INTRODUCTION

LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE AND LANGUAGE AWARENESS

1.1. LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE

Learning foreign languages has always been viewed as useful and important. The new role
of languages is closely connected to the development of society as a whole. A hundred years ago,
people may have needed to speak foreign languages for educational purposes, for social reasons or
for traveling. Today, we live in a world that is completely different from what it used to be even
fifty years ago, a “globalized” one. Today, in the age of speed, extra fast means of transport take
you anywhere around the world in a matter of hours and information travels at the speed of light.
Consequently, it is no wonder that business, banking and production have become global: for
example, today, most large companies – take Coca-Cola or Phillips, for example – produce and
market their goods all around the world. It goes without saying that a globalized world needs
unified instruments to carry out its work. Apart from information and currency, mastery of a
common language represents a foremost instrument of the kind.
In the modern world one cannot function effectively and efficiently without knowledge of
computers and of at least one foreign language. When sitting for a scholarship or applying for a job,
knowledge of a foreign languages generally among the basic requirements. Under these
circumstances, learning foreign languages has become a matter of necessity for today’s individual.
The new role of foreign languages in human society has made educators devise new ways of
teaching them, so that their results match the students’ needs. Teaching is, thus, organically linked
to testing, that is why, and changes in teaching were soon followed by changes in testing strategies.
The person who wants to undertake a task must first of all think well of what s/he wants to
achieve, how s/he wants to achieve it and why s/he wants to do it. Similarly, the teacher of foreign
languages must know what s/he is teaching, how s/he should teach it, why his/her students are
learning the foreign language.
The first of the questions above concerns the object of teaching – i.e. what to teach -, and is
strictly related to the notions of language and society. Approaches to language teaching go hand in
hand with the main linguistic theories of the age.
Language is a semiotic system, i.e. a socially accepted system of signs. The sign of the
language, e.g. its individual speech sounds, letters, words etc., are known and shared by the entire
community.
Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), the father of semiology (the science of signs), viewed
human communication as a continuous encoding-decoding process that goes on between two or
more individuals who “know the code”, i.e. share the same language. The process starts in the mind
of the speaker – the producer and sender of the message – who puts his/her thoughts (meanings)
into words, organizes them into structures according to the rules of the language and gives them a
physical (phonetic) form.
The competent speaker’s ability to decode and encode linguistic messages thanks to his/her
knowledge of the “code” (of the language itself) is referred to as linguistic competence. Linguistic
competence goes hand in hand with linguistic performance, i.e. the speaker’s actual usage of the
language.
According to this view, knowledge of the language – linguistic competence - means first of
all “knowledge of the code”, of the system of the language.
Consequently, acquisition of a language means, first of all, acquisition of its vocabulary, of
words and larger lexical units (phrases, idiomatic expressions) necessary to name things, actions
and qualities.

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 Vocabulary includes:
 Spelling, he correct succession of letters within words;
 Pronunciation, the correct succession of speech sounds within words;
 Meanings, the dictionary description of the lexical unit.
Learning of vocabulary goes hand in hand with the acquisition of structures that constitute
the grammatical framework of the language. All language teaching begins with simple constructs
(e.g. This is a book. Those are girls. My name is John. Who are you?) whose aim is to introduce
simultaneously basic vocabulary and grammatical structures: the singular/plural opposition, the
tenses of the verb, affirmative/negative structures etc.
Gradually, the foreign language student learns to link the simple structures into larger and
more complex stretches of language, according to the rules of grammar and meaning, so as to form
grammatically and semantically accurate sentences. As time goes on and the learning process
advances, the learners’ vocabulary becomes more sophisticated and their structures more complex
(with compound and complex sentences).
Noam Chomsky, the undisputed leading linguist of the 1960s, suggested that, thanks to
his/her linguistic competence, the native speaker can recognize and produce, with a limited number
of lexical items and grammar rules, an unlimited number of grammatically and semantically well-
formed (i.e. grammatically correct) sentences. Chomsky realized that in their linguistic
performance, native speakers often produce non-well-formed sentences (elliptical or minor
sentences) and that in informal speech often utter grammatically erroneous structures. However, he
considers that such instances should be discarded and that linguists should take as their basic
criterion linguistic well-formedness.

1.2 COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Unfortunately, some teachers still think that vocabulary, grammar are “all there is” to
teaching and learning a foreign language. However, the competent speaker’s ability to interact
linguistically with other members of society cannot be restricted to rules of the language or to
grammatical or semantical well-formedness.
Surveying vast samples of language produced by native speakers, linguists gradually
realized that vocabulary and grammar are unable to account for the boundless variety and creativity
of individual sentences. The eminent socio-linguist Dell Hymes showed that the competent speaker
knows to use the language not only correctly, but also appropriately with respect to context,
addressee, register and speech event. He insisted that there are “rules of use without which the rules
of grammar would be useless” and even suggested that “some occasions call for being appropriately
ungrammatical”.

1.2.1. Language in use

Hymes suggested that linguistic competence is only one aspect of competent speakers’
communicative competence, i.e. their overall ability to interact with the help of the language. An
experienced person knows the rules of appropriate social behaviour – when to speak and when to
keep silent, what to talk about in different situations, or how to address different types of persons.
Analyzing the native speaker’s communicative behaviour, linguists concluded that the
competent speaker’s ability to communicate largely depends on pragmatic factors, factors
pertaining to his knowledge of the world and of the unwritten rules that govern human society and
communication.
Knowledge of the world and society enables competent speakers to convey more meaning
than is carried by the semantic load of their words. Moreover, the competent communicator also
knows how to use language functionally and strategically, so as to obtain the best results and to
avoid negative consequences.
It is well known the fact that people use the language in a much more complex way than the
dictionary or rules of grammar might suggest. People indulge in linguistic strategies – intricate,
indirect ways of expressing things - instead of saying them directly and straightforwardly.

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 Some linguistic strategies are meant to conceal the speaker’s inadequacy to express his/her
thoughts properly. These result in false starts, reformulations, time fillers or repair strategies: You
know…well…I mean… I don’t really know how to put it… . Speakers also spend a lot of time and
energy in expressing their agreement with, compassion for or support of the interlocutor, they make
interesting noises, use interjections.
Quite often, people use linguistic strategies for reasons of tact and politeness, to avoid
imposing (It’ll only take you a minute!) or hurting the interlocutor’s feelings (It is not exactly to my
linking! instead of I don’t like it!).
The speaker’s ability to perform actions with the help of the language is closely linked to the
functional potential of the language. It is generally agreed that language has five basic functions
(after Leech, 1981):
 Informational: people use the language to convey and to get information;
 Directive: use of language to control the behaviour and attitudes of others: we tell
others what to do, we demand and command, inquire and request;
 Expressive: use of language to express feelings and attitudes, likes and dislikes,
wishes and desires, fears and hopes;
 Aesthetic: people often use the language “for the sake of the linguistic artifact itself”,
they construct their utterances so as to please the ear rather than for the information
the words carry;
 Phatic: use of language for “keeping social relationships in good repair”; often what
we say is of lesser importance than the fact that we say it: not greeting, not inquiring
about our interlocutor’s wellbeing or not congratulating him/her on his/her birthday,
can be perceived as a “virtual offence”.

1.2.2. Communication and Communicative Competence

To understand the full significance of communicative competence we must also analyze the
nature of communication and identify some of its basic features. According to Richard and Rogers,
1986, communication is:
 Meaning-based. It aims to convey meaning through a variety of channels: language,
paralanguage etc;
 Interactional. It requires at least two participants who interact. Meaning is not
inherent in words/phrases, but negotiated between the interlocutors; much of the
speaker’s information is merely implied and the listener’s task is to decode the
speaker’s intended meaning;
 Structured. Human communication consists of a boundless range of discourse types:
journalistic, political, that of the Church, of the court of law, the discourse of
advertising, of classroom interactions, of casual discussions, of letter writing etc;
 Conventional. The participants in a communicative exchange observe certain social
conventions concerning the relationship between the interactants, the speaker and the
context in which the exchange takes place;
 Appropriate. Interlocutors adapt their discourse to the relative social status between
the speaker and the listener and the roles they assume in the communicative
exchange.

The above analysis triggers the conclusion that communicative competence has a much
wider scope than mere linguistic competence. We can identify at least five dimensions of
communicative competence (after Canale and Swain, 1980):
 Linguistic competence – the speaker’s ability to use language accurately;

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  Sociolinguistic competence – the speaker’s ability to use the language appropriately
with respect to the social environment;
 Discourse competence – the speaker’s ability to recognize and use the language
appropriately with respect to the type of discourse
 Strategic competence – the speaker’s ability to use language functionally and
strategically;
 Cultural competence – knowledge of elements of culture and civilization of the
foreign language environment: the competent communicator knows facts pertaining
to the country, the people, the history, literature and culture of the target language.
Therefore, learning a foreign language also involves learning about the world and type of
society the native speakers of the language live in.
In other words, communicative competence means ability to use the language:
1. accurately – correctly in terms of vocabulary and grammar;
2. appropriately – adapted to the social/situational context in which the exchange takes
place and to the discourse type;
3. functionally and strategically – using the language tactfully and politely, to get things
done and achieve real-world aims;
4. competently in terms of cultural background.

1.2.3. Language skills

Apart from “knowledge of the code” (vocabulary and grammar), knowledge of the language
also requires possession of language skills – skills/abilities that allow the speaker to interact
linguistically with the other members of the social group.
Thus, the person who wants to answer affirmatively to the question whether s/he knows a
certain foreign language must possess listening skills (be able to understand what other people say).
In face-to-face interaction, you cannot know what you are required to say unless you understand
what your interlocutor is telling you. Lack of listening skills –inability to make head or tail of the
interlocutor’s words – is especially frustrating when visiting the country whose language one is
learning.
Obviously, listening skills cannot be separated from speaking skills: the receiver of the
message must be able to express his/her thoughts and feelings coherently, at normal speed and with
comprehensible pronunciation. Many people complain that they understand very well the text of
movies and songs or messages on the Internet, but when it comes to speaking, they “can’t find the
words”. The reason is that they lack speaking skills. A person who knows the language must be able
to say what s/he wants to say, when s/he wants to say it, the way s/he wants to say it etc.
Absence of speaking skills becomes embarrassing in real-life communicative situations
(conversation), where exchanges are rapid and there is no time to think and build up one’s
sentences. Such situations make many people, especially shy ones, lose heart and give up any
attempt to participate in the conversation.
Furthermore, since much of the daily communication is written, the language user must also
know how to decode messages written in the target language, s/he must possess reading skills.
Whether they are instructions of usage for certain electronic device or some household
advice (e.g. how to prepare an instant pudding), useful travel tips in a guidebook, an article in a
magazine or Internet information, it is frustrating to be unable to work out its meaning.
Finally, an educated person must also know how to express his/her thoughts in writing: s/he
must possess writing skills. When crossing the border, applying for a job abroad or simply chatting
on the Internet it is painful and/or time consuming not to be able to fill out forms with one’s
personal information, write letters or give coherent replies.
Thus, apart from knowledge of its vocabulary and grammar, knowledge of a language
implies ability to understand it and to speak it, to read it and to write it; in other words, knowledge
of a language also includes possession of the basic skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

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 According to the type of communication, the skills can be grouped as:
 skills related to oral communication: listening and speaking;
 skills related to written communication: reading and writing.
Another criterion to categorize the four skills is the speaker’s contribution to the
communicative act. From this point of view, we can distinguish:
 receptive skills – listening and reading; the speaker is merely a recipient of the
language and information;
 productive skills – speaking and writing; the speaker is actually involved in the act of
producing language.
Moreover, the ultimate aim of the foreign language class is to develop the students’
communicative skills (their ability to use the language appropriately, functionally and strategically,
so as to interact efficiently with the other members of the social group) as well as their cultural
skills (i.e. knowledge of the linguistic and non-linguistic customs and habits typical for the target
language environment).
The foreign language student must learn to master communicative and cultural skills similar
to those of the native speaker: they will need such skills later on, in the real world, with its
boundless variety of relationships and communicative situations. Obviously, the classroom provides
only a limited range of communicative interactions: those typical for the physical situation and the
teacher-student/student-student relationships. It is therefore the foreign language teacher’s duty to
use the classroom as a kind of laboratory and organize activities that should simulate real-world
exchanges. S/he must stretch his/her imagination and expand the classroom context so as to enable
students to use language realistically and interactively.

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 THE LANGUAGE COURSE

LEARNER PERSONALITIES & LEARNING STYLES

Before embarking upon a new course, the teacher must dwell upon several basic features of
the class s/he is teaching. These features impose certain constraints upon the language course and it
is according to these characteristics that the teacher selects te most appropriate methods and
strategies, the most suitable visuals and texts and the most efficient techniques and classroom
activities.
Among the most important features of the class that the teacher must consider are:
 the students’ age and their linguistic proficiency;
 the students’ personality, their attitudes and interests;
 the requirements of the curriculum;
 the students’ needs.
Age Groups
The students’ age has a great impact upon the entire educational process, upon the teaching
material as well as upon the strategies and activities used. Although individuals within a certain age
group show great personal differences, some general considerations for various age groups are
possible.
Thus, young learners (age 5-12) are oriented towards what is directly visible or perceivable,
therefore they need sensory input and activities that should capture their immediate attention and
interest. Their attentions span is rather short and they find theoretical presentation boring or beyond
their comprehension.
Consequently, young children learn best if they are directly involved in enjoyable practical
activities (games) and perform tasks that stimulate simultaneously as many as ther sense as
possible.
Teenagers (age 12-18) manifest more logical and abstract thinking and their attention span
is longer but their are prone to distractions of emotional nature and tend to be superficial and/or
rebellious, so that the teacher must find effective ways to draw on their cognitive and analytical
skills. In order to motivate teenagers to work, teachers must organze activities that should stir their
imagination and challenge their inventiveness. They also need reliale feedback techniques and
efficient confidence-building techniques.
Adults have well-developed cognitive skills and abilities for abstract thinking, therefore they
prefer rules and schemes that offer a systematic view of the language. On the other hand, adults
who start learning a foreign language rather late in life may find he task quite difficult, partly
because it is much harder to acquire a new linguistic system at an adult age and partly because they
are primarily preoccupied with their professional life and are rather tired after a day’s hard work.
They also need to feel respected and in charge.
That is why, adul learners of English need either a very strong motivation to learn or very
enjoyable activities.
The students’ linguistic proficiency ha a great bearing on the material selected and on the
teaching strategy the educator decides to employ. Beginners, who need to acquire basic language
skills, require simple texts and extensive drilling. With intermediate students, texts must be more
complex and the activities must enable the teacher to guide the students gently but firmly towards
free production and independent work. Advanced learners should be exposed to a wide range of
authentic material produced by native speakers and activities must develop their analytic spirit and
encourage their creativity.
The learners’ knowledge of the language and their language learning background affect the
time spent on different activities, the amount of new language introduced, the types of activities.
The teacher must make sure that the students are familiar with certain learning techniques and
his/her expectations coincide with the students’ abilities. Things that are too difficult or nt clearly
perceived may confuse or alienate them.

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 Learning style is an individual's natural or habitual pattern of acquiring and processing
information in learning situations. A core concept is that individuals differ in how they learn. The
idea of individualized learning styles originated in the 1970s, and has greatly influenced education.
Proponents of the use of learning styles in education recommend that teachers assess the
learning styles of their students and adapt their classroom methods to best fit each student's learning
style. Although there is ample evidence for differences in individual thinking and ways of
processing various types of information, few studies have reliably tested the validity of using
learning styles in education.
 Critics say there is no evidence that identifying an individual student's learning style
produces better outcomes. There is evidence of empirical and pedagogical problems related to the
use of learning tasks to "correspond to differences in a one-to-one fashion".
 Well-designed studies contradict the widespread "meshing hypothesis", that a student will
learn best if taught in a method deemed appropriate for the student's learning style.
The students’ personalities and their learning styles also affect the teacher’s strategic
choices. Educatioalists generally agree that there are four major learning styles:
 visual – learning through seeing;
 auditory – learning through hearing;
 kinesthetic – learning through moving;
 tactile – learning through touching.
Most learners have a naural tendency towards one or another of these learning styles. Thus:
 Visual learners imprint things into memory with the help of visual cues, they
remember information by recalling how it was set on the page, they recognize words
by sight. Such learners benefit from any visual input they might get: pictures, wall
displays, posters, flash cards, graphic organizers, videotapes. If the visual cues are
accurate, visual learners are likely to show a lot of progress and learn quickly.
 Auditory learners need to hear things to trigger the right response, they rely on
auditory cues as memory aids. Such learners prefer audio tapes, verbal instructions
and explanations, dialogues and discussions. To auditory learners pair and group
work are beneficial. Songs, memorization drills are useful techniques.
 Kinesthetic learners use movement as memory aid. They are dynamic and need to
experience things directly, therefore they learn best when physically involved in a
certain activity. With such students, the teacher should use demonstration and
dynamic activities: competitions, board games, role-plays.
 Tactile learners recall the information by associating it with a sensation of touch,
they need to „feel” what happens, therefore they rely on demonstration, writing or
drawing as memory aids. Tactile learners remember things more easily if they can
do something with their hands while reading or listening to a text, fill in a grid, label
a diagram.
A preoccupation with learner personalities and styles has been a major factor in psycholinguistic
research. Are there different kinds of learner? Are there different kinds of behavior in a group? How
can we tailor our teaching to match the personalities in front of us and ensure their performance?
Using multiple learning styles and “multiple intelligences” for learning is a relatively new approach.
This approach is one that educators have only recently started to recognize.
Traditional higher technical schooling used (and continues to use) mainly linguistic and logical
teaching methods. It also uses a limited range of learning and teaching techniques.
Our higher technical education systems still rely on classroom and book-based teaching,
much repetition, and pressured exams for reinforcement and review.
Many people recognize that each person prefers different learning styles and techniques.
Learning styles group common ways that people learn. Everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some
people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of the other styles.
Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix.
(Harmer, 2007).

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 Students preferentially take in and process information in different ways: by seeing and hearing,
reflecting and acting, reasoning logically and intuitively, analyzing and visualizing.
Teaching methods also vary. Some instructors lecture, others demonstrate or lead students to
self-discovery; some focus on principles and others on applications; some emphasize memory and
others understanding.
When mismatches exist between learning styles of most students in a class and the teaching style
of the professor, the students may become bored and inattentive in class, do poorly on tests, get
discouraged about the courses, the curriculum, and themselves, and in some cases change to other
curricula or drop out of school.
Professors, confronted by low test grades, unresponsive or hostile classes, poor attendance and
dropouts, know something is not working. They may become overly critical of their students
(making things even worse) or begin to wonder if they are in the right profession. Most seriously,
society loses potentially excellent professionals.
To overcome these problems, professors should strive for a balance of instructional methods (as
opposed to trying to teach each student exclusively according to his or her preferences.)
If the balance is achieved, all students will be taught partly in a manner they prefer, which leads
to an increased comfort level and willingness to learn, and partly in a less preferred manner, which
provides practice and feedback in ways of thinking and solving problems which they may not
initially be comfortable with but which they will have to use to be fully effective professionals.

THE ROLE OF LEARNING STYLES IN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE PERFORMANCE

Awareness of students’ preferred learning style may help language teachers identify,
develop and improve teaching strategies (such as forms of interaction) likely to bring about
students’ excellent performance.
If you are an analytic learner, you are unlikely to feel comfortable doing a language activity which
involves a lot of unstructured, spontaneous speech without any concern for grammatical
correctness. Reflective learners may not fare so well in purely conversational classes and auditory
learners will probably want to avoid a course with a heavy reading requirement.
The new framework of best practices must approach the question of learning styles and modes of
interactions in terms of quality assurance in order to help students by designing instructions that
meet the needs of individuals with different stylistic preferences and by teaching students how to
improve their language competences and achieve performance.
Researches have shown that, in the case of business students, for all the learning styles preferred to
be developed and properly addressed by the language teacher, the working group should comprise
of no more than 10 to15 students in order for them to achieve best language performance.
What is more, the most appropriate and efficient mode of interaction for these learning styles
remains the group work. Those who prefer the visual learning style have opted for a student-
professor activity which involves direct eye contact with the interlocutor.
The business students are mainly auditory and analytic learners who have the ability to retain
and learn new information through the process of listening and discussing.
They do not necessarily take notes in the classroom but prefer to engage in discussions about a topic
and enjoy asking questions as part of the learning process. Such a learning style helps the learner
interpret meaning and solidify understanding through the form of active listening.
The preference for the analytic style proves the professional background of business students.
Hence, the language teacher must create opportunities for them to integrate information into
theoretical models; to solve problems by developing their critical thinking.
It is worth mentioning that individual classroom activities, projects and assignments are not an ideal
way for an auditory learner to learn or retain information as they may become bored and distracted

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from the new material being taught. Hence, the focus must lie on group activities.
In the case of the analytic learner, though, more independent work would be recommendable. Still,
they prefer, on one hand, group work since it provides more intellectual stimulation, involving
problem-solving, reading and research – activities widely dealt with in engineering or any other
technical field. On the other hand, they also prefer a student-professor interaction (shown in light
blue in table no. 3), an educational environment in which the language teacher’s intellectual ability
and command of the subject matter is perceived as superior and worthy of respect.
The preference for group work justifies and sustains the development of linguistic competences
based on attitudes and patterns of behaviour typical of communication: interrelationship,
collaboration.
Likewise, such a mode of interaction develops team spirit and team work as characteristics of
contemporary professional life and develops creative innovative thinking that future graduates from
higher technical education must prove. Learning English through collaboration not only encourages
language development but also motivates students to use language socially.
It proves useful for the language teacher to know which works best for his/her students, very often a
combination of several methods will lead to performance.
All in all, awareness of the business students’ preferred learning style could assist the language
teacher in identifying the best practices likely to ensure the students’ language performance – a
much demanded prerequisite for professional mobility and better social insertion.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE PERFORMANCE

Whether you are studying a language independently, attending classes, picking it up during
your travels or a mixture of these, success with languages may be ensured by the numerous learning
resources or sources of information that our multicultural, globalized and informational world
provides. Learning languages at any level and in whatever form of education, should command a
wide use of various resources such as the Internet, Mass-media, manuals and language e-books,
dictionaries, language speaking friends, family members and teachers etc. Thus, language
performance may be ensured by continuous and efficient exposure to language by means of any
learning resources available.
What is perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of quality and performance in education and
higher technical education respectively, is that it pervades each element of the activities undertaken
in the didactic process and the wide range of benefits it provides to both business students and the
wider society.
Learning a new language, for instance English, as a Romanian business student or technical high
school pupil, anticipating admission to an economic university, may be an exciting prospect which
opens windows on other cultures, their people, how they live and think, the history of these
countries, their technological advances, all this will help develop social and communication skills,
so much needed nowadays on an international competitive labor market.
As a consequence, a resource-based learning approach may prove efficient as it gives prominence to
the role of resources in the teaching and learning process of languages. It is the design of any
teaching method - and of language teaching methods in particular – that will include views on the
role of teachers, of learners and of materials (Richards & Rodgers, 1986). Resource-based learning
is concerned with:
1. the principles which guide the selection and the organisation of the content of learning
materials;
2. the use of such materials, which includes:
• the nature of the activities which language learners will be carrying out;
• whether business students will be working individually or in groups;
• the nature of the support students can get;
• the ways in which learning will be assessed.

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3. technical and professional issues, which include the design and production of materials and
the appropriate use of the various media.
Resource-based learning, therefore, conceptualizes learning as a process which foregrounds the
importance of the resources available to learners and in so doing presupposes that the interaction
between the learner(s) and the resources (which may include human resources) is the main
structuring device of the learning situation. This raises the issue of the pedagogical relationship
between the learner and teacher and of the nature of the teacher's role in particular.
The recent history of resource-based learning in relation to modern language teaching/learning
brings forth the history of a practice which was the response of these sectors to the possibilities
offered by technology to resolve problems of resourcing created by the expansion of higher
education into a mass educational system generally and more open and distance-learning systems in
particular.
Students who use a wide range of resources in various mediums for learning have the
opportunity to approach a theme, issue or topic of study in ways which allow for a range of learning
styles and access to the theme or topic via cognitive or affective appeals. When students engage in
their own problem solving or research process with appropriate teacher support and supervision,
they are more likely to take responsibility for their learning and to retain the information they gather
for themselves. (S.Brown & B. Smith, 1996, pp. 90).
In a resource-based learning environment, teachers encourage students to use a variety of resources
to seek information and solve problems. Students and teachers make decisions about appropriate
sources of information and tools for learning and how to access them.

They use:
• a range of print resources such as text books, novels, magazines, newspapers, World Wide
Web texts and library reference works;
• multimedia technologies such as videotape and videodisk, CD-ROM, software tools and
simulation/modeling tools;
• primary documents such as historic records, original studies and reports, legislative
documents;
• computer networking and telecommunications for both data access and participation in
learning communities;
• their school library/resource/media centers to locate and use many of these resources;
• their local communities for the rich supply of materials, human resources and information
provided by businesses, social service agencies, citizens' groups, teachers' centers, public and
university libraries, cultural federations, theatres and cinemas;
• the mass media - cable and network television, radio broadcasts, and other national and
international print and electronic services.
All in all, whatever a business student’s reason for learning a language, the learning
resources play a crucial role in their language performance. They should consider what additional
resources they need to help them in their study of the target language. They may be able to use
books they already own but if these books are dated, they will need to buy some more recently
published. A pocket dictionary or a phrase book can prove a real help during a trip abroad but is
unlikely to be adequate if they decide to engage in a more serious study of the language. A business
student may also need a grammar book which explains the new structures they will come across in
more detail. Moreover, many business students may use long business trips as an opportunity for
studying. In this case, recent gadgets available on the market such as CD players, iPhones and
iPads, may prove useful.
Furthermore, it is claimed that classroom-based study should be supplemented by more independent
learning at home. It is not enough to rely solely on the time you spend listening to or practicing
language in a classroom. Successful progress in classroom-based study should be complemented by
periods of independent study between classes, sustained by various learning resources. Exposure to
language needs to be frequent and one way of ensuring this is by using various video and audio

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equipment, such as CD players.
Although they are a little artificial, it is nevertheless a good way to practice structures and
expressions. (S. Hurd &L. Murphy, 2005, pp. 25)
Computers, although not strictly necessary to study a language effectively, are also a useful
tool. A business student may decide to invest in one to access material on the Internet, liaise and
converse with friends and counterparts from other countries or enhance the presentation of the
written work. Resource-based learning is student-centred. Students are actively involved and more
accountable for their own learning. Classroom teachers and their partners in education need to do
much more than simply ensure access or provide the wide range of appropriate learning resources;
they must ensure that the students' learning environment is properly structured, so that learning will
occur.
Skills for accessing, evaluating, using, and applying information are carefully targeted, ensuring
that students meet the outcomes for information literacy identified in the approved curriculum and
instructional programs. Learning is facilitated by teachers who understand their critical role, always
promoting student involvement and interaction. With this increased emphasis on the development
of skills and strategies, (and on critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and creativity,)
our students will be better prepared to become lifelong learners, capable of independent and
informed decision-making.
As information technology determines an increasing number of transactions in everyday life,
resource-based learning contributes to the development of basic information literacy skills and can
be construed as a practical response to the need to provide for mass language education and lifelong
language learning for increasing numbers. It provides a mediating situation characterised by the fact
that students are actively engaged in seeking information from a range of resources to resolve
problems either individually or in collaboration with other students.
It is in line with the above aspects that it deems fit to identify the learning resources underlying an
engineering student’s language performance and the quality of the didactic process in Romanian
technical higher education. In line with an increasingly globalized and technologically developed
world, any educational system should focus on teaching and learning performance as well as on the
quality services provided in order to ensure students’ professional mobility on the European and
international labor market, European and international recognition of their competences and
diplomas, lifelong teacher training and motivation, updating and upgrading of the teaching and
learning process.
By way of conclusion, neither “family” nor “close “friends” is a useful reliable information
source and, thus, will not foster language acquisition or performance.
On the contrary, in line with modern recent technological advances and modern language didactics
and pedagogy, the “Internet” and “Mass–media” remain trustworthy, widely used learning
resources, most likely to sustain and ensure language performance and the quality of the didactic
process. “Dictionaries” and the “English teacher” rank second which prove the subjects’ confidence
in formal education resources and the teacher’s significant role in the learning process.
In today's rapidly changing society, students must have the opportunity to develop the ability to
retrieve, assess, and apply information. As we equip students with these skills we will help ensure
that learning does not end with the completion of formal education, but continues throughout life.
The Internet no longer merely passes over information, it is also a depository of knowledge,
materials, on-line language study programs, accessible for all types of learners, irrespective of their
age or level of knowledge. On the other hand, Mass-media help students meet their needs since it
provide a wide range of information and news about current social, political, economic or scientific
issues. Hence, according to the new education paradigm, Mass-media can be viewed as part of the
cultural, social, technical and scientific learning process, meant to ensure the acquiring and
development of linguistic/communication competences. (G.Bunescu & E. Negreanu, 2005, pp 10)
Both modern sources of information/learning resources, the Internet and Mass-media rank on top of
both target groups’ preferences for the advantages they offer: time saving in conducting technical
and scientific researches; access to dictionaries, publications, courses and grammar /lexical

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exercises, various on-line technical and scientific materials, the opportunity to converse and liaise
with foreign students and continuous exposure to language.

THE STUDENTS’ NEEDS

The language course brings together the objectives of the curriculum and the needs of the
students. The general education system aims to endow students with general speaking, listening,
reading and writing skills, with every day vocabulary and basic communicative skills. These skills
must help them to pass exams, as well as to function well in society after leaving the school system.
However, the students’ needs are complex and varied and the teacher must understand these needs
if s/he wants to provide them with the kind of material and types of activities which that specific
group of students needs most.
The general learning process and the teacher-student relationship trigger a number of needs,
namely:
• the need to get informed: the entire learning process is centered around the acquisition of
information and self-improvement;
• the need to be motivated: the learner should be motivated and stimulated rather than made to
learn, to achieve this, the learning material and activities should be interesting and enjoyable and
the classroom atmosphere relaxed;
• the need to be actively involved in the learning process: with communicative and post-
communicative teaching, the learner is viewed as an active participant in the process, who controls
his/her own learning;
• the need to practice for habit formation and skill development: knowledge of a foreign
language relies on linguistic habits and skills;
• the need to communicate and negotiate meaning: the learner is a future member of society,
who needs to know the language so as to be able to use it later on, in the real world, therefore,
classroom activities must offer the students opportunities to cooperate as well as to compete, thus
establishing good relationships with the other members of the social group;
• the need to make an apprenticeship and develop an individual style: the learner needs advice
and trusts the professional status of the teacher, s/he relies on the teacher for directions and to
correct his/her mistakes.
In the absence of homogeneous classes, it becomes quite difficult to determine the students’ needs,
but the teacher cannot truly motivate them to learn unless s/he clearly understands why they want or
need to know the language, what they want to achieve by learning it, and how they can benefit from
the language skills obtained. Knowledge of the specific goals and the general direction of the
learning process is essential to determine the teaching strategies to be employed.
There are also significant differences among students and classes in terms of their language related
needs, depending on the type of class, the stage in the educational program, the students’
preoccupations. It goes without saying that every professional field has its own specific features and
needs. Nevertheless, we must remember that professionals are, first of all, members of society, that,
no matter what one’s profession might be, a large amount of one’s social interactions relies on
ordinary conversation and commonplace topics.

Mentoring and Coaching Skills

Many people, even senior-level executives, have never learned how to be an effective
mentor and coach. Mentoring is not simply answering questions and giving advice; it requires a
unique set of skills and practice. A mentor needs to:

1. Create an open and supportive climate for discussion

Seek to develop trust by encouraging open, two-way communications; this often means sharing
personal experiences or difficult times you went through so that the mentee knows she or he can

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discuss tough issues.
 Respect the mentee's individuality. Your mentee may or may not have a similar style.
 Be patient if your mentee seems unfocused-help her or him focus by presenting and
discussing options.
 Make it clear that you hope to learn from this experience.
2. Demonstrate good listening/follow-up skills
Most of us need to improve our listening skills; we tend to talk more than we listen and to interrupt
people more than we should.
 Ask open-ended questions to get your mentee to open up as much as possible (Examples:
How did you decide to major in communication sciences and disorders? What are your longer term
goals?)
 After you have listened fully to a response, ask good follow-up questions to demonstrate
genuine interest. (Example: After you've completed your internship, what do you hope to do next to
move to the next step?)
 If you do not understand something, try to paraphrase it to be sure you understand what the
person is trying to say. (Example: So what I think you're saying is that you want to broaden your
knowledge of opportunities…)
 After you've discussed an issue in one conversation, be sure to ask how the situation has
progressed next time you write an e-mail or talk.
 Don't assume that what worked for you will work for your mentee; rather, try saying
something like, "My experience was.…What do you think will work for you?"
3. Provide constructive feedback and advice.
It is important for you to match the degree of openness of your mentee. Do not give negative
feedback until you have built a strong relationship and the mentee is ready to receive it.
 Give a balance of both praise and constructive feedback on how to improve.
 Always focus on behaviors that can be changed (not personality traits!) and behaviors that
are appropriate within the organization/field/environment.
 Let your mentee set the initial goals and then give feedback and suggestions.
 Help your mentee make goals specific and realistic with target dates; monitor progress, help
her him or her adapt plans when necessary, and provide ongoing encouragement.
 Do problem solving with your mentee when issues/barriers arise. Do not feel that you have
to have all the answers but rather help your mentee think through strategies and options.
 Consider and discuss additional ways for your mentee to get advice and information he or
she needs. Call on other mentors/colleagues when appropriate and try to help your mentee widen his
or her network.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING/LEARNING

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort. There must be the will to
produce a superior thing”. (John Ruskin, English critic, essayist, & reformer 1819 - 1900)

It is worth mentioning that Higher Education has been deprived of quality models, knowledge and
expertise required by sustainable improvement in the study of foreign languages in the light of
TQM and quality assurance system. In order to align with the provisions set by the Bologna
Convention, the methodology, the process of foreign languages teaching, learning and evaluation
within Higher Education must be redefined.
The current economic and social context characterized by globalization and fierce professional
competition, triggers engineering students’ job mobility, their rapid and efficient insertion into the
job market. Hence, in order to cope with the new social, cultural and economic challenges,
engineering students must prove not only technical but also communicative Competences. Since
communication has always been the solid basis of both personal and professional relationships,

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nowadays, it requires a wide range of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening,
observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing and evaluating.

Provided communication fosters collaboration and cooperation, swapping of innovative ideas and
rich exchange of knowledge and know-how among professionals in different fields of activity, then,
acquiring communicative competences by engineering students, sets as a major educational
objective, the need to assure quality in the study of foreign languages. Consequently, the new
methodology must focus on interactive learning and adapt to different learning styles. Furthermore,
assuring quality in the study of foreign languages becomes a major responsibility undertaken at all
levels: European, national and local and by all educational providers, including Technical
Universities. Within the European context, the process of improvement and assurance in the study
of foreign languages was outlined in several documents.
One of these documents is the “Common European Framework of References for Languages”
(2004) which serves as a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages
across Europe. It provides a useful method of assessing and teaching which applies to all languages
in Europe. The document sets up systems to validate language competences and the six reference
levels have become widely accepted as the European standard for grading an individual’s language
proficiency.
As a consequence, the document will provide an easy efficient means for the prospective language
practitioners to set learning, teaching and evaluation objectives, to define levels of language
knowledge according to learners’ own styles of acquiring linguistic competences. In addition,
CEFRL exhaustively describes the learner’s cultural background, his/her language abilities (what
the learner can do with the language), focused on the four linguistic competences: listening and
reading comprehension, writing and speaking.
Likewise, CEFRL provides a self-assessment form for learners to correctly define their level of
linguistic expertise based on the proposed language descriptors for each level. Another relevant
document that sets the policy on the structuring of the learning, teaching and evaluation process is
the European Language Portfolio –ELP (2001).
As part of the “Common European Framework for Language Learning” and in order to make
lifelong language learning more meaningful, the Council of Europe has proposed that learners
should be able to build up a personal languages portfolio. The document also facilitates pan-
European market. The Passport section provides an overview of the individual's proficiency in
different languages at a given point in time; the overview is defined in terms of skills and the
common reference levels in the Common European Framework.
It also records formal qualifications and describes language competencies and significant language
and intercultural learning experiences, includes information on partial and specific competence and
allows for self-assessment, teacher assessment and assessment by educational institutions and
examinations boards. What is more, it requires that information entered in the Passport states on
what basis, when and by whom the assessment was carried out.
The European Language Portfolio seeks to promote the aims of the Council of Europe that include
the development of democratic citizenship in Europe by:
1. deepening mutual understanding and tolerance among citizens in Europe;
2. fostering linguistic and cultural diversity;
3. promoting lifelong language and intercultural learning through the development of learner
responsibility and learner autonomy;
4. clear and transparent description of competences and qualifications to facilitate coherence in
language provision and mobility in Europe.
Along with the aforementioned documents, The Council of Europe has introduced another key item
in the range of guidance supports to be used by learners in Europe. The Europass Portfolio (2004)
includes:
• The Europass Language Portfolio (ELP);
• The Europass CV;

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• The Europass Certificate Supplement (ECS);
• The Europass Diploma Supplement (EDS);
• Europass Mobility.
ELP allows you to describe your language skills essential for learning and working in Europe
whereas the Europass CV enables you to make your skills and qualifications transparent for any
prospective European and national employers.
ECS is delivered to people who hold a vocational education and training certificate and it adds
information to that which is already included in the official certificate, making it more easily
understood, especially by employers or institutions outside the issuing country. The Europass
Diploma Supplement is issued to graduates of higher education institutions along with their degree
or diploma. It helps to ensure that higher education qualifications are more easily understood,
especially outside the country where they were awarded. EDS was developed jointly with UNESCO
and the Council of Europe.
The Europass Mobility is a record of any organized period of time (called Europass Mobility
experience) that a person spends in another European country for the purpose of learning or training
and it includes:
• a work placement in a company;
• an academic term as part of an exchange program;
• a voluntary placement in an NGO.
The Europass Mobility is intended for any person undergoing a mobility experience in an European
country, whatever their age or level of education.
The Europass Mobility is completed by the home and host organizations involved in the mobility
project in a language agreed between both organizations and the person concerned.
To sum up, all these documents have shaped the European policy on the study of foreign languages,
emphasizing the importance of acquiring and certifying linguistic competences in order to keep up
with the new economic and social requirements to be met by engineering graduates as well.
The effectiveness of quality assurance has been embedded in the statement of Ministers in the
Berlin statement according to which and consistent with the principles of institutional autonomy
“the primary responsibility for quality assurance in higher education lies with each institution itself
and this provides the basis for real accountability of the academic system within the national quality
framework”. The international quality research glossary coins quality assurance in higher education
as a “process of establishing stakeholder confidence that provision (input, process, outcomes)
fulfills expectations or measures up to threshold minimum requirements”.
Quality assurance is defined as all the actions and activities undertaken by Technical Higher
Universities to ensure that the quality of their programs and awards meets their own specifications
and those of any other bodies legitimately empowered to make specifications.
Hence, the QA activities must be applied to foreign languages study programs so that they may
ensure that the processes and procedures for design and approval of study programs are leading to
the development of teaching and learning experiences that are of the highest possible academic
standards.
Likewise, designing new study programs or modifying existing degree program structures and
content may ensure that student, teacher and employer expectations are met in a measurable and
accountable way.
Moreover, periodic evaluation of existing degree program structures and content may identify areas
where further improvements in processes and procedures could be made and incorporate them into
the quality assurance framework.
It is worth mentioning that throughout the 1990’s, the teaching process revealed the traditional
paradigm in the study of foreign languages. At that time, the quality paradigm in the study of
foreign languages (English, in particular) focused on the grammar –translation/traditional as well as
audio-lingual methodology (based on dialogues, memorization and “drill” exercises).
The new quality paradigm in the study of foreign languages has shifted from the traditional way of
teaching to a new modern communicational one.

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As a consequence, researches on the quality assurance process in the study of foreign languages in
Technical Higher Education should take in view the following variables:
• students (their input language knowledge when entering Higher Education System, motivation,
previous linguistic experience, styles of learning);
• professors’ experience, motivation, competences, teaching styles;
• stakeholders (their needs, motivation);
• institutional educational amenities;
• material resources (customized teaching materials, language labs);
• Curriculum, admittance procedure;
• Output variables (students’ level of training and their corresponding competences, professions).
In accordance with standard ISO 9001/2006, TQM represents a management system focused on
quality, based on the organization cultural philosophy meant to produce and assure quality so that it
may meet the beneficiaries’ needs and expectations. Hence, we may trace the underlining principles
required by the implementation of a TQM system in the study of foreign languages within
Technical Higher Education:
• Client-centered policy (student-centered, beneficiary-centered policy);
• System-integrated teaching/ management activities;
• Didactic/administrative personnel’s pro-active attitudes towards quality assurance in teaching
learning-evaluation process. 61% of the interviewees admitted that a quality assurance system may
be guaranteed if:
• A placement test is taken at the beginning of the studies to determine their corresponding level of
linguistic competence.
In conclusion, quality assurance in the study of foreign languages within Technical Higher
Education may result from reflexively approaching the didactic process by constantly addressing
some questions about the target language, motivation and learning methods:
• What/Why/How do we learn/teach/evaluate?
• How much progress has been acquired in learning/teaching/evaluating?
• What remains to be done next? A competitive Technical Higher Education System is required that
uses modern methods, equipment and material resources that meet all the stakeholders’ needs and
fulfills their high standard expectations.
It is expected further researches to reveal the need to re-organize the Foreign Languages
Curriculum, adapted to a four-academic year studies. In addition, the introduction of new policies
and didactic methods may lead to linguistic performance and certify competences so as to meet the
job market requirements.
To conclude with, the implementation of a quality assurance system on the study of foreign
languages within Technical Higher Education will facilitate professional dynamics among
engineering students who intend to work for multinationals in or outside Romania.

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 LANGUAGE IN USE

GETTING THE WORK DONE

One way of describing the function of the office is the administrative back-up for the or
ganisation. Everyone involved in a business operation has to refer to the office from time to time.
Even in the first few minutes of the day the office comes alive. The salesperson telephones from a
customer's shop to find out some details about prices, or discounts, or delivery dates. A customer
telephones to find what has happened to the order he sent in last week. The short-listed applicants
for the new Quality Control Manager's job turn up for their interviews with the Personnel
Manager. The Company Secretary arrives earlier than usual to ask whether the Agenda for the
Board of Directors' Meeting later in the day has been typed yet. And the office junior brings in
the morning mail which he has opened and sorted, and which now needs to be distributed to the
various managers. There is a great variety of tasks undertaken in the office and the staff engaged
in these operations need to know a great deal about the business. For example, when customers
visit the office, or telephone, they naturally expect the staff who deal with them to be
knowledgeable. They expect their enquiries to be dealt with courteously, promptly and
competently. Receptionists may occupy a comparatively lowly position in the organisational
hierarchy, but they create the vital first impression which often determines whether we get the
order or not.
The importance of the office is obvious. It is the hub of the communications network for
the whole organisation. Technology affects the whole of business, not least the office, and the
concept of a completely paperless office is beginning to emerge. Already on many executives'
desks there are keyboards or-other devices to communicate with the computers which control all
the electronic devices in the office. Electronic files are replacing conventional filing cabinets, and
intelligent facsimile and copying machines are appearing together with a variety of printers able
to print anything from letter-quality characters to four-colour diagrams. Telephone systems are
now incorporating a host of facilities from an answering service to video-conferencing.
Video-conferencing involves executives separated by hundreds and perhaps thousands
of miles, discussing problems face-to-face on television screens. This in turn conjures up the
notion of clerical workers performing many of their daily tasks away from the office, so that
offices of the future are not only going to be paperless. They are also going to occupy less space,
require fewer staff and allow much shorter working weeks.
These changes will affect a large number of people. The introduction of robotic
production lines in factories and new technology in offices will change the way men and women
work, and the roles they expect to fulfill. There have already been great changes in the traditional
patterns of employment due to new technology, and this seems likely to continue, with implications
for both sexes.
Whatever happens as a result of the new technologies, the role of the office will be changed rather
than diminished. Most office workers of the future will find themselves seated at multi-function
work-stations able to exercise control over routine purchases, sales, market research, production
runs and accounting procedures. In other words, we can expect a centralisation of decision-
making powers, with the office becoming even more emphatically the very hub of the business.

1
I. Having read the above passage, answer these questions in your own words:

a) How would you describe the function of the office?

b) To what extent do you think office work is boring?
c) Why do you think the receptionist has a responsible job?
d) What do you understand by the term a paperless office?
e) What sorts of equipment would you expect to find on the desk of an executive in a
modern office?
f) Why do office workers need to know a lot about business operations?
g) What would be the effect if office workers were inefficient or poorly motivated?
h) What is Video-conferencing?
i) What social implications do you see resulting from the impending changes?

II. Prepositions and verbs

Add an appropriate preposition to each of the following sentences where indicated:

a) No matter whether the filing system is technologically advanced or based

............... traditional methods, records will normally be sorted and stored
...............alphabetical order.
b) Material is often microfilmed or fed....…….the memory of a computer for
future reference.
c) ..............…the data to be stored will be incoming letters, copies of outgoing
letters and a variety of internal memoranda.
d) Stocks need to be available.......……..the right quantities,..…………..the
right form and...................the right time.
e) It does not matter...........of the juniors collects the mail......…………..the
mornings.
f) It does not matter ............….. takes the mail .......………. the post office
.....................end of the day.

Add an appropriate verb to each of the following sentences where indicated:

a) In designing a filing system it is necessary to…………….. the costs of keeping

the records.
b) A filing system should allow the user to…………. information with certainty
and without unacceptable delay.
c) When deciding how to file the less obvious items it is useful to………..
the telephone directory to see how they have……………..with the problem.
d) Letters need to be..........for errors before they.........….the office.
e) The purpose of a form such as an invoice is to …………..information in a simple, concise
and uniform manner.
f) Forms need to be...........….from time to time to......…………….whether any
modifications are required.

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III. Summarising

Your first task

Summarise the following dialogue as briefly as possible without losing any of the essential
meaning.

Robert joined Wilkins and Deans, a firm of city stockbrokers just yesterday. This is his first
day in the office. He always wondered what it would be like and now he is beginning to find
out. Across the room there is the executive to whom he has been assigned, Jeremy Deans. He
is one of the junior partners. He is talking on the telephone to a very important client.
JEREMY: I think you were wise to buy the bonds, Sir George. They've gone up
seventeen points since September. If you want to sell I'd advise you to do so soon... ah yes,
the Midland stock ... I'm sure we wrote off again for the certificate ... I'll just get the file (he
puts his hand over the mouthpiece and calls to Robert)... Fetch me Sir George Donnington-
Smythe's file.
Robert looks frantically through the Ds: there is nothing between the file of Alexander Doe
and R L Dunne and Co. In the background Jeremy's voice is becoming increasingly agitated.
JEREMY: It's most unusual. Their registrar's department is usually very efficient.
My secretary's fetching the file now ... (he calls to Robert agitatedly) Donnington -
Donnington-Smythe - look under the Ds!
ROBERT: I am doing. It's not here. (He tries the Ss - perhaps someone has filed it
under Smythe.)
JEREMY: I won't keep you waiting, Sir George ... I'll ring you back when I can
get my hands on the file. I've got a new secretary and I'm afraid he's not up to the usual
Wilkins and Deans standards ...
Robert is furious too because he can hardly be expected to conjure the file up out of thin air.
Jeremy leaves him to keep looking for the missing file and almost as soon as he leaves the room a
cheerful woman appears.
WOMAN: Hello, you must be the new assistant. I'm Lynda Mackay. How are you enjoying
your first day? Oh by the way I've just been borrowing the Donnington-Smythe file. I'd better put it
back before someone needs it.
Your second task
Draft a memorandum such as Jeremy Deans might address to all clerical staff to ensure that
this sort of situation does not arise again.

IV. Complete the sentences

Complete the following sentences using your own words:

1. Office equipment and machinery often

2. A letter with finger marks on it
3. We have been very patient in allowing
4. If office workers are given comfortable seating
5. If you quote the lowest possible price
6. When you plan to buy new office desks
7. A monthly statement of account
8. The invoice is a very important document because
9. Incoming registered letters should be entered in a special register and a signature ob-

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tained from
10. In some offices all incoming letters are opened before
11. Letters marked 'Personal' or "Private" should not be opened
12. When an incoming letter is received, check that all enclosures are included, then

V. Vocabulary

reminder catalogue retrieval archives summary

excess minutes colleague signatory emphasis
agenda stereotype complaint feedback receptionist
docket tidiness document diary acknowledgement
recipient supervisor impolite query telecommunication

Match the words above with the dictionary definitions which follow:

1. Stress laid on words, facts or ideas, to indicate the relative importance attached to them.
2. Formal written evidence of a transaction, such as the title deeds to a property.
3. A form of receipt.
4. A person employed by an organisation to receive clients, find out what they want, and
generally cater for them until they are taken over by someone else.
5. A response to a communication which indicates how effective it has been
6. A habit of arranging work in a neat manner
7. A person who receives goods, information or services
8. Lacking in common courtesy
9. An expression of doubt or disagreement.
10. The place in which a business stores those records which no longer need to be immediately
accessible.
11. The recovery of stored data.
12. A list of goods usually in alphabetical order or under headings, for easy reference.
13. Someone with whom you enjoy a professional relationship in your workplace.
14. Information transmitted over long distances by cable, telegraph, telephone or radio.
15. The expression of a grievance
16. The person who has added his or her name to a letter or document
17. A replica, reproduction or facsimile.
18. A brief account which dispenses with details.
19. Items of business to be conducted at a meeting.
20. The essence of the discussion at a meeting, formally recorded.
21. A book used by executives for planning future activities.
22. A voucher recording payment for work done, customs duties paid etc
23. A person in charge of a group of workers.
24. Beyond the stated limits.
25. Something to prod the memory.

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 MANAGEMENT TEAM

The board of directors of a limited company is primarily responsible for determining the
objectives and policies of a business. It is the directors who determine the direction the business is
going to take. They will need to ensure that the necessary funds are available and will appoint key
staff to whom they will delegate the authority to run the business on a day-to-day basis. They will
need to design an effective organisation structure so that there is both a chain of command linking
one level of management with another and an effective communication network so that
instructions can be passed downward and information passed upward.
The directors are appointed by the shareholders, normally at the company's annual general
meeting, at which the chairman of the board will be expected to account for their stewardship
during the previous year. The company's accounts will be presented to the shareholders at that time
so they can judge for themselves whether or not the board has been successful.
Direction in business is like strategy in a war situation. The strategic decisions
determine the areas in which the company's resources will be employed. Above all it
involves planning to ensure that the business first survives and then flourishes. Strategic
decisions, made by the board of directors, are concerned with the disposition of resources.
These contrast with the tactical decisions by means of which the senior executives
(appointed by the directors) carry out in detail the plans conceived or approved by the board
of directors.
The fact that boards of directors tend to meet rather infrequently, say once a week,
means that part-time directors can be elected to the board. Since they will not have
departmental responsibilities within the company they are often described as non-executive
directors. There are arguments in favour of such directors though they may lack a detailed
knowledge of the company's activities. They may bring expertise to the board. Some are
lawyers, or experts in tax affairs. Some represent influential groups of shareholders whose
support is necessary if the board is going to carry out its plans, while others are directors in a
number of companies and are used to interlock boards within a group of companies. For
example, a holding (or parent) company may appoint a director from their board to serve on
the board of a subsidiary company, with a view to keeping a watching brief on the directors'
activities.

I. Your task
Having read the above passage, answer these questions in your own words.

a) How would you describe the role of the board of directors?

b) And the role of the senior executives?
c) What happens at the annual general meeting?
d) What is the difference between a strategic and a tactical decision?
e) What part can non-executive directors play in the proceedings?
f) What objections might be raised against the appointment of non-executive directors?
g) What is meant by an interlocking board of directors?
h) How is it that a board of directors can control a company though they only meet, say,
once a week?

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II. Fill in the blanks
Fill in the blanks in this passage, using words from the list below.
Executive Directors
A modern business enterprise is often a ...... system requiring a lot of which is provided by the
public when they..........................................shares in the company. Since they have the
capital, it is appropriate that they choose the people who are to the company for them, namely
the board of directors. Many of the..............also have executive responsibilities. Thus, marketing
director might be a full director of the board, by the shareholders at the
annual.............meeting like the other directors. Yet he might also be responsible for the day-to-
day..................of the marketing department. Most of his time will be on administrative
matters, organising market research, dealing with and generally ensuring that the
........................sales are maximised. But he will function as a director when the board of
directors meets. The of managing director also the roles of chief executive with
membership of the board and this allows him to act as a vital between the board of
directors and their management team. The managing director is often also chairman of the board
of directors.
Executive directors have the advantage that they are involved with the affairs. If the
board of directors wish to move in a.......................direction the executive directors will know
whether such a.........................................................of action is practicable. For example, the
board might wish to ................................................ their products in a particular market.
The market would be profitable for the company, but the director knows that his team of
salespeople lacks the experience to take advantage of the situation. Or perhaps the board would
like to.......................................................................the advertising expenditure during the
year but the ............................................................. director knows that the company will have to
meet some heavy commitments during the months and it would be better to the campaign.
Perhaps the best board is one which contains executive and non-executive directors. In this way
the board has the................................................of some directors who know the practical
problems.............................................................by the business, while others bring their
own..............of expertise to the boardroom discussions.

link company's actively coming

increase delay sell company's
capital provided run spent
certain mixture brand overseas
combines course coming faced
benefit appointed marketing financial
general advertising complex buy
directors management post appointed

III. Nouns and verbs

Add an appropriate noun or verb from the lists below to each of the following sentences where
indicated:
a) The… …………. of a company have the responsibility to.. .…that the legal requirements
are complied with.
b) The directors of a company must..............a copy of the company's annual
...............to the Registrar of Companies.
c) The directors will ............ decisions by passing resolutions at the
...............meeting.
d) Each of the directors will normally have one vote when a ...………….is……………
e) Resolutions are……………..when there are a majority of....cast in favour.

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 f) Executive directors are those who....….departmental........…………..
g) The directors are...........by the...............at the annual general meeting.
h) The managing director ........................ to the board for the performance of his
management.................................................

Nouns: accounts board responsibilities directors votes shareholders

resolution team
Verbs: make proposed elected answers passed ensure undertake send

IV. Multiple choice

Choose the phrase, A, B, or C, which best completes each sentence, and tick the appropriate
box.

1. When the directors are discussing the problems facing the company they primarily have to
consider
A the interests of the public.
B. their own interests.
C. the interests of the shareholders.
2. When a proposal is made and a vote taken the usual arrangement is that
A each director has one vote no matter how many shares he holds.
B. only the chairperson can vote.
C. the directors with most shares have the most votes.
3. Key members of staff will be chosen by the managing director because
A he is more knowledgeable than the other directors.
B. he has got to answer to the board for their performance.
C. he earns more than the other directors.
4. Non-executive directors will often be appointed because
A they have valuable contacts with potential customers.
B. they have departmental responsibilities.
C. no-one else is available.
5. Directors are usually required to have shares in the company so they can
A be seen to have a personal stake in the business and thus be affected by their
decisions.
B. receive share certificates from the registrar's department.
C. take on administrative duties.
6. Strategic decisions are concerned with
A the details of day-to-day administration.
B. the disposition of the company's resources.
C. the payment of wages.
7. While decision-making powers are commonly delegated to senior executives
A. the directors are not responsible to the shareholders for any mistakes which might
be made.
B. they are not responsible for any errors of judgement.
C. the directors remain responsible to the shareholders for any mistakes which might
be made.
8. The further ahead one plans
A the more troubles there are likely to be.
B. the more one can anticipate problems and thus avoid them.

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 C. the less one can anticipate problems.
9. Tactical decisions are those by means of which the senior executives A
carry out their own plans.
B. destroy the opposition.
C. cany out the plans prescribed by the board of directors.
10. The directors have to initiate long range plans with a view to ensuring
A the achievement of the company's objectives.
B. the maintenance of good relations with the senior executives.
C. compliance with the law.

V. Summarising
Give the following passage an appropriate title and summarise it in about 100 words.
Top management is often under heavy pressure so that immediate problems often ab-
sorb much of their efforts. Time to analyze complex data and project future trends is
likely to be limited. To combat this problem a long-range planning department might
be set up to act in an advisory capacity. The long-term planning team would be
directly responsible to the managing director, but freed from routine duties. Such a
department would be small and made up of top quality generally; it is trained to see
the wood as well as the trees
It is difficult to decide how far ahead to plan. An accurate long-term forecast is most
advantageous to the firm, but the further ahead one looks, the less certain one can be
of the outcomes. To overcome this problem a flexible approach needs to be adopted.
Long-range plans for, say, three to five years might be mapped out, but there will have
to be frequent reviews and re-appraisals so that the direction of the firm can be
changed as and when the need arises.

Firms may want to enter new industries, launch new products, enter new markets
(perhaps overseas) or acquire new subsidiaries. Existing activities may be expanded,
consolidated or cut back. Whatever the requirements, careful planning is called for.
The production side of the business has to be geared to keep pace with changes in the
market. At the same time stocks must be kept at just the right level. If the stock level
is too high, capital is tied up unproductively. If the stock level is too low, an upsurge
in demand will lead to potential customers being turned away, possibly permanently.
There is also a difficult choice to be made between a policy of diversification and
short-term profit maximisation. The risk of failure can be reduced by choosing to
produce a range of goods and services so that if revenue from any of them contracts it
represents only a small part of the whole. A policy of diversification can be equated
broadly to an insurance contract, and there is a price to be paid in both cases. In the
case of insurance the price is in the form of a premium, and in the case of
diversification it is the cost of choosing less profitable but more diversified activities. It
is also possible, indeed likely, that the expertise of top management will fall short of
encompassing all the diverse skills and detailed knowledge called for in such a wide
range of undertakings. The managing director, like the conductor wielding a baton on
his rostrum, has the often unenviable task of orchestrating the diverse activities into a
purposeful concerto.

VI. Complete the sentences

Complete the following sentences using your own words.
1. A non-executive director may
2. Although the directors only meet

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 3. The directors are primarily
4. Long-term plans are necessary because
5. A personnel director
6. A financial director
7. The managing director in a manufacturing company
8. The lines of communication in a large company
9. The shareholders will expect the directors to
10. The directors are elected
11. When the directors choose their senior executives
12. When the directors vote in the boardroom

VII. Vocabulary
shareholders dividends strategic tactical expertise
eminent frequently obligation remuneration delegation
curtness co-ordinate diversify objective take-over
integrity executive enterprise administration conflicting
majority arbitrary initiate compliance generalist

Match the words listed above with the dictionary definitions which follow.

1. To avoid the situation where all the eggs are in one basket.
2. Someone in a position of authority.
3. An undertaking with a view to profit.
4. The quality of being reliable and straightforward.
5. Brevity to the point of rudeness.
6. Payments made to those who own the equity of a company.
7. To bring together effectively.
8. The decision which chooses the direction in which a company is going.
9. The part of a business concerned with day-to-day problems.
10. Opposing or warring.
11. Meeting with the set requirements.
12. Someone who is able to contribute to a business in a variety of its departments.
13. Having a reputation in a particular branch of business, such as law.
14. The sort of decision which is not based on facts.
15. The opposite of rights.
16. Targets or goals.
17. To commence or start.
18. More than half, for example, of votes cast.
19. Part proprietors of a company. Those who collectively own the equity.
20. Specialised skill or knowledge.
21. A description for salary, usually reserved for more senior officers.
22. The act of giving authority to one's subordinates, while retaining the responsibility; for the
outcome.
23. The situation when a majority of a company's voting shares are acquired by out siders.
24. Occurring often.
25. The decision which concerns using the resources which have been allocated to the best
possible effect.

VIII. Insert may or might in the following sentences:

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1. .................................. I borrow your car?
2. I ............................. never see you again.
3. It ................ rain, you’d better take a coat.
4. He said that it ................................ rain.
5. We ...... ........as well stay here till the rain stops.
6. If we wave to him he ................... give us a lift.
7. “............................... I come in?” “Please do.”
8. ...... ...........................all your wishes come true.
9. He ...... ................be on the next train. We ...... as well wait.
10. “...... ....................I give you some advice?” “If you must.”
11. If you said that, he ............................. be very offended.
12. You .......................... be right, but I don’t think you are.
13. We’d better be early; there ...................... be a crowd.
14. “I can’t think what to do.” “.......... I make a suggestion?”
15. I don’t think I’ll succeed but I ...................... as well try.

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SUBJECTS

1. Modern education system vs. Traditional education system (advantages and

disadvantages; differences in learning style, technology, learning environment, etc.)
2. Teaching methods (general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used for
classroom instruction).Teaching theories can be organized into four categories based on two
major parameters: a teacher-centered approach versus a student-centered approach, and
high-tech material use versus low-tech material use.
3. Teachers as role models. Choose an example of how your teacher changed your way of
thinking or acting. Share an interesting story.
4. The invention of the Internet has had negative effects on your civilization. Use specific
reasons and examples to support your opinion.
5. "When people succeed in life, it is because of hard work. Being lucky has nothing to do
with success in life." Do you agree or disagree with the quotation above? Use specific
reasons and examples to explain your position. 
6. Motivating students. While motivating students can be a difficult task, the rewards are
more than worth it. Motivated students are more excited to learn and participate. Simply put:
Teaching a class full of motivated students is enjoyable for teacher and student alike. Some
students are self-motivated, with a natural love of learning. But even with the students who
do not have this natural drive, a great teacher can make learning fun and inspire them to
reach their full potential.
7. Including students with disabilities in general education classrooms. The Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that a continuum of placement options be
available to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The law also requires that: "to the
maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities ... are educated with children who
are not disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children
with disabilities from the regular environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the
disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and
services cannot be attained satisfactorily." IDEA Sec. 612 (5) (B).
8. Principles for good practice in undergraduate education. Encourage contact between
students and faculty. Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students. Encourage active
learning. Give prompt feedback. Emphasize time on task. Communicate high
expectations.Respect diverse talents and ways of learning.
9. Lessons and activity plans. How do I plan a lesson? What are the stages of lesson plan?
What are teaching points in a lesson plan?
10. Assessing intercultural competence. The impact of the Erasmus+ programme: skills and
European identity

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REFERENCES

• ACPART, (2008), National Qualifications Framework in Higher Education (NQFHE) –

Development Concept and Methodology, Bucharest.
• Berdahl R.O., Moodie G.C., Spitzberg J.I., (1991), Quality and Access in Higher Education,
Open University Press, Anglia.
• Blanton L, Conceptions of Beginning Teacher Quality: Model for Conducting Research,
http://www.copse.org.
• Brennan J., de Vries P., Williams R., (1997), Standards and Quality in Higher Education,
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Pennsylvania.
• Bunescu, G., Negreanu, Elisabeta. (2005). Educaţia informală şi mass-media. Bucharest:
Institutul de Ştiinţe ale Educaţiei, available on http://www.ise.ro, viewed on 20.08.2010.
• Brown, Sally &Smith, Brenda. (1996). Resource-based Learning. London: Kogan Page
Limited.
• European Language Portfolio, (2000), Council of Europe.
• Harmer, J. (2007), The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Education Limited.
• Hurd, S and, Murphy, L. (2006), Success with Languages, Routledge, The Open University,
Great Britain.
• Richards, J. C. & T. S. Rodgers (1986). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Vizental, Adriana, (2007). Metodica predării limbii engleze. Strategies of Teaching and
Testing English as a Foreign Language. Bucureşti, Polirom.

SITEOGRAPHY
http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary
http://www.asha.org/students/gatheringplace/coach/
http://www.coachingnetwork.org.uk/resourcecentre/whatarecoachingandmentoring.htm
http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm