AJB_BBE Basics of Business English 1

Faculty of Education
Autumn 2014
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Radek Vogel, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Olga Dontcheva-Navrátilová, Ph.D.
Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Contact Person: Jana Popelková
Supplier department: Department of English Language and Literature – Faculty of Education
Timetable of Seminar Groups
AJB_BBE/01: Fri 3. 10. 14:00–19:00 učebna 6, Mon 15. 12. 14:00–19:00 učebna 6, R. Vogel
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of Business English expected (i.e. understanding of generally used business expressions, as well as the underlying concepts).
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 40 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/40, only registered: 0/40, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/40
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The optional course Basics of Business English introduces students to the language of business and economics, as well as to the corresponding economic concepts. It outlines the contents of widely used Business English coursebooks, the skills practiced and the topics covered there. The theoretical focus is on the characteristic linguistic properties of the language of business and economics; the practical focus is on enhancing the ability of students to understand authentic business texts, as well as to use the correct lexical and grammatical structures of this occupational variety of English. Differences between English and Czech terminologies will be discussed to eliminate mistakes stemming from different composition or motivation of naming units in the respective terminologies, differing degrees of polysemy, synonymy, condensation, etc.
At the end of this course, students should be able to understand and express appropriately the basic concepts of Business English, particularly those concerning company typology and structure, business combinations, business cycle, personal and corporate finance, company s assets and liabilities, and accounting.
Syllabus
  • Topic 1
  • Introduction. Business English textbooks. Methods of teaching BE. Linguistic properties of BE. Differences between English and Czech BE terminologies and syntactic structures.
  • Topic 2
  • Company Structure (organization chart, board of directors). Types of business organization (sole trader, private limited company, public company, corporation, general and limited partnership, …).
  • Topic 3
  • Capital. Business combinations (founding a company, flotation and subscription of shares, winding up a company, takeovers, raids; liquidity, bankruptcy). Company assets, liabilities and equity.
  • Topic 4
  • Shares. Types of shares. Stock exchanges, share/stock indexes, market price development. Bonds, notes and other financial instruments. Futures, forward contracts, options.
  • Topic 5
  • Accounting (financial statements – Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow statement, Source and Application of Funds Statement; depreciation).
  • Topic 6
  • Money. Forms of money, borrowing and lending. Income, remuneration. Price. Cost/expenses, revenue/income, profit, margin, markup, yield.
  • Topic 7
  • Marketing (marketing mix – product, price, promotion, place; marketing strategies, tasks and techniques). Market segmentation. Sales.
  • Topic 8
  • Promotion (advertising, personal selling, publicity, sales promotion). Market research. Marketing channels.
Literature
  • MASCULL, Bill. Business Vocabulary in Use: Intermediate. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, 172 pp. ISBN 0-521-77529-9. info
  • MACKENZIE, Ian. Financial English with mini-dictionary of finance. Hove: Language teaching publications, 1999, 160 s. ISBN 1-899396-00-4. info
  • MACKENZIE, Ian. Management and marketing with mini-dictionary. Hove: Language teaching publications, 1997, 144 s. ISBN 1-899396-80-2. info
  • TULLIS, Graham and Tonya TRAPPE. New insights into business : student's book. 1st ed. Harlow: Longman, 2000, 176 s. ISBN 0582335531. info
  • MACKENZIE, Ian. English for business studies : a course for business studies and economics students : student's book [MacKenzie, 2002]. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002, 208 s. : i. ISBN 0-521-75285-X. info
  • VOGEL, Radek, Jiřina HRBÁČKOVÁ and Jana MUŽÍKOVÁ. Glosář k učebnici English for Business Studies (Ian MacKenzie) včetně změn v 2. vydání - Second Edition (2002) (Glossary to English for Business Studies (Ian MacKenzie), adapted according to the Second Edition (2002)). 2. doplněné. Brno: Ekonomicko-správní fakulta Masarykovy univerzity, 2003, 102 pp. ISBN 80-210-3128-X. info
  • VOGEL, Radek and Lucie FIALOVÁ. Slovníček k učebnici New Insights into Business (Graham Tullis, Tonya Trappe, Susan Power) (Vocabulary Book - New Insights into Business (Graham Tullis, Tonya Trappe, Susan Power)). 1. vydání. Brno: Ekonomicko-správní fakulta Masarykovy univerzity, 2003, 122 pp. ISBN 80-210-3262-6. info
Teaching methods
Teaching methods
- work with business texts and vocabulary exercises and related explanation, definition or translation of business terms and concepts,
- class discussion on selected business topics,
- homework - additional exercises in Moodlinka.
Assessment methods
Completion prerequisites
- attendance - minimum 80%, active participation in seminars,
- test of Business English terminology at the end of semester (to pass - minim. 70%),
- essay on a selected topic according to the syllabus, due on January 6, 2015 (to pass - minim. 70%).
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 12 hodin ve 2 blocích.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2015.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/ped/autumn2014/AJB_BBE