Duration
80h Th
Number of credits
| Bachelor in business engineering | 7 crédits |
Lecturer
Emma Desforges, ISLV, Nathalie Schraepen
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
All year long, with partial in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit 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. There is also a section on graph description and another on writing business letters. 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.
- Interactive in-class grammar tests + tests to be done on the intranet.
- 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 learning unit
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, taking into account the multicultural and international features of their environment.
- 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.
This course will help students to demonstrate scientific precision and a critical mind and will train students to work efficiently in an international and multidisciplinary team, among others in a leading position. Also, this course will encourage students to analyze their managerial practice with a critical and ethical mind. This course will help students to communicate efficiently, internally and externally, about a company, organization or project and to improve their proficiency in one foreign language (among the 3 languages required by the program). By the end of the level-3 English course, students can reach the European C1 level. In addition, it will raise their awareness of the multicultural and international features of their environment and finally, this course will improve students' creativity, autonomy and entrepreneurial spirit.
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 interactive formative tests corrected in class.
- 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, hybrid learning)
The in-class course is taught to about 30 students for three hours every week. This may have to be adapted due to certain Covid-19 restrictions. 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.
Organisational adjustments related to the current health context
Classes will continue to be given online in part via Lifesize or Zoom and in part through exercises (Padlet, Wooclap, ) to be completed on Lola until the sanitary conditions improve sufficiently for us to return to in-class teaching.
The material for the January oral exam remains unchanged but the exam itself will take place on Lifesize or Zoom. If necessary, the May/ June exam will also take place online (on Lola). If the May/ June exam has to take place on Lol@ there will not be a listening comprehension and the marks will be allocated as follows: Oral exam 6 marks, Oral presentation 4 marks, written critical review (or graph description and letter for those students not writing the review) 2 marks, written exam 8 marks.
The students will, of course, be notified of any changes to the organisation and schedule of the class and the exams.
Recommended or required readings
Compulsory:
- The level-3 English Coursebook for Business Engineers. The different units will be available on Lola.
- Students will also have to read a book which will be presented in class.
- "Grammaire anglaise de base" (with exercises and key), Editions Ulg, available at the Point de Vue (Sart Tilman).
- "English Grammar in Use" (intermediate) 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
Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.
1. Critical review: 2/20
- Students will be required to write a 5-page critical review, in English, as part of a report written within the framework of the course on "Strategic Management".
- This assignment will be done in groups of 5.
- The evaluation will be based on the grammar, vocabulary and syntax used in the report.
- Reading comprehension exercises based on an unseen text.
- Exercises based on vocabulary and grammar from Q1 and Q2.
- 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%) have to retake it in August.
The exam will take place right before the written exam.
5. Compulsory presentation: (3/20)
One oral presentation based on one of the the business topics covered in the units, in groups of 2 students. Students will receive feedback on their preparation work and will be evaluated based on this preparation work and their performance during the presentation. Half the marks are based on individual performance and the other half on group work. If it is not feasible to make these presentations in class this year, they will be made on Lifesize or recorded and sent to the teacher.
N.B. 1
Students who do not make a presentation or do the compulsory written assignments cannot sit the exams in the first session. This rule also applies for those who do not take the January oral exam.
Students who did not make an oral presentation or did not do the compulsory written assignments during the year will get 0 for this classwork in both sessions.
If they have a second session in English, students only have to retake the exams for which they obtained less than 50% in the first session.
The pass mark is at least 10/20. Marks between 9.5 and 10 will not be rounded up.
N.B. 2
The students' grammar, vocabulary and listening comprehension will also be assessed online by an external organisation (ELAO). You will receive more information about this during the year.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
Students can also train on-line on the ISLV (Institut Supérieur des Langues Vivantes) website thanks to the GABi (Grammaire anglaise de base interactive) and the EGIPT grammar test. To do so, simply log on to the ISLV website (http://www.islv.uliege.be). Students just have to click on "Les cours et les stages" and then on "Langues étrangères" for the GABi and on "Les Tests" for the EGIPT test. In the "Tests" menu, there is also information on the Cambridge tests which the University of Liège organises in May every year. The GABi is available in your list of courses (ISLV0000-3.2) on ecampus (myuliege).
Students should make sure that they keep up to date with the messages and practice exercises on http://lola2019.hec.uliege.be.
Contacts
- Emma DESFORGES E.Desforges@uliege.be
- Nathalie SCHRAEPEN N.Schraepen@uliege.be
- ISLV office in Sart Tilman : Level -1 in Bât B33 (Trifac) 04 366 46 52