COURSE DESCRIPTION

LX 330 Anglais.Com is designed to provide third year students with an in-depth understanding of the English-speaking business world over two semesters. It is a cross cultural communication course and its new focus falls into the overall LEA Department orientation.

The course introduces the third year advanced English students to a variety of subjects which all pertain to corporate life. Contents will be regularly updated and will be further streamlined in the following directions:

Classes have been purposefully oriented towards business schools, journalism schools and IEP prerequisites and levels of attainments. Students will be intensively trained to work on listening comprehension based on recent audio /video tapes together with regular written classwork to enhance their ability to write summaries and express informed opinions on a number of issues. The acquisition and improvement of oral and written skills will be one of the main concerns of highly interactive classes. The course is thus meant to improve students' written and oral skills, in other words to address their future needs to express themselves in a professional business context, be it in oral conversations or written assignments. By the end of the academic year, students should feel comfortable applying for a job or internship in the English-speaking world.

The course builds on LEA AN 111, a civilization course, and LEA AN 221, an economics course. It introduces students to global corporate culture through such varied topics as living and working abroad, managing an overseas assignment, dealing with cross cultural differences and uprooting or going through the ordeal of a job interview. Students will also be asked to reflect on such topics as marketing ethics and integrity thanks to Formavision videos. Students should therefore be in a better position to see how the newly updated course branches out to their other LX 330 courses, particularly Affaires Internationales and marketing courses. Anglais. Com is specifically devised to work in partnership with Affaires Internationales since their common issue is the contemporary corporation.

Semester two topics will naturally make full use of all the methodological tools acquired in Semester One.

Below, you will find further information about this course, as well as exercises designed to improve academic achievement.

SEMESTER 1

A semester oriented towards improving written and oral expression (rephrasing, tape-based essay question.)

A collective brochure together with audio, video tools and internet documents on the following topics are used in classes.

All classes last one hour and a half. They are held on Fridays from 8.30 to 10 - 10 to 11.30 - 11.30 to 1 - 1 to 2.30 - 2.30 to 4 at the Clignancourt Campus.

Please note three major changes:

there is no language lab practice.

There is no language lab grade.

there is no january exam.

Topics covered : Managing Across Cultures,

1. Job Interviews (Formavision video: the Panel Interview Job Applicant), CNBC International video and a number of articles.

2. FAQs on CVs and Cover Letters (at job interviews): lying on CVS, ethics and the job junt.

3. Business Expatriation: Texts (ex :"West Meets East: Thinking Differently", International Herald Tribune, Oct 2000), and one or two of the following Formavision video tapes: Communicating Across Cultures, Managing the Overseas Assignment, Bridging the Culture Gap.

Please note a major change: the business expatriation topic will be covered together with the following reading assignment:

Susan Schneider and Jean-Louis Barsoux: Managing Across Cultures, London: Prentice Hall- Pearson Education, 1997. 

There are three volumes available for students at the Championnet Library:

Reference number: 658.3 SCH

For further advice, click on the link below:

Managing Across Cultures

SEMESTER 2

A second semester which continues to work towards improving written and oral expression. The following themes are introduced during this semester:

Topics covered : Perspectives on Management

  1. Managing Companies/Administrations and Privacy Rights: texts, tape recordings and videos from ABC News.

  2. Managing for the Future: Sustainable Development, Fair Trade and Ethical Consumerism: texts and website sources.

Two smaller collective brochures will be used in classes.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

One-on-one sessions to help students enrolled in continuous assessment with their CVs and cover letters. Each session lasts 30mn and should be planned well ahead of any actual job application or interview. Students are strongly requested to register their names and email addresses early in the year to allow for time to read, improve and discuss their personal presentations. Students should feel free to email their questions to any member of the LX 330 Anglais. Com team.

South Bank University (see LX 330 Affaires Internationales, Echanges internationaux,

http://www.cati.paris4.sorbonne.fr/cours/licence/LX330/affinter/southbank.php

SUGGESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL WORK

Andreyev, Julie. Say it With Style, Bréal.

It is highly recommended that students read one English language magazine, such as:

BusinessWeek

The Economist

The Guardian Weekly

or a daily newspaper

the International Herald Tribune

Available online and at the Clignancourt library.

It is highly recommended that students listen to all available English news programs. Such programs can be found on the radio, cable/satellite television and online.

The following are links to online sources: BBCi, ABC News, CBS News, CNN Intl, The Guardian, The Independent, The Economist.

PRESENTATION OF THE NEW EXAM GRID

FOR FINAL EXAM STUDENTS:

Only ONE collective exam session in June

Length of time: 1H30mn

Contents: oral comprehension of a tape recording heard three times, an  essay question (400-450 words) on topics covered over the academic year.

No Anglais. Com make up exam for Semester 1. (Examen de Septembre de rattrapage)

Semester 1= Version: 1h + Affaires Internationales :1h

Most past collective June and September exams, inclass papers given in local TD groups with their audio recordings and suggested answers are to be found on this website.

Students are highly recommended to make use of this opportunity to work independently on previously given papers. The website is also designed as a treasure trove of documents and advice.

FOR CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT STUDENTS :

Semester one :

No exam session in January but an inclass paper that will last 1h30 (the is date announced on the first class of the first term). It is worth 50% of the overall TD grade.

It is added to take-home  essay questions given by each teacher in her/his group. These cannot be worth more than 50% of the overall TD grade.

Most inclass papers given in local TD groups with their audio recordings and suggested answers are to be found on this website. Students are highly recommended to make use of this opportunity to work independently on previously given papers. The website is also designed as a treasure trove of documents and advice.

Semester two:

ONE collective exam session in June

Length of time: 1H30mn

Contents: oral comprehension of a tape recording heard three times, an essay question (400-450 words) on topics covered over the academic year. The exam is worth 50% of the total grade.

An additional inclass paper will last 1h30 (date announced on the first class of the second term) it is added to take-home essay questions given by each teacher in her/his group. These cannot be worth more than 50% of the overall TD grade.

Make up exam:

Semester 2- Thème: 1h + Anglais. Com :1h

Note the length is one hour.

Contents: oral comprehension of a tape recording heard three times, an essay question (350-400 words) on topics covered over the academic year.

Pass rate is 10/20, all marks added up.

All past collective June and September exams, all inclass papers given in local TD groups with their audio recordings and suggested answers are to be found on this website for students’ independent work.

Note however, that the exam grid has undergone major changes. Summaries are no longe required in the exam. We nonethless thought we might leave the summary pages which are no longer relevant to our current exam format.

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The Free Assessment Summary Tool (FAST)

FAST

http://www.getfast.ca/

The Free Assessment Summary Tool (FAST) is a simple online tool that offers teachers an opportunity to assess their students' impressions of their courses and pedagogical methods. rather than waiting for the end-of-the-course evaluations, FAST allows students the chance to offer constructive feedback about the course throughout the term. This tool is a valuable resource that opens proactive dialogue between teachers and students. Interested users may visit the site's frequently asked questions and user tips for more information on the functionality of the software.

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Questions? Comments? Contact the ANGLAIS.COM team

Genevieve Cohen-Cheminet: genevieve.cohen-cheminet@paris4.sorbonne.fr

Andrew Gallix: agallix@free.fr

Luc Journe: lucjourne@hotmail.com

Steven Schaefer : Steven Schaefer steven.schaefer@libertysurf.fr