English for Business Communication (5op)

Osaamistavoitteet

By the end of the course, you should be able to

- succeed in routine business communication situations face to face, over the phone and in writing;
- independently produce various kinds of business messages and documentation;
- use different or new media to augment the effectiveness of new or existing business communications;
- analyze the effectiveness of printed and online marketing materials, and also produce original marketing materials of professional quality;
- plan, organize and prepare appropriate materials for international conferences, conventions or similar events; and
- demonstrate competence in producing workplace-specific guidelines and support materials to facilitate better customer service in English.

Sisältö

The principal contents of the course include

- using the power of well-written short messages or captions to raise the level of impact and audience interest in Creative Commons-licensed business videos;
- crafting business-related promotional messages and materials according to JAMK’s in-house standards and using only authorized media;
- preparing for an international business event as a client, visitor, or organizer and producing relevant documentation and materials for the event; and
- benchmarking the current state of international customer service in English, and designing and developing specific plans in order to improve it at the local level.

Other contents include supporting activities and smaller preparatory assignments designed to help you perform your best on the assignments listed above.

Esitietovaatimukset

B2-level English skills in both writing and speaking, as well as sufficient ICT skills for working with basic video editing tools and producing business and marketing materials.

Arviointikriteerit, tyydyttävä (1)

1 You submit assigned coursework late on more than one occasion and clearly and consistently demonstrate significant difficulty understanding and following the lecturer’s instructions. Your participation in the scheduled course activities is sporadic and/or minimal, and results in you contacting the lecturer on more than one occasion for information already provided or readily accessible through the course website. Your involvement in pair and group work is such that you are seen as a liability (as reported in peer evaluations), and you do not meet your own learning goals for most of the course.

2 You complete all of the assigned coursework, but have considerable difficulty understanding and following the lecturer’s instructions (as demonstrated in the form of incorrectly completed work, late assignment submissions and the like). You often demonstrate a lack of preparedness for presentations, and receive marginal evaluations from other students. You do not meet your own learning goals for most of the course.

Arviointikriteerit, hyvä (3)

3 You complete all assigned work and receives mixed, although mostly favorable, evaluations from other students. Your written and spoken English is understandable, but doesn’t clearly show signs of having studied, practiced and rehearsed the key business English terminology appropriate to the subjects in question. You meet your own learning goals for all or most of the course.

4 Your project work is generally of high quality in terms of both written and spoken English, but doesn't necessarily reflect an academically appropriate level of content investigation and/or research. Other students’ evaluations of your work are favorable, and you meet your own learning goals for the course.

Arviointikriteerit, kiitettävä (5)

5 You consistently demonstrate the ability to present engaging, well-prepared presentation contents in clear and business-like English through a diverse range of communication channels. You are reported to be a top performer by other students in the class through peer evaluations, and meet or exceed your own expected learning goals for the course (as reported in your self-evaluation).

Oppimateriaalit

All course-related study materials are provided by the course lecturer through the course website.