What Is Intercultural Business Communication?

What do bachelor students study as part of the Intercultural Business Communication track? How can this knowledge be used in practice and in which professions? This article answers these questions.

Students of the bachelor’s programme in Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication are able to choose between three pathways of further studies, namely 'Theory and Methods of Foreign Language Teaching', 'Translation and Interpreting Studies' and 'Intercultural Business Communication'. To make this choice easier, students study the 'Introduction to Profession' course during their second academic year. This course allows students to become acquainted with the main concepts and objectives of all three tracks.
Of course, there are some students who make their choice early on. However, many applicants want to learn more about the Intercultural Business Communication track of education, as well as about the disciplines taught within it. In addition, they may well be interested in learning about various theoretical and practical aspects of English and a second foreign language.
One of the most important disciplines of this track is 'Corporate Culture and Business Communication' which is taught during the third academic year by leading specialists of the School of Foreign Languages. During this course, students study the basics of internal communication and analyse the cultures of different organizations. They also acquire a variety of skills necessary for creating and developing a corporate culture—something that in many companies is a key factor in maintaining a competitive advantage. What is particularly valuable is that students work with real cases during their classes and engage in project work.
Here is what one of the 2020 graduates, Elena Vlasova, had to say, ‘The course on corporate culture was very intensive. Within a short period of time, we had learned how to evaluate the effectiveness of an organizational structure and how to identify the advantages and disadvantages of it. We also learned how to make plans for enhancing the efficiency of an organization based on certain aspects. Such plans were always presented in English during classes. Additionally, we analysed various sources in English. These sources gave us an understanding of the internal corporate culture that particular organizations possess. This culture must be maintained in order to keep the development of the whole structure.’
Everyone who works at a foreign company (or a Russian company that is involved in business with foreign organizations) must be knowledgeable in English as a language of Business Communication. As part of this discipline, during the fourth academic year students expand their vocabulary in business communication and discuss cultural and social differences between English-speaking and Russian-speaking communities. They also learn how to make presentations, how to conduct negotiations and meetings, how to participate in teleconferences in English and many other skills.
The Public Speaking course will be particularly useful for those whose careers will be connected with performing regularly in front of an international audience. During this course, students acquire a basic knowledge of rhetoric, learn how to use audiovisual materials and body language effectively, and also how to interact with the public.
The Web-writing course meets the needs of the modern labour market as it teaches students how to add content to websites, and how to write posts and articles for blogs. This discipline (also taught during the fourth academic year) will be of use for those who are interested in working as a social media manager, for instance. One of the co-authors of the course, Elena Zyryanova, explained a bit more about it. ‘The Web-writing course is based on analysing practical cases. It gives students the opportunity to test one’s skills in writing and editing texts. But most importantly, it allows students to learn from professionals in this sphere, and helps them to understand what other qualities they need in order to use their writing skills for copywriting.’
Here is a review of this course from Anfisa Anisimova, FLAIC graduate of 2020. ‘I currently have two jobs. The first one is project lead in a company called Grintern. Apart from my main tasks, I have a lot of responsibilities related to copywriting and designing the website. In particular, I am working on the 'rates' section, and the layout is currently a work in progress. I also write articles for the blog, manage SNS accounts, and work with organic traffic. I listed the courses that I had taken in university, including Web-writing, on my resume, and it undoubtedly helped me to get this job. The fact that students from our programme get to take this course as a part of their curriculum and complete tasks in a creative way is amazing.’
Of course, there are more disciplines that future specialists of Intercultural Communication study. Apart from the aforementioned courses, they also have the opportunity to study media discourse, the culture and literature of English-speaking countries, and many other exciting and useful disciplines.  
Students of FLAIC have their internships at leading Russian and international companies during their third academic year. For example, one of the graduates of 2020, Elizaveta Kryukova, did an internship at one of the main players on the Russian communication market, CROS.
‘What I liked the most about the internship at CROS were the projects that we worked on. They were diverse but always extremely interesting. One more thing that I would like to emphasise is the young team in our department. We found common ground with the staff very quickly, and they were helpful and supportive. And we still keep in touch via social media, so you could even say that we have become friends. My internship at CROS was a great starting point for my career, and I am very happy that I had the opportunity to be there!’
Another of this years’ graduates, Alena Trublovskaya, is also happy with her internship at a prominent company.
‘I did my internship at Mitsubishi Corporation Bank, in the marketing department, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The programme was both intensive and useful. I was involved in analysing the activity of our competitors, writing reports in English, and conducting negotiations about some ongoing projects within the department. The knowledge of such courses as 'Corporate Culture and Business Communication' and 'English Language as a Language of Business Communication' was very useful because many of the high-level managers of the company were expats. For instance, it was quite easy to understand the corporate culture and adapt to it. The 'Organizational Communication' course made it possible for me to employ a SMART approach to my tasks. I am happy to have gained such an experience, and I am very grateful to the School of Foreign Languages and our tutors!’