School of Foreign Languages

Delivered by:: School of Foreign Languages

Type:: Optional course

When:: 1-3 module

Instructors

Klepko, Evgeniya Y.

Stognieva, Olga

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. The course is based on authentic materials from The Financial Times and The New York Times and encourages students to engage in a variety of topics, from career to social media, sustainability, impact investment, globalization, and many others. Besides reading and watching authentic content that has not been adapted for non-native speakers, the students get engaged in research, pair- and group-work to investigate the world of business and practice communication skills that are vital for entrepreneurs and managers. The course is recommended to the students who passed the exam with the grade "6" and up. 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 attendance, written assignments taken in class (reports, vocabulary and grammar quizzes, reading and listening tests), oral assignments (presentations, discussions and dialogues) and home assignments. The course interim assessment consists of listening and reading tests and writing a report. There are no blocking controls. Completing the course enables students to improve their English to the Advanced level (HSE Scale 70-100).

Learning Objectives

The purpose of the course is to 1) prepare students to navigate the world of international business; 2) equip them with a set of skills in written and oral business communication that would help them develop into global managers able to do and understand business across borders and cultures; 3) improve all four language skills – speaking, reading, listening and writing – in Bachelor students working within a Management curriculum; 4) foster the discussion of most debated topics in the business world today, from entrepreneurship to sustainability, impact investing, globalization, regulation and deregulation, as well as the challenges of the pandemic and many others.; 5) master listening skills; 6) practice skills in writing emails (business correspondence), CV, report/review writing; monologue (descriptive/informative/reasoning), dialogue (negotiations, meetings, job interviews, teleconferencing) speech and team presentations.

Expected Learning Outcomes

To develop skills of using basic listening techniques (predicting, understanding main ideas and details)
To develop skills of using basic reading techniques skimming and scanning (predicting, understanding main ideas, understanding details)
To deliver a monologue: descriptive/informative/reasoning
To develop skills in writing e-mails (business correspondence)
To develop skills in writing reports
To develop skills of participating in debates (active listening, questioning, responding to questions, emphasizing, discussion strategies)
To follow extended speech and complex lines of arguments
To make a presentation (can give reasons in support or against a particular point of view, give the advantages and disadvantages of various opinions)
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

Entrepreneurs Make the World Go Round
Talent and Innovation
Social Media: The Harsh Reality of the Virtual
Circular Economy: Saving the Blue Planet
Combining Profit and Purpose
The Pandemic: Living in the Age of Uncertainty

Assessment Elements

Final Assessment (FA)
Period of Final Assessment: the final exam is held in class within 10 days before the exam period. The release of examination papers: during the session. The exam consists of 3 parts: Listening (30%), Reading (30%) and Writing (40%) respectively in the total mark for the exam. 0 points in case of cheating. Retaking exams: till the 15th of October 2027. Time limit: 80 minutes online/offline. Tasks complexity: Upper-intermediate Level. Exam structure: 1. Listening (L) Listen to the text and complete the tasks 1-10. max. 10 points 2. Reading (R) Read the text and complete the tasks 1-10. max. 10 points 3. Writing (W) Write a review/report. review assessment criteria/ report assessment criteria. Grading formula: L*0,3+R*0,3 +W*0,4 = 10
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.
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 3rd module
0.3 * Final Assessment (FA) + 0.1 * English Grammar and Vocabulary Test + 0.2 * Oral Assessment (OA) + 0.1 * Attendance + 0.1 * Home Assignment (HA) + 0.2 * Written Assessment (WA)

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Стогниева, О. Н. Английский язык для экономистов (B1–B2). English for Business Studies in Higher Education : учебник для вузов / О. Н. Стогниева. — Москва : Издательство Юрайт, 2025. — 163 с. — (Высшее образование). — ISBN 978-5-534-18207-1. — Текст : электронный // Образовательная платформа Юрайт [сайт]. — URL: https://urait.ru/bcode/565350 (дата обращения: 02.07.2026).

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Business partner C1 : coursebook, , 2021
Semenova, I. M. Business correspondence : учебное пособие / I. M. Semenova. — Иркутск : ИГМУ, 2023. — 89 с. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/419951 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
Стогниева, О. Н. Английский язык: Гибкие навыки для успешной карьеры = Business English: Soft Skills for Career Success : учебник / О. Н. Стогниева, Е. В. Габриелова. — Москва : ФЛИНТА, 2026. — 245 с. — ISBN 978-5-9765-5834-2. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/505946 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.

Authors

KULIKOVA ELENA VALEREVNA
STOGNIEVA OLGA NIKOLAEVNA

English for Specific Purposes. English for a global manager - 3