Program at a Glance
The purpose of the Professional English Program is to develop students’ business English skills and work on reading, writing, listening and speaking. This program also contains work on grammar, business vocabulary and pronunciation. The curriculum is guided by the needs and practices of business, industry, and society at large. Each Professional English course is carefully balanced and structured to teach non-native adult speakers and to help students.
Professional English
This course is designed to help students and professionals gain the high-level skills necessary for an international career and awareness of many current issues facing the business community. The course emphasizes the fundamental competencies of professional communication, focusing particularly on varied forms of written communication.
Throughout the course, students will study the rhetorical principles and writing practices necessary for producing effective business letters, reports, and collaborative projects in professional contexts.
The course’s assignments and classroom instruction develop the ability of students to produce documents that will be effective in and appropriate for the workplace. In this course, students will have an opportunity to
1) investigate the ways in which audience, purpose, and context shape effective communication,
2) develop the skills they will use to compose work-related writing, including teamwork, document design, and persuasion,
3) analyze professional documents and draw conclusions about what constitutes effective and ineffective communication.
PE801D: PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH IV
This course puts a real-world business spin on the development of language skills and expansion of vocabulary. The purpose of this course is to help students gain an understanding of critical business and career skills such as negotiating, dealing with problems, and coping with contemporary cultural issues in the global setting. Using authentic learning materials adapted from news articles or magazines that reflect the global nature of business, this course will help students increase their knowledge of today’s complex global economy while also learning English.
Students practice giving formal and informal presentations using both prepared and extemporaneous materials. Presentations and discussions are related to students’ individual areas of interest in preparation for speaking required of university students and professionals. Students also practice fielding impromptu questions, debate techniques, and interviewing techniques as means of achieving oral fluency.
PE801C: PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH III
The purpose of this course is to help advanced-level English speakers communicate more effectively with native English speakers in professional contexts. This course focuses on business concepts and skills as well as business English, providing students with functional business English that they can put to work right away.
The course includes activities that are designed to help students improve specific language skills necessary to be successful in specific business communications. Encompassing the four language skill areas of English (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), this course will ensure that students have the linguistic tools to succeed in an international business setting. Students also analyze current trends in business by reading articles from newspapers and business magazines.
PE801B: PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH II
This course is designed for non-native English speakers who wish to improve their written and spoken business communication skills. The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the business etiquette and business correspondence. The course focuses on level-appropriate vocabulary and grammar specific to various business situations.
Students will analyze current trends in business by reading articles from recent articles from newspapers and business magazines. Furthermore, the course provides students with the opportunity to practice basic reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills needed in an office setting.