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 aimed at forming students' foreign language communicative competence not lower than Upper-intermediate level, as well as the formation of academic skills and abilities necessary for the use of English in academic, scientific and professional activities, further study at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, as well as conducting research activities in a given area. The course is designed for 2 years of undergraduate study and provides the development of lexical and grammatical skills, listening, reading, writing and speaking skills necessary for effective communication in everyday, academic and professional situations. The program integrates three aspects: General English, English for Academic Purposes, and English for Specific Purposes, each of which can be presented to a greater or lesser extent depending on the specifics of the major and the educational program. Students who successfully complete the program will be ready to take an internal exam. The course ongoing control types include attendance, written assignments (graph descriptions, summaries, essays, vocabulary and grammar quizzes, reading and listening tests), oral assignments (presentations, monologues, discussions and dialogues) and home tasks. The course interim assessment consists of listening and reading tests and writing a graph description and an essay. The final grade consists of the following elements: 0.1 for attendance, 0.1 for the English Grammar and Vocabulary Test, 0.1 for the home assignment, 0.2 for the written assessment, 0.2 for the oral assessment, and 0.3 for the final assessment. The interim assesment elements are blocking controls. Completing the course enables students to advance their English to the Upper-intermediate (Independent User) level (HSE Scale 70-79).
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 general and business communication areas, thus the main objectives of the course are as follows: 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 the content; to acquire the basic skills of communication (structural elements, register peculiarities, essential vocabulary) within multiple touchpoints from which to explore the possibilities of use of any given language skill; to master presentation agility and fluency with the various skills through practical training in functional business areas such as presentations, negotiations, meeting facilitation, and taking part in a panel discussion; to apply communication skills to the both general and specific subject areas, from business conversations in the workplace, to negotiations and presentation skills
Expected Learning Outcomes
To develop skills of using basic reading techniques skimming and scanning (predicting, understanding main ideas, understanding details)
To develop skills in delivering a monologue (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
To develop skills in writing essays.
To develop skills of participating in dialogues on general, academic and professional topics. (active listening, questioning, responding to questions, emphasizing, discussion strategies)
To develop skills of using basic listening techniques (predicting, understanding main ideas and details) To form skills of note-taking
To develop skills of writing e-mails.
To improve understanding of dialogues and polylogues on both familiar and unfamiliar topics
To develop skills in giving a presentation (informative/descriptive/argumentative/persuasive speech)
To develop skills in writing a cover letter and a CV
To deliver a monologue
To give a presentation
To describe visual materials
To write e-mails
To write essays
To participate in dialogues on general, academic, and professional topics
To use listening techniques
To use basic reading techniques skimming and scanning
To read articles, reports and specialised texts at the vantage operational proficiency level
To listen to lectures and learning context
To take notes
To successfully use a wide range of grammar structures
To develop skills in analyzing and describing visual data
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
Topic 1.Education and employment
Topic 2.Tourism and conservation
Topic 3. International relations
Topic 4. Health and care
Topic 5. Fashion and consumerism
Topic 6. Technology and change
Topic 7. Journalism and media
Topic 8. Law and society
Topic 9. Arts and entertainment
Topic 10. Business and economics
Assessment Elements
English Grammar and Vocabulary Test
Students take English Grammar and Vocabulary Test in class.
Oral Assessment (OA)
OA consists of minimum 6 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.
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.
Winter Final Assessment (WFA)
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. Reading (R) Read the passage and complete the tasks 1-10 (Multiple choice and T/F/NG)..
3. Writing (W). Look at the graph and summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Grading formula: L*0,3 + R*0.3 + W*0,4 = 10.
Summer Final Assessment (SFA)
The interim exam lasts 70 minutes. The exam is written paper-and-pen test and is aimed at checking whether the student can demonstrate the acquisition of the learning objectives set. The exam consists of two parts, i.e. Reading and Writing that weigh 40% and 60% respectively in the total mark for the exam. The actual score for Reading is turned into percentages which are tuned into a final mark out of 10 points.
Period of FA: 10 days prior to the fourth module’s session.
The release of examination papers: during the session.
Time limit: 70 minutes online/offline. 1. Reading (R) Max. 10 points Students have no more than 20 minutes to complete the Reading part. Read the text. Possible reading tasks:
• Correct option for each task (multiple choice).
• Fill in the gaps (gap-filling).
• Decide whether the statement is True, False or Not Given.
2. Writing (W) Write an essay on one of the topics given. Max. 10 points. Students should write a 250-word essay. Students have 50 minutes to complete the Writing part.
Grading formula: R* 0.4 + W*0.6 = 10.
Written Assessment (WA)
WA consists of minimum 8 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.
Interim Essay
The students write an essay
Attendance
Attendance grade is calculated using a 10-point grading scale based on a student’s attendance rate.
Interim Assessment
2026/2027 2nd module
0.1 * Attendance + 0.3 * Winter Final Assessment (WFA) + 0.2 * Oral Assessment (OA) + 0.1 * English Grammar and Vocabulary Test + 0.2 * Written Assessment (WA) + 0.1 * Home Assignment (HA)
New language leader: advanced : coursebook, , 2015
Recommended Additional Bibliography
Андреева, Е. Ю., Writing Essay in English: a Practical Guide : учебное пособие / Е. Ю. Андреева. — Москва : КноРус, 2024. — 203 с. — ISBN 978-5-406-13745-1. — URL: https://book.ru/book/955552 (дата обращения: 09.12.2025). — Текст : электронный.
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.
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Learning Objectives
Expected Learning Outcomes
Course Contents
Assessment Elements
Interim Assessment
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
Recommended Additional Bibliography
Authors