The goal of the course is to refresh and acquire new knowledge and skills in oral and written communication in the field of business English in contemporary business environments and to acquire language skills related to understanding basic business concepts and global business trends. Furthermore, the course systematizes grammatical structures typical of business English and systematically develops and practices receptive skills (reading intermediate-level professional texts, active listening and comprehension) and productive skills (speaking, discussing audio and video materials; writing basic business formats). The aim of the course is also to apply critical thinking skills when evaluating authentic materials in the English language, as well as to raise students' awareness of the importance of improving their own language knowledge and to encourage students to build key 21st century skills (such as information literacy, global awareness, analysis of real-life data and information graphics).
Basic grammatical structures necessary for understanding specialist business texts (verb tenses and the passive voice) are revised. Exercises focus intensively on acquiring specialist vocabulary (individual words and collocations), while the topics relate to fundamental business concepts.
1. Money (defining fundamental concepts, acquiring vocabulary related to money, understanding a business text related to the allocation of financial resources, acquiring oral communication skills in the context of organising a daily routine, report writing)
2. Success (defining fundamental concepts, understanding fundamental differences between accents and dialects in the English language, understanding a business text related to customer loyalty programmes, acquiring the basics of business correspondence skills)
3. Marketing (defining fundamental concepts, acquiring collocations, understanding a business text related to "crowdsourcing", acquiring oral communication skills in the context of describing one's own experiences, acquiring the basics of public speaking skills)
4. Communication (defining fundamental concepts, acquiring skills in listening to authentic recordings, understanding a business text related to the use of "power words", acquiring the basics of writing skills)
After completing the course, the student will be able to:
1. define basic business terms, collocations and idioms in English and apply them in a given context,
2. understand texts on business topics, identify key ideas and find specific information,
3. use grammatical structures characteristic of level B1 of business English,
4. achieve independent oral communication typical of general business situations.
