Business English & Communication

Teacher: Inga Kelly
Course Credits: 1
Length of Course: 1 year
Prerequisites: none

Course Information
A course in Business English will help to improve the student's ability to communicate effectively in English in a business context, such as:
· Communicating by telephone, email, faxes, letters
· Making presentations
· Taking part in meeting and negotiations
· Reading professional or technical journals, magazines, newspapers
· Operating in social business situations and understanding various cultures

The major objective of the course is to improve the student's ability to communicate for business and personal purposes, whether the student is headed directly into a business field or going to college for a business major. The student will develop and practice effective oral communication skills. The student will improve and demonstrate effective informational reading skills. Students will compose effective written communications. The student will develop and practice proficient listening skills.

Major topics to be covered by quarter:
1st quarter: Communication exercises, grammar, punctuation, developing an on-line resume, letter writing, and writing exercises. Group project: Business Newsletter

2nd quarter: Communication exercises, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, writing an autobiography, writing exercises, reading King Lear. Group project: debate on ethics in the business world.

3rd quarter: Communication exercises, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, video taping, magazine reports, proofreading, letter-writing, team projects, reading Classical Autobiographies. Group project: Video conferencing

4th quarter: Communication exercises, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, video taping 7-minute speech/report, interview skills, telephone usage. Group project: Business English web page

Course textbooks
Writers Inc. School to Work McGraw-Hill. 1992.
William Shakespeare's King Lear
Classical Autobiographies

Make-up Policy
Barring emergencies, there will be no make-ups for missed exams and late papers will not be accepted.

Exams
All exams and quizzes will contain essay and vocabulary sections. Vocabulary words will be drawn from Petersen's Success with Words. Grammar and reading comprehension questions will appear on some exams and will be based on classroom discussions and reading assignments.

Supplies
Black or blue pens, #2 pencils with clean erasers, a single-subject spiral notebook, lined and unlined paper (8 ½ x 11), pocket dictionary, thesaurus, 3 ¼ diskette, student identification for computer use, a stapler, a highlighter, Liquid Paper (white out), and a positive attitude.

Attendance Policy
Class attendance is mandatory. All absences are recorded. Any unexcused absences will result in an automatic referral. Two tardies will result in a referral. Even if a student is not withdrawn under this policy, the student's final grade may be adversely affected.

Classroom Guidelines
Preparation and participation are required. There will be classroom discussions, team debates, group exercises, and in-class reading and writing assignments. Although a robust exchange of ideas is encouraged during group exercises, ideas must be communicated with civility and in language suitable to educated men and women. In other words, you need to be school appropriate.

Plagiarism
Students who submit the spoken or written work, words, or ideas of someone else as their own are guilty of plagiarism. Direct or indirect copying from a printed source without giving acknowledgment for both the words and ideas for the author of the source is plagiarism. A verified instant of plagiarism will result in a zero for the assignment in which it occurs. A second instant will result in an F for the course.

Office Hours
Although it's best to make an appointment, you may drop by my room at any time. If I am not in, I may be at a meeting or otherwise engaged elsewhere on campus. Slip a note in my teacher's mailbox in the administration office to let me know you came by. You may also call me at school or leave a message with administration. Leave a number where I can reach you.

Grading Procedures
The grading procedure used in the course and the grade value of routine and major assignments, homework , quizzes, and exams is as follows:

90%=A 80%=B 70%= C 60%= D F= 50% or lower

All tests, homework assignments, or projects are assigned points. More important or difficult assignments are assigned more points. At the end of the marking period, all points are added together and a percentage is obtained. The autobiography will be counted as a first semester final. A final will also be given at the end of the year. The final grade will be based largely on the Business English web page. To determine the semester grade, I will add the two-quarter percentages together and divide by two. To determine your end-of-the-year grade, I will add the two semester percentages together and divide by two.