General entry requirements + English B.
Merit rating is calculated based on Swedish upper secondary grades achieved, according to specific entry requirement 6/A6.
No main field.
The course can normally be included as part of a general degree at undergraduate level.
The course is designed to develop the student's ability to communicate accurately and effectively in English, both orally and in writing, in a wide range of professional situations.
The course focuses on the following aspects:
- professional attitude and behaviour;
- careful organization of textual and visual communication with regard to genre, audience, and purpose;
- clarity, correctness and concision in writing, as well as detailed proof-reading skills;
- the acquisition of a varied and accurate contemporary professional vocabulary;
- teamwork and cross-cultural awareness; and
- discussion activities and presentations (both impromptu and formal).
Knowledge, skills and understanding
After successfully completing the course, the student will be able to:
- understand professional communication in terms of the interaction of audience, purpose, and genre;
- use both formal and informal register appropriately;
- choose grammatical structures which accurately express desired meaning, and edit texts for common errors of grammar, punctuation and style;
- demonstrate knowledge of vocabulary and natural expressions in English relating to a variety of contemporary business topics and concepts, such as intercultural networking, global relations and finance;
- understand the dynamics of teamwork and demonstrate an ability to participate actively as a team member;
- demonstrate rhetorical awareness of the compositional design elements of an image;
- deliver a formal oral presentation that gains and sustains audience interest in an accent that is understood by a majority of English speakers; and
- explain what it means to communicate as a professional as well as demonstrate a professional approach, e.g. an ability to work to agreed timetables, manage workloads, and meet deadlines
Learning activities are lectures, seminars, written assignments, oral presentations, self-study of course literature, and independent work.
Assessments together with grading scales, credits and outcomes primarily tested:
- Online examination: writing with clarity, correctness, and concision (A/U – 3 credits – 3)
- Oral presentation (U/G – 3 credits – 1, 5, 6, 7-8)
- Writing Assignment 1 (A/U – 3 credits – 1-4, 6, 8)
- Writing Assignment 2 (A/U – 3 credits – 1-5, 8)
- Portfolio (U/G – 3 credits – 1-4, 8)
- Canavor, N. (2018). Business Writing Today: A Practical Guide. 3rd edition. Los Angeles. Sage Publications. ISBN: 9781506388328
- Taylor, S. (2009). Communication: Your Key to Success. Singapore. Marshall Cavendish Business. ISBN: 9789812616753
Recommended reading (not obligatory)
- Taylor, S. (2012). Model business letters, emails and other business documents. (7th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson. ISBN 978-0-273-75193-9
You may be provided with other course material by your course tutor as appropriate, up to a maximum of 250 pages.
If you have participated in the course, you will have the opportunity to make known your experiences and viewpoints by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. After compiling and summarizing the information from the evaluations, the University will inform you both of the results and of any consequent measures taken. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).