Use" (intermediate) and "Advanced Grammar in Use", Cambridge University Press.
  • Dictionnaire ROBERT & COLLINS.
  • "Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English" or "The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English".
  • "Longman Dictionary of Business English" or "Oxford Business English Dictionary".
Assessment methods and criteria :
1. Continuous assessment: 2/20
  • Two compulsory assignments: A graph description in the first term and a business letter in the second term. Each assignment will count for 1 mark.
  • Regular written assignments.
  • 4 grammar tests to be done on the intranet.
2. Written exam: 8/20 in May:
  • Reading comprehension exercises based on an unseen text.
  • Exercises based on vocabulary and grammar from Q1 and Q2.
3. Oral exam 5/20 in January:
  • 20-minute discussion about the book chosen for the oral exam (5/20).
  • Students who do not pass the exam in January (i.e have less than 50%) will have the opportunity to retake it in the May/June session.  Students who get 10/20 or more can retake the exam if they wish to do so, but should be warned that if they do so the May/June mark will be taken into account in the final mark.
4. Listening comprehension exam 2/20 in May:
The exam will take place right before the written exam.
5. Presentation (3/20) in class:
One oral presentation in class based on business topics in groups of 4 students  for which students receive feedback on their preparation. Half the marks are based on individual performance and the other half on group work.
N.B.
Students who do not make a presentation cannot sit the exams in the first session.  This rule also applies for those who do not take the January oral exam.
The classwork and presentation marks will only be taken into account in the second session if they are to the student's advantage.
The oral, written and listening exams are indissociable.  The only exception is for the LC which only has to be retaken if the first session mark is less than 50%.
The pass mark is at least 10/20. Marks between 9.5 and 10 will not be rounded up.
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
Students can also train on-line. To do so, simply log on the ISLV (Institut Supérieur des Langues Vivantes) website (http://www.islv.ulg.ac.be). Click on NOTRE INSTITUT and then on ESPACE ETUDIANTS and EXERCICES INTERACTIFS.
Students should make sure that they keep up to date with the messages and practice exercises on Moodle.
Contacts :
Items online :
Level-3 English Coursebook for Business Engineers
The coursebook is on line at the following address: http://lola.hec.ulg.ac.be/course/view.php?id=241