COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: BUSINESS ENGLISH

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
BUS 108	D	2	4	0	0	4	5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	Dr. Mirela Alhasani malhasani@epoka.edu.al
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	M.A. Ada Cara acara@epoka.edu.al , 9:00-12:00 Mondays and Tuesdays
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years)
Classroom and Meeting Time:
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:
Course Description:	Business English: The central basis of the course is to consolidate students' academic approach to thinking, reading, speaking and writing and language usage. In addition, the course also aims to develop the students' abilities to synthesize and evaluate information and conduct basic, independent research.
Course Objectives:	Students in Business English (BUS 108) will be able to create business documents, including letters, emails, CV's, and reports, will be able to correctly use a range of business terms in English, and will have practice in engaging in conversations in business English.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Critiquing the logic and evidence of arguments presented in text.
2	Building up verbal interaction confidence in colorful discussions.
3	Drafting a well refined report related to their field of study.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction; book review guidelines- English for Business Studies is a reading, listening, speaking and writing course for learners with at least an upper-intermediate level of English who need to understand and express the key concepts of banking business and economics. It covers the most important areas of management, production, marketing, finance and macroeconomics (MacKenzie, 2012, p6).
2	Company structure; CV and job application guidelines- The most difficult part of a job application process is writing a CV and cover letter. Guidelines and samples on CVs and cover letters are given to students, as well as, a set of typical and behavioral questions to expect from an interview (Harvard Business Review, 2020; MIT Global Education & Career Development Centre, 2012).
3	Women in Business, Earning rewards and benefits- This unit contains extracts from an interview Alison Maitland , co-author with Avivah Wittenberg-Cox of Why Women Mean Business: Understanding the Emergence of our Next Economic Revolution (Jossey-Bass, 2008); a newspaper article about legislation concerning women company directors; a discussion activity about male and female ways of thinking and behaving at work; and a role play about a company that wants to increase its number of women managers (p.38, Unit 6).
4	Marketing; IT and E-commerce; Report writing-After the usual opening discussion questions and a vocabulary exercise, this unit contains a reading exercise about product life cycles, discussion activities about pricing and distribution channels, a text extracted from a well-known article in the Harvard Business Review, a case study about promotions and techniques on how to write a report (p.64, Unit 12).
5	Banking; Bonds; Money and Financial issues- As one of the units that focuses on finance, it begins with a discussion question that contains most of the basic vocabulary of personal banking. There are texts about the different types of banks and financial institutions, and the credit crisis that began in 2008 (p. 73, Unit 14) The other unit contains a text explaining bonds, texts about different types of bonds, exercises related to mortgage-backed securities and a case study about selecting among different types of bond funds (p. 81, Unit 16).
6	Logistics; Trade; Business idioms- This unit is largely about supply chains- the sequence of organisations and activities involved in acquiring components and raw materials, and producing and delivering goods or a service to the final consumer. Supply chaining has been greatly influenced by production processes, originating in Japan, that seek to minimise the quantity of inventory held by companies, and by advances in information technology. The unit contains a text about inventories, push and pull strategies, Just-In-Time (JIT) production, and so on, an extract from Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat, about Wal-Mart's supply chain; and a short case study about potential supply risks in various industries (p.59, Unit 9).
7	Draft submission and presentation- Students divided into groups are expected to present their research paper draft and receive feedback on their work, that will later on be reflected on EIS
8	Review for the exam
9	Midterm exam
10	The different sectors of the economy- This unit includes a description of part of the economic infrastructure, seen from an airplane, extracted from David Lodge's 'Nice Work', which was published in 1989, before the notion of the quaternary sector became well known. There are also discussion activities and a reading about the pros and cons of manufacturing, as compared with service industries, and a listening involving business news items about different economic sectors (p.42, Unit 7).
11	Government and Taxations- This is one of the units on economics. It includes discussion activities about the role of the government and the pros and the cons of taxation, an extract from a famously antigovernmental book by Milton Friedman.(p.109, Unit 22).
12	Stocks and Shares; Dispute resolution- This unit has a jumbled text explaining stocks and shares; listening and vocabulary exercises practising the verbs and expressions people use to talk about rises and falls in asset prices; an extract from a book about the work of an analyst in an investment bank (p.86, Unit 17).
13	Research paper presentations- Students will be presenting their final research paper draft submission in a 20 minutes group presentation and will be graded individually for their work reflected on the research paper and during their presentation.
14	Research paper presentations- Students will be presenting their final research paper draft submission in a 20 minutes group presentation and will be graded individually for their work reflected on the research paper and during their presentation.

Prerequisite(s):
Textbook(s):	Guffey, M. and Seefe, C. (2019). Business English 13th Edition (Cengage). Oxford University Press ELT (2020). Business Result Second Edition Advanced Student's Book.
Additional Literature:
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:	For research, writing, and presentations
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Students will develop business vocabulary in English
2	Students will be able to craft a CV and cover letter and conduct and interview for a job in English
3	Students will be able to critically read and discuss literature in business and economics
4	Students will be able to competently interact using spoken business English

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Bachelor in Banking and Finance (3 years) Program
1	The students gain the ability to look at the problems of daily life from a broader perspective with an increased awareness of the importance of moral/ethical considerations and professional integrity in the workplace.	4
2	They develop their knowledge and understanding of banking and finance including concepts, theories, and analytical tools that serve both in national and international markets.	2
3	They gain an understanding of the role of financial management in business firms and the essentials of corporate finance and further develop their knowledge in the field.	3
4	They are able to apply valuation models to estimate the price of different financial assets, measure risk and describe the risk-return tradeoff.	2
5	They are provided with the knowledge and understanding of the regulatory framework and functioning of banking system and central banking as well as international banking system.	2
6	They are able to understand and use fundamental economic theories and tools to solve economic problems in banking and financial services industry.	4
7	They have the ability to develop and utilize accounting, financial and economic data as well as other information to solve different business problems by making use of basic mathematical and statistical models.	4
8	They are expected to develop their numerical and IT skills as well as knowledge of databases in order to address the significant development in the delivery and use of financial services known as FinTech.	3
9	They develop their ability to think critically, do research, analyze, interpret, draw independent conclusions, and communicate effectively, both individually and as part of a team.	5
10	They are provided with opportunities to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to develop professionalism in the banking and financial services industry or to move on to further study within the discipline.	4

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Presentation	1	10
Term Paper	1	40
Other	1	20
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	4	64
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	2	32
Mid-terms	1	6	6
Assignments	1	12	12
Final examination	1	6	6
Other	1	5	5
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

Students will critically discuss texts and ideas in a seminar format and present their research in an ethical way.