THIS COURSE IS COMMONLY KNOWN AS 'ENGLISH BUSINESS COMMUNICATION3' (EBC3). Bachelor students are required to have passed EBC2 prior to attending EBC3.

LEARNING OUTCOMES (LOs)

After successfully completing this course, students will be able:

• LO1: to demonstrate a level of general English competence equivalent to at least C1 on the Common European Framework;
• LO2: to understand and apply concepts from certain business and economic fields (globalization, international trade, legal matters, international payment, risks, countertrade, tender procedures, financial management, financial markets) and to recall as required the essential terminology associated with them;
• LO3: to recall at will, and use, the English equivalents of basic German terminology from these fields, as well as other typical features (structures, collocations, prepositional usage, etc) of the associated language, to discuss the above fields in an appropriate manner, to understand the principles of report writing, and to apply these in practice;
• LO4: to combine the various abilities mentioned above in order to understand upper-level written texts about the above business and economic fields, and to write communicatively-effective texts, both descriptive and analytical (specifically reports), relating to them.

In addition, this course fosters the following soft skills:

• Explanation and summary in German (or other native language) of English texts relating to the business fields mentioned
• Improved aural/oral skills
• Improved ability to analyse and understand texts in general
• Effective university-level study

This EBC3 course consists of a mix of self-study, interactive online activities, and live/on-campus classes relating to different aspects of the course. Classes are of a workshop nature and involve a wide range of activities based on the course literature. These will include some or all of the following:

• response to student questions and other discussion about tricky content;
• reading and working with texts;
• development of report-writing skills;
• further language development, involving both vocabulary and more advanced structures;
• writing and evaluating of short texts in response to instructions.

Self-study materials
Self-study materials will be posted regularly and are designed to be used alongside class materials. These comprise language, comprehension and content exercises to help you understand and be able to discuss business topics pertaining to globalised trade and sustainable business, international market entry, financial management, tendering, countertrade, legal English, ...

Interactive activities
During the course you will be invited to participate in a range of synchronous and asynchronous interactive activities, such as creating a mini-presentation, posting and responding to threads in a discussion forum, peer-reviewing reports, and working together in small groups (2-4 people) on a report. These activities are intended to help build a class community as well as help you go deeper into the material and prepare for the assessments.

Live/on-campus sessions
The live/on-campus sessions will be held during the scheduled class times and will have a content and/or language focus, depending on the relevant unit. EBC3 is currently scheduled to take place on campus. These sessions will comprise a mix of teacher-led input, spontaneous and prepared presentations and discussions, and preparation for the assessment elements.

Please note that the attendance requirement refers to these sessions, and will be upheld regardless of whether we have class online or on campus.

Bachelor students must have passed EBC2 prior to attending EBC3. Please note that registration via LPIS is required for 'EBC3'.

Registration is effected on a first-come, first-served basis. Any unfilled slots will be filled from waiting lists in accordance with study progress and in cooperation with the Vizerektorat für Lehre und Studierende.

Individual EBC3 instructors are NOT involved in registration and will NOT reply to mails on the subject.