Curricula

Objectives

In the course English for Working Life you will learn to operate in English in situations related to international working life.

You will also increase your self-confidence in speaking and writing in professional contexts. In addition, you will learn to follow the developments in your field locally and globally.

After taking the course, you will have learned to write texts related to your future profession in an appropriate style. You will also have gained confidence in spoken interaction and acquired vocabulary that will benefit you later in your career.

Communication and Team-working: You are able to function effectively in a national and international context and you are able to cooperate effectively with specialists in your own field as well as with other groups of professionals.

Content

The central contents of the course are:
- telling about your studies and looking for employment
- oral and written communication in working life, for example meetings, small talk, customer service, telephoning and emailing, and expressing your own opinion
- producing formal text, such as reports, instructions or summaries
- field-specific terminology
- presentations, workshops, group discussions

Learning materials and recommended literature

Teacher’s material on Moodle.
In addition, the students need to search information and material relevant to their field of study.

Extra material: any school book in English. The better if it is related to the student's own field.

Teaching methods

ATTENTION: This implementation is full and no more registrations are being accepted.
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Online implementation between 28 August - 12 November 2023

Kick-off webinar on Zoom on Tue 29 August 10-11am. Attending it is highly recommended; alternatively you must watch its recording within three days. The address to the Zoom meeting is sent to the enrolled students by the webinar day.

You study independently on Moodle. You need basic computing skills, web camera and microphone, a headset recommended.

The course is divided into four parts which are timetabled. It means that you need to finish each part in the given order and by the deadline for the part.

You will have both written and oral learning assignments. The oral assignments are videos. There is also one major group assignment (group discussion) and most likely an exam in the Exam Lab unless informed otherwise.

The topics include:
- studies
- work and looking for employment
- communication in working life
- professional writing
- field-specific terminology
- presentations

Exam dates and retake possibilities

Assignments on Moodle as scheduled and exam.

A failed assignment can be taken again twice during the course and within 6 weeks after the implementation's deadline. Lecturer's feedback on a failed assignment or in the exam may lower the mark and thus the course grade.

Re-sit exam: in late November to early December if needed. To be informed.

Once the course grades have been marked, it is possible to attempt upgrading during the following semester.

Student workload

The estimated student workload in this course:

- Kick-off webinar, 1 hour
- Familiarization with online course environment, self-study and learning assignments: ~100 hours
- Group assignment: 5 hours


Total 108 hours (one credit equals 27 hours of student work)

Further information for students

Lecturer's feedback on the assignments, tasks and exercises on Moodle, self-assessment, peer-assessment

The level of this course is B2 (https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/sites/default/files/cefr-fi.pdf).
Besides the exam, the course includes several assignments that contribute to the course grade. Not following the instructions and schedule lowers the mark and thus, most likely, the course grade.

It is necessary for the students to master basic computing skills such as making videos and sharing videos.

Evaluation scale

0-5

Evaluation criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

1 The students are able to communicate understandably both in speech and writing in simple and routine work tasks and other situations. They can understand the central content of speech and writing dealing with familiar topics. They have a sufficient command of the basic structures of the language for the delivery of their message. The level of their pronunciation is sufficient for the delivery of the main content of their message. The students act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

2 The students are able to communicate understandably both orally and in writing in routine and familiar work duties and situations although their language use is at times slow and incoherent. They understand clear speech and writing with familiar content. They have an adequate command of the basic structures of the language. Their vocabulary is sufficient for every-day situations and reasonably adequate for basic field-specific situations. The level of their pronunciation is sufficient for the delivery of content.The students act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

Evaluation criteria, good (3-4)

3 The students can manage well both oral and written situations in working life and every-day life. The students can write a text with coherent content. They understand speech with a normal tempo, but unusual topics and language deviating from standard use cause difficulties. They can understand demanding written content related to their own field, although some details may remain unclear. They can use the grammatical structures of the language in a versatile way, and their mistakes do not hinder communication. The students’ command of the vocabulary of the language is sufficient for communicating the central content even in demanding tasks and situations. Their pronunciation is adequate. The students act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

4 The students are able to communicate fluently in different situations and produce clear and fluent language with adequate style. They have no difficulty in understanding and producing speech and writing needed in working life although expressions deviating from the standard use of the language cause problems to some extent. The students have a good command of the language and its use, but occasional problems may arise. The students act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

Evaluation criteria, excellent (5)

5 The students are able to communicate with great fluency and active participation in a wide variety of situations. They also portray considerable versatility and an appropriate sense of style in their ability to apply the learning content of the course to demanding working life situations. They have no difficulties in understanding different kinds of language users although fine nuances and speech deviating significantly from standard language can sometimes be challenging. The students can understand and produce demanding content in both speech and writing. Their language use is practically flawless. The students act responsibly and abide by established agreements.

Prerequisites

The course is on level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. If the course Improve your English was recommended to you at the beginning of your studies, please take it before enrolling for English for Working Life.

In this course you will need the basic ICT-skills, such as word processing and creating audio and video files.