Teacher:  Jennifer Altman                                            Telephone:  (425) 564-

E-mail:                                                                          Mailbox:  R240-B                                                         

Course Objectives

This is an English class and our topic is business.  The focus of this course is improving your oral communication skills in a business setting.  After completing this course, students should be able to:

 

1.        Using the Telephone Effectively

a)       Answering the telephone                       c)  Using proper voice

b)       Taking and relaying messages               d) Using the answering machine

           

2. Making Formal Presentations

a)   Planning                                                d) Listing information, Linking ideas, Sequencing

b)  Introduction, Body and Conclusion         e) Summarizing

c)  Using Visual Aids to describe change     f) Use PowerPoint for formal business presentations

                                                                             

3)  Participating in meetings 

a)      Asking for and offering opinions          f) Persuading and compromising

b)      Interrupting politely                             g)  Entering the conversation

c)      Asking for clarification & restating      h) Making recommendations

d)      Presenting an argument             i) Accepting and refusing requests

e)      Agreeing and disagreeing 

 

4)  Negotiations 

a)      Preparing for negotiations

b)      Bargaining and making concessions

c)      Accepting and rejecting

 

Textbook: S. Sweeney (2000) Communicating in Business.  Cambridge University Press   

 

Grading:

Letter Grade:    Percentage:      Letter Grade:    Percentage       Letter Grade:    Percentage

A                      96-100             B-                     80-82          C-                     70-72

A-                     90-95               C+                     76-79               D+                    65-69

B+                     86-89               C                      73-75               D                      60-64

B                      83-85              

           

2 Telephone messages               10 points           1 PowerPoint presentation         20 points

3 Mini-presentations                 30 points          Meeting Role play                     10 points          

            Introduction                                         Negotiation Role play                10 points

            Explain a visual                                     Class Participation                    20 points                      Conclusion                                                                   

                                   


Attendance

Daily attendance is expected. If you are absent more than 5 times (10 percent of the total hours), you will receive a warning letter. If you are absent more than 7.5 times (15 percent of the total hours), you will be dismissed from the program.  If you cannot attend class, you should contact me before the class, either by telephone or email.  Simply say “I cannot attend class today because I am sick/missed the bus/etc.” This is good practice for your internship: you cannot just skip the class/work without informing the boss before.

 

Lateness

If you are more than 5 minutes late for class, you will be marked as 1/2 absence.  Learning to get to class/work on time is an important skill for your internship!

 

Participation

If you are not in class, you are not participating (F).  If you sit in the class and speak only when the teacher calls on you, you are not participating well (D).  If you sometimes volunteer an answer or ask a question, you are doing the minimum participation (C).  If you often volunteer an answer or ask a question, you are participating well (B).  If you volunteer an answer or ask a question everyday, you are participating very well (A).

 

Tentative Schedule

 

 

Dates

Text chapters

Week 1

April 1-April 9

 

Using the Telephone - Unit 3-4

Week 2

April 12-April 16

Using the Telephone - Unit 4-5

 

Week 3

April 19-23

(no class on Fri, April 23)

Presentations – Unit 6

Presentation 1: An Introduction

 

Week 4

April 26-30

 

Presentations - Unit 7

Presentation 2: A Visual

 

Week 5

May 3-May 7

Presentations - Unit 8   & Unit 9 

Presentation 3:  A Conclusion

 

Week 6

May 10-May 14

Presentation:  PowerPoint Presentation

 

Week 7

May 17-May 21

Meetings – Units 10 & 11

 

Week 8

May 24-May 28

Meetings – Units 11 & 12

Meetings Role Play

Week 9

May 31-June 4

(No class on Mon, May 31)

Negotiations – Units 13 & 14

Week 10

June 7-9

Negotiations – Units 14 & 15

Negotiations Role Play