Business English in the Modern Environment

1
Business English in the Modern Environment

• The real value of the English Language

2
Why English and Why Now?

• English is the most widely used language in
  todays global market place.
• Anywhere in the world you travel you will find
  English speakers
• The Internet

3
Methods for Teaching Biz. English

• Taking Romanian/Russian Business Journals and
  making sensible translations
• Translating the Daily News from Romanian/Russian
  into English
• Internet Surfing in English
• Using current versions of MS Word and MS Excel to
  sharpen grammar and sentence structure skills

4
A Final Point and Some Useful Materials

• English--like all languages is not static--it is
  ever changing, which means you, as an English
  Teacher, need to constantly find new and
  interesting vocabulary for your students.

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• 1. The essay, thesis and report compared
• Although the essay, the thesis and the report are
  different types of written documents, there are
  also many similarities, particularly with regard
  to approach, structure, style and mechanics.
• An essay is a short piece of writing, a
  composition, in which a subject is analyzed. An
  essay can give arguments for a statement or a
  claim, it can describe a situation or it can give
  an explanation for something. Depending on the
  type of essay and the subject, different
  techniques can be used. Sometimes it may be
  necessary to include diagrams or calculations in
  an essay, in other cases it may be necessary to
  use quotations.
• A thesis is a piece of writing in which a
  statement is maintained or proved. A thesis is
  longer than an essay and is written for higher
  degrees.
• The most important difference between a essay and
  a report is that a report answers a question
  (e.g. how do consumers react to our products?) of
  someone who ordered an investigation (e.g. a
  manufacturer). Very often a report deals with a
  problem and offers a solution. There are many
  different types of reports for different
  purposes. For example, project report, research
  report, progress report, feasibility study.
  Unlike essays, reports are usually subdivided
  into numbered sections and subsections (e.g. 1.1,
  1.2, 1.2.1, etc) and contain a table of contents.
• Assignment Essay, thesis or report?
• Read the following descriptions of situations and
  write down whether an essay, a thesis or a report
  is likely to be written.
• A student has a traineeship with a company. His
  supervisor from school has asked him to make
  notes about what he has learnt every day. Once a
  month he must hand in a text based on those
  notes.
• A student is asked to write a short text about
  Russias increasing dependence on imports.
• A student wants to do an in-depth study on the
  relationship between Russias economic situation
  and the rhetoric used by its rulers.
• A student has thought of the following title An
  Analysis of Safety Problems in the E-building.
• A student has thought of the following title On
  Taking a Nap

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Curriculum Vitae
Personal data Name Klaus Klein Address
Josephstrasse 56, D-5000 Köln 1 Telephone
number 221-324299 Date/Place of birth 9
January 1980 Berlin, Germany. I am a German
National Education 1995 - 1999 School of
Facility Management, Kölner Hochschule, Köln
(higher vocational education) 1989 - 1995
Gymnasium Kreuzgasse, Köln (equivalent of English
A levels) Subjects German, English, History,
Geography, Philosophy, Biology, Mathematics,
Chemistry Work experience 1998 - 1999 Arco
GmbH, Köln, receptionist 1998 - 1995 Braun
Catering, Köln. I was mainly occupied with
logistics 1993 - 1994 Holiday job at a summer
camp in the United States Interests Tennis,
reading, playing the guitar and travelling. I
have traveled through Russia and Asia. I like
reading Russian and Asian literature.
References Franz Zimmerman Arco GmbH Sales
Manager Telephone number 221-109864
7
Essay Example www.economist.com
ON JULY 1st, Italy becomes president of the
European Union. It is a six-monthly handing over
of the baton that elicits no excitement at all in
normal circumstances, but these days the
circumstances are not quite normal. Politically,
Europe is split. Economically, it is sputtering.
The war in Iraq has lacerated relations with its
main ally, the United States. Ten newcomers are
about to join the club and, if the expanded Union
is not to find itself paralyzed, agreement must
be reached on a new constitution. It is plainly
time for clear-sightedness, diplomatic finesse
and the exercise of the sort of moral authority
that comes with ungrudging respect. Can Italy
offer such leadership? Or, rather, can its prime
minister, Silvio Berlusconi? Our answer is no.
Two years ago, when Mr Berlusconi was campaigning
for the Italian prime ministership, we explained
why we thought he was unfit for that job. We
argued that, in addition to the many conflicts of
interest between his own businesses and the
affairs of state that would arise were he to be
elected, he also had a compelling case to answer
on a string of grave charges. Though Italy's
highest criminal court has not definitively
convicted him on any of those charges, he has yet
to lay to rest all the concerns about his
probity. One reason for that is the manner in
which the cases against Mr Berlusconi have been
concluded. Most have owed less to clear-cut
acquittals based on the evidence than to Italy's
statute of limitations, or to recent changes in
legislation apparently designed to benefit the
prime minister as a defendant. These changes,
pushed through a parliament dominated by a
pro-Berlusconi majority, have included a law on
judicial co-operation with foreign jurisdictions
(with implications for at least one case against
Mr Berlusconi), a measure to reduce the
seriousness of some types of false accounting by
making them civil rather than criminal offences
(another three cases), and a law to let
defendants seek to have their trials moved to
another jurisdiction if they have a legitimate
suspicion that the court handling their case may
be biased (which could be used to spin out a
trial and thus to help defendants benefit from a
statute of limitations). This last law was
unsuccessfully invoked by Mr Berlusconi in the
one criminal case that is still outstanding,
which explains why he was in court this week
denying accusations of bribing judges back in
1985.
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The allure of immunity That trial will continue
for several months, well into the Italian
presidency of the EU and raising the possibility,
on the basis of this week's form, that it will
become a battleground between the current prime
minister and one of his predecessors, Romano
Prodi, who is now president of the European
Commission. But Mr Berlusconi's allies seem to be
more worried about the possibility of a guilty
verdict. Last week one of his closest friends and
political allies, Cesare Previti, was sentenced
to 11 years in jail for corruption. Now there is
talk of parliament's passing a law to grant
immunity from criminal prosecution to those with
high state roles. Such a law might ease the
discomfiture of Mr Berlusconi's supporters at
home. It would do nothing for his wider
reputation abroad. Instead, parliament might
usefully be turning its attention to Mr
Berlusconi's conflicts of interest. These have
been a real or potential embarrassment since
before his first prime ministership nine years
ago, and it seemed incredible that simple decency
had not ensured a resolution by the 2001
election. But Mr Berlusconi seems to find it hard
to distinguish between propriety and proprietor.
Nearly two years after taking office for the
second time, a promised law to tackle his
conflicts of interest has yet to be enacted. In
the meantime, though Mr Berlusconi exercises huge
influence over the state broadcaster, RAI, his
family has yet to divest itself of Italy's three
largest private television channels. Mr
Berlusconi says he is the victim of a communist
plot (The Economist, which he is suing for libel,
is apparently a part of it), and the judiciary is
biased against him. Some Italian magistrates are
no doubt left-wingers it would be odd if that
were not so, in a country in which political
partisanship has long permeated almost every
public institution. But Italy also has right-wing
magistrates, and in any event it is possible to
hold political views and yet dispense impartial
justice. If Mr Berlusconi is indeed the victim of
a plot, he needs to show the world his evidence.
The proper way to do that, for a man in his
position, is to step down from his public post
and defend himself in court. If and when he has
fully cleared his name, Europeans may feel easier
about having him speak for Europe.