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Professional English

Module description

Students taking this module will develop their English skills for business and other professional settings. This includes a range of oral contexts such as meetings, negotiations, presentations, and pitching, in addition to formal and informal written communication such as reports, proposals, emails and social media posts. A key theme throughout is the importance of developing communicative skills for working successfully in diverse teams. In addition to opportunities to build language and communication skills transferable to the workplace, this module also emphasises criticality and critical reflection.  There are no prerequisites for this module, and it is suitable for students from all subject areas. This is a professional English language module at an English level from B2 to C2 on the CEFR framework (IELTS 6.5 to 8).

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module provides opportunities to enhance employability and raise awareness on issues of cultural competence in a globalised world. Its overarching aim is to help students to build real-world English language skills with transferability into workplace settings.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Use English to communicate clearly, accurately, and effectively in oral professional encounters.
• 2. Use English to communicate appropriately in different genres of professional communication.
• 3. Effectively fulfil different purposes in written communication, including explaining complex issues.
• 4. Build appropriate lexis and grammar for professional communication.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Understand and use professional English to address business challenges such as marketing and sales, sustainability, international supply chain management, technological innovation and artificial intelligence.
• 6. Evaluate the challenges and opportunities of using English in intercultural professional contexts.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Work effectively with a team.
• 8. Use research strategies.
• 9. Identify problems and find solutions.
• 10. Work autonomously, when appropriate and reflect on process.

Syllabus plan

• Professional communication in a digital, social, and mobile world.
• Using English as a lingua franca for professional purposes
• Communication challenges in a diverse world.
• Interpersonal communication and etiquette.
• Writing professional messages. Being clear and concise. Writing routine, negative, and persuasive messages.
• Using social media for professional purposes.
• Writing professional reports: researching, planning, drafting, and editing.
• Delivering professional presentations.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for reasons judged legitimate by the Mitigation Committee, the applicable assessment will normally be deferred. See ‘Details of reassessment’ for the form that assessment usually takes. When deferral occurs there is ordinarily no change to the overall weighting of that assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to take a re-sit exam. Only your performance in this exam will count towards your final module grade. A grade of 40% will be awarded if the examination is passed.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

• Bache, Carl, and Niels Davidsen-Nielsen. Mastering English: An Advanced Grammar for Non-Native and Native Speakers, De Gruyter, Inc., 1997. ProQuest Ebook Central,  https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/exeter/detail.action?docID=929088
• Rossette-Crake, Fiona. Public Speaking and the New Oratory [electronic resource]: A Guide for Non-native Speakers, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-22086-0
• Talbot, Fiona, How to write effective business English: excel at e-mail, social media and all your professional communications, Kogan Page, 2016. https://www.vlebooks.com/Product/Index/915202?page=0

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Web-based and electronic resources:

• ELE – College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages

Key words search

Professional, English, Workplace, Communication