School of Foreign Languages

Delivered by:: School of Foreign Languages

Type:: Optional course

When:: 1, 2 module

Instructors

Antonova, Yuliya

Балакирева Юлия Александровна

Borzova, Nadezhda A.

Вержбицкая Елизавета Дмитриевна

Жаркова Марина Геннадьевна

Suvorova, Yuliya

Хомякова Варвара Ильинична

Цораева Олеся Игоревна

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

The discipline refers to the variable educational tracks offered to students of the curricula for Bachelor's and Specialist's degrees of choice while mastering the optional course of English in accordance with the Concept of Development of Foreign-language Communicative Competence of HSE Students. Students are enrolled to the course with the entrance test score of 30 or higher. This course is designed for students who want to communicate effectively in English in the workplace. It allows for the personalization of the learning experience with a structured modular approach that gives flexibility to focus on specific needs and learning outcomes. Students who have completed the discipline will learn basic professional terminology and vocabulary for the implementation of business communication and commercial activities and acquire oral and written skills in the field of business communication. Role-playing games involving telephone conversations, exchange of letters, participation in meetings, and meetings with business partners as well as case studies form and develop students' business communication skills in a meaningful and authentic professional context. The course ongoing control types include summmaries, vocabulary and grammar quizzes, reading and listening tests, presentations, discussions and dialogues. The course interim assessment consists of a summary and a listening test. By the end of the course, students will gain the skills and confidence to communicate effectively in English at the upper-intermediate level (HSE Scale 50-59).

Learning Objectives

The course focuses on introducing students to the general vocabulary of work-place English and the main language functions and is aimed at acquiring language mastery relevant to common business communication areas, such as career choices and professional development, dealing with business sectors and managing projects. To apply BC skills to the specific subject area of International Affairs, from business conversations in the workplace, to negotiations and presentation skills. To acquire the basic skills of business communication (structural elements, business register peculiarities, essential business vocabulary) within multiple touch points from which to explore the possibilities of use of any given language skill. To build the basic skills of argumentative communication in English and successful representation of intentions and results to ensure the maximum range and authenticity of business content. To master presentation agility and fluency with the various skills, practical training in functional business areas such as presentations, negotiations, meeting facilitation, and brainstorming.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Develop skills of target listening and extracting information from texts of various types (lectures, interviews, discussions, etc).
To develop skills of using basic listening techniques (predicting, understanding main ideas and details)
To develop skills in writing e-mails (business correspondence)
To develop skills in writing summaries
To make presentations on professional topics, giving reasons in support or against a particular point of view, giving the advantages and disadvantages of various opinions and respond to clearly expressed questions on a presentation they have given.
To develop skills in writing a detailed structured CV
To develop reading skills: understanding of articles, reports, straightforward and specialised texts concerned with contemporary problems at the threshold/vantage/effective operational proficiency level - understanding of text structure - skills of using basic reading techniques (skimming and scanning, predicting, understanding main ideas, understanding details)
To participate in problem-solving discussions; deliver a project presentation based on their independent reading (formulating a thesis statement and supporting arguments)
To develop skills in participating in dialogues on general, academic and professional topics (active listening, questioning, responding to questions, emphasizing, discussion strategies)
To develop the ability to recognize and apply targeted lexical items and grammatical structures correctly in controlled test tasks, demonstrating comprehension of form, meaning, and typical contextual usage.

Course Contents

Management
Work and Motivation
Organization
Job-hunting
Brands

Assessment Elements

Oral Assessment (OA)
OA consists of minimum 3 tasks of different types, including interim ones (for example, a monologue for 1-year students as well as dialogues and presentations) that students do in class.
Final Assessment (FA)
Period of FA: 10 days prior to the 2nd module’s session. The release of examination papers: during the session. Time limit: 70 minutes online/offline. The structure of the exam: 1. Listening (L): Listen to the text ONCE and complete the tasks. Max. 10 points. Students have no more than 20 minutes to complete the Listening (L) part. 2. Writing (W) Read the text. Write a summary on the text you have read. A student should write a 150-word summary. Students have 50 minutes to complete the Writing (W) part. Grading formula: L*0,5 + W*0,5 = 10.
Written Assessment (WA)
WA consists of minimum 4 tasks of different types, including interim ones (for example, essays, graph descriptions, reviews, reports). WA can also include annotations, emails, listening and reading tasks, grammar and vocabulary tasks at the end of a section or topic. WA refers to written tasks that students complete in class.
Home Assignment (HA)
HA includes oral and/or written tasks that are assigned to students for independent completion and submission. Students do the tasks at home and either turn them in to their teachers or submit them via Smart LMS for grading.
English Grammar and Vocabulary Test
Students take English Grammar and Vocabulary Test in class.
Attendance
Attendance grade is calculated using a 10-point grading scale based on a student’s attendance rate.

Interim Assessment

2026/2027 2nd module
0.2 * Oral Assessment (OA) + 0.2 * Written Assessment (WA) + 0.3 * Final Assessment (FA) + 0.1 * Home Assignment (HA) + 0.1 * Attendance + 0.1 * English Grammar and Vocabulary Test

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Business partner B1+ : coursebook, , 2021
English for business studies : a course for business studies and economics students: student's book, MacKenzie, I., 2012
Стогниева, О. Н. Английский язык для экономистов (B1–B2). English for Business Studies in Higher Education : учебное пособие для вузов / О. Н. Стогниева. — Москва : Издательство Юрайт, 2023. — 197 с. — (Высшее образование). — ISBN 978-5-534-10008-2. — Текст : электронный // Образовательная платформа Юрайт [сайт]. — URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/517158 (дата обращения: 02.07.2026).

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Business English for students of economics = Деловой английский для студентов-экономистов - Герасимов Б.И., Гливенкова О.А., Гунина Н.А. и др. - Издательство ФОРУМ - 2022 - https://znanium.com/catalog/product/1834747 - 1176840 - ZNANIUM
Красильникова, И. В. Business correspondence. Деловая переписка : учебно-методическое пособие / И. В. Красильникова. — Воронеж : ВГАС, 2022. — 52 с. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/310373 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
Уваров, В. И. Английский язык для экономистов (A2–B2). English for Business + аудиозаписи : учебник и практикум для вузов / В. И. Уваров. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. — Москва : Издательство Юрайт, 2023. — 351 с. — (Высшее образование). — ISBN 978-5-534-09049-9. — Текст : электронный // Образовательная платформа Юрайт [сайт]. — URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/511466 (дата обращения: 02.07.2026).

Authors

KULIKOVA ELENA VALEREVNA
Klepko Evgeniia Iurevna

English for Business Purposes. Upper-Intermediate Course - 1