ENGLISH IN INTERNATIONAL

BUSINESS

ELECTIVE COURSE
(5 ECTS)

VIŠNJA KABALIN BORENIĆ, Ph.D.

(vkborenic@efzg.hr, office 16, webpage)
 COURSE OBJECTIVES

• develop business communication skills in

English (reading, writing, listening, speaking)
within the following business topics:
personal development, corporate image, supply chain,
managing conflict, risk management, investment, free trade
• develop academic skills:
writing summaries
• advance presentation skills:
researching and presenting a topic
• develop critical thinking
 REQUIRED READING

The Business Advanced

(MacMillan)
Student's Book
+ DVD-ROM

• Profil, Algoritam Maksimirska, VBZ

• selection of texts and exercises:
p. 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22, 23,
32, 33, 34, 44, 45, 70, 71, 84,
85, 96, 97
• DVD-ROM (autonomous work at home)
 CLASS ORGANISATION

• contact teaching: Friday 14.30-16.00

16.15-17.00

• office hours: Thursday 15.00-16.00

• autonomous learning at home:

material on DVD-ROM
 STUDENT OBLIGATIONS

• REGULAR ATTENDANCE (7/10)

• CLASS PARTICIPATION

• RESEARCHING AND PRESENTING A TOPIC (IN TEAMS)

• WRITING SUMMARIES

• TAKING 2 PROGRESS TESTS

• ORAL EXAM
REGULAR ATTENDANCE
• full-time students who do not attend regularly will not be
graded and will not receive the teacher’s signature at the end
of the course

CLASS PARTICIPATION
• individual initiative and contribution is rewarded

PROGRESS TESTS
• reading comprehension, use of new vocabulary, summary
writing

ORAL EXAM
• discussion of topics covered with active use of new vocabulary
WRITING SUMMARIES
• class or home assignment

• summaries of 2 texts covered (coursebook)

• 1 summary - REQUIREMENT FOR EACH

PROGRESS TEST!

PRESENTING A TOPIC

• 4 students - 15 minutes
• topic (extension or illustration
of topics covered in class)
 DATE CLASS PRESENTATION TOPIC
8 NOV INTRODUCTION SUMMARY WRITING ----
US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
PRESENTATIONS TOP TIPS…
15 NOV TOP TIPS cont. WORKPLACE/WORK ETHIC
THE PETER PRINCIPLE
22 NOV JOHARI WINDOW CORPORATE IMAGE

29 NOV CORPORATE IMAGE:THE BIG MAKEOVER OUTSOURCING

CSR

6 DEC SUPPLY CHAIN CSR

13 DEC PT1 SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGING CONFLICT

20 DEC RISK MANAGEMENT MANAGING CONFLICT

10 JAN INVESTMENT RISK MANAGEMENT

17 JAN FREE TRADE INVESTMENT

24 JAN REVISION FREE TRADE

GRADING

• 2 PTs 50%
• Oral exam 15%
• Summaries 10%
• Presentation 10%
• Class participation 15%

TOTAL
91- 100%= 5 80-90%=4 61-79%= 3 51-60%= 2
PRESENTING A TOPIC (handout)

• 3-4 students - 15 minutes

• structure (beginning, body, ending)
• rapport (audience)
• signalling (signposting, phrases)
• topic (purpose, research, selection...)
• venue/time?
Presentations:
sales presentations
talks at conferences
lectures
board meetings...
 DISCUSS your personal experience:
a) Listening to a presentation
b) Giving a presentation
Speaking too long
Speaker-centered / No relationship with the audience
Speaking in a monotone
Lack of preparation / Focus
Projecting the wrong image
Using visual aids ineffectively
Data Dump / Starting with detail
Using inappropriate humor
Offering weak evidence
Not knowing the audience
 Top ten mistakes speakers make
1 Lack of preparation / Focus
2 Speaking too long
3 Not knowing the audience
4 Projecting the wrong image
5 Using visual aids ineffectively
6 Data Dump / Starting with detail
7 Using inappropriate humor
8 Speaking in a monotone
9 Speaker-centered / No relationship with the
audience
10 Offering weak evidence
• http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/pages/resources/2004/11/top_ten_mistakes_speakers_make/
Elements of presentations:
- preparation
- delivery
 Preparation
- purpose WHY?
- audience TO WHOM?
- content WHAT?
- brainstorming, research
- selection
- grouping, sequencing, organisation
- structure HOW?
- (intro, body, conclusion)
- visuals
- REHEARSING
Preparation: content (what?)
• Preparing the main part
1. writing an essay vs. identifying key points
2. reading aloud vs. making notes
3. key points vs. reorganizing
4. notes on cards
5. rehearsing from notes
DANGERS: DANGERS:
Learning by heart Requires discipline,
Formal language self-assurance &
Long sentences & words patience
MORE NATURAL
Presentation structure (how?)
• A rule of thumb is...

... tell your audience

what you are going to say,
say it,
then tell the audience
what you have said.
Structure
• Introduction
– welcome your audience
– introduce your subject
– outline your structure
– give instructions about questions
• Body
– the “real” presentation
• (structure, signalling, summarising)
• Conclusion
– recap, conclude, end, handle questions
 RB, p 51
 Delivery
– enthusiasm
– control
– natural language
(spoken, signposting / signalling)
– rapport with audience (creating rapport)
– visual support
– body language (eye contact, loudness, natural,
relaxed behavior, polite behavior)
• Short words • Long words
• Short sentences • Complex sentences
• Repetition • Coherence
• Synonyms • Condensed language
• Redundancy
• Signalling/Signposting • Paragraphs (topics)
 Spoken vs. Written Language

• Short words • Long words

• Short sentences • Complex sentences
• Repetition • Coherence
• Synonyms • Condensed language
• Redundancy
• Signalling/Signposting • Paragraphs (topics)
Signpost - Tell your audience where they
are!
1 Explain the s_ _ _ t_ _
r _u_c_ t (outline)
u re
2 S _ _ _ _ _ the start of each part:
ignal
Let me begin with... This brings me to...
3 R _ _ _ _ and move on:
e cestablished
Having ap the facts we can move on to..
Use clear v _ _ _ _ _ t _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ signals between
s_ _ _ _ _ _ _”
erbal
4 C_ _ _ _ _ and rephrase: rans it i on
e Let
In other words... c t imeo expand
n s on that...
lari
5 Conclude fy
→ Study useful phrases in RB, pp 52-54
Team work: phrases to transfer from member to member

EXERCISE: RB p 55
 E.g.:
• This is all I have to say.
• That’s all from me.
• Which brings me to the end of my part.
• I give the floor to my colleague...
• Here is my colleague X who will tell you about ...
• I believe X will have more to say about ...
• X, would you, please, take over from here...
• Thank you, Y, I enjoyed the intro you made.
• Thanks. My friend Y told you about..., and I will...
 Most common complaints
about the slides
• speakers read the slides to us 62.0%
• text so small I couldn't read it 46.9%
• slides hard to see because of color
choice 42.6%
• full sentences instead of bullet
points 39.1%
• moving/flying text or graphics 24.8%
• overly complex diagrams or charts 22.2%
 Delivery
– enthusiasm
– control
– natural language
(spoken, signposting / signalling)
– rapport with audience (creating rapport)
– visual support
– body language (eye contact, loudness, natural,
relaxed behavior, polite behavior)
 Creating rapport
• strategies for creating rapport:
- we (all), us, our, ours, ourselves
- question tags: e.g. aren’t we; haven’t they..
- negative questions: Isn’t it true that...
Don’t we all...

Handout
1 Personal development, BA p 6
Discussion
Advise on how to make a good impression and
“get on” in one’s career.
Discuss issues below in pairs and agree on 5
top pieces of advice:
dress meetings colleagues
your boss business lunches
conferences dealing with emails/phone calls
HW: search the web for texts about “success at
work” and compile a list of advice provided