Management and Corporate Law

TEA CAMMAROTA

The course aims to consolidate and develop students’ English language competence at B2 level, with a focus on academic and pre-professional contexts in economics and management. It strengthens the ability to understand complex texts (reports, guided academic materials), follow spoken input (lectures, presentations, videos), and interact with appropriate fluency in discussions relevant to the degree programme. Emphasis is placed on written production (formal emails, short reports, summaries and reasoned comments) and oral production (short presentations, describing data/results, comparing options). Overall, the course prepares students to use English effectively for study, source consultation and participation in international academic/professional settings, consistently with CEFR B2.

Knowledge and understanding: By the end of the course, students will demonstrate solid knowledge of English at B2 level, with a particular focus on business and economic vocabulary. They will be able to understand written and spoken texts of intermediate complexity and to recognise key grammatical structures typical of Business English.

Applying knowledge and understanding: Students will be able to apply the acquired competences to produce written texts (professional emails, reports, proposals, short essays) and to communicate orally in simulated academic and professional contexts (presentations, meetings, negotiations).

Making judgements: Students will develop the ability to analyse business cases, distinguish between reliable and non-reliable sources, and evaluate communication strategies in English, also in relation to intercultural contexts.

Communication skills: Students will be able to communicate clearly and appropriately in English, interacting effectively in group work, negotiation, and presentation contexts, while using appropriate linguistic register.

Learning skills: Students will acquire strategies to consolidate and further develop their language competences independently, making use of textbooks, authentic materials, digital tools, and AI resources applied to communication in economic and business contexts.

The course is intended for students who have achieved an English language proficiency of at least B1+ level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), in all four communicative skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking.

Business Communication & Workplace Skills; Writing professional emails, reports, business proposals, performance reviews, press releases; Presenting data and trends, analysing and reading charts and related language; Negotiation and persuasion techniques: elevator pitch; Effective meetings and teamwork communication: giving and receiving feedback (Radical Candor® approach), team-building activities, coaching and mentoring;

Business Topics & Vocabulary: Among the others; Corporate culture and ethics, Digital business and technology, Finance and investment, Time management and productivity.

Grammar Focus: Future continuous e future perfect simple, Modals in the passive form, Certainty and probability expressions, Adverb and adverbial phrase placement, Conditional sentences (zero, first, second, third), Connectors and concessive clauses, Reported speech e reporting verbs.

Pronunciation & Listening Skills: Vowel and consonant pronunciation, suprasegmental features (stress, intonation, rhythm)

Academic Writing: Main features of academic writing, Structuring business reports and essays, Argumentation and critical analysis.

AI Tools & Business Applications: Recognizing different AI tools (ChatGPT, Bard, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, etc.), Comparing their capabilities and limitations, Practical
applications in business communication and decision-making.

Final Exam Preparation: Exam format overview, Mock test and feedback session.

Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 – Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981

Grammar textbook (to be chosen by the student). Recommended options: Essential Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy, Italian edition with answers, Cambridge University Press; or My Grammar Lab Intermediate B1/B2 with key by Mark Foley and Diane Hall, Pearson.

Additional materials
The instructor reserves the right to supplement the bibliography with further materials introduced during the course, such as sector-specific articles and case studies, business and economics videos and podcasts, and official documents from companies and international institutions.

The course adopts an interactive and practical approach, including lectures, in-class exercises, business case discussions, role-plays, group activities, and simulations of workplace situations. The course will be delivered entirely in English.

Attendance is optional but recommended.

The course aims to consolidate upper-intermediate language skills, enabling students to develop abilities related to the comprehension of different text genres, discourse features, and the specialised vocabulary of English used in the field of Business English.
Learning outcomes will be assessed through a written examination, according to the instructions provided by the instructor at the end of the course. Mock tests will be administered during the semester.

Reading comprehension: Read the text and answer the questions. Multiple choice questions.

Writing Task 1
The chart below shows the percentage of energy consumption by source (oil, natural gas, coal, renewables, and nuclear) in three countries in 2020. Describe the chart in 150 words

Writing Task 2
Fair Trade products are becoming more popular, but some people argue that the system is just a marketing strategy and does not really help workers. Others believe it provides better conditions for producers and promotes sustainable development.
Discuss both views and give your own opinion. Write at least 150 words.

• 1.1 Workplace culture1.2 Employee retention + gram
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 1


• 2.1 Learning on the job 2.2 Human resource strategies + gramm
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 2


• 3.1 Recessions and depressions3.2 Catching up with rivals + gramm
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 3


• 4.1 Digital disruptors + gramm4.2 Talking technology
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 4


• 5.1 Performance and rewards5.2 A culture of rewards + gramm
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 5


• 6.1Ethical choices6.2 The triple bottom line + gramm
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 6


• 7.1 Managing time7.2 Smart work + gramm
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 7


• 8.1 Change at Brompton Bikes8.2 Managing change + gramm
  • Books: Dubicka, Rosenberg, Dignen, Hogan, Wright, Business Partners B2 - Your Employability Trainer, Coursebook & eBook with My English Lab resources, ed. Pearson, ISBN 9781292392981Unit 8