Students will need a B1 level knowledge of English, with reference to the CEFR

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

a) read and write e-mails, memos and commercial letters of various kinds in English.

b) read, write and reproduce a variety of genres: invitations, inquiries, instructions, complaints and replies.

c) read, write and reproduce various registers: formal, neutral e informal.

d) use fixed and semi-fixed phrases appropriately, with due attention to correct spelling, punctuation, paragraphing and capitalization.

e) make and change appointments by telephone.

f) ask questions politely or make requests on the phone, and reply appropriately.

g) take messages

h) explain and solve problems on the phone.

Criminal law

Tort law

Commercial law

International law

E-mail

Memos

Formal letters

Telephone calls

Taking messages

(A) ‘Straight to Work / Subito al Lavoro 3’ by Martin Harper, Macerata: Edizioni Simple, 2024.

(C) ‘Introduction to International legal English’ by Day, J., Krois-Lindner, A., & Firth, M. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

NB: students must download the relevant PDF file for each lesson from the following website: http://docenti.unimc.it/martin.harper

Here, they will find glossaries, announcements, calendars, timetables and other useful information.

• Register and Genre Analysis

  Lessons

  Language exercises for individual students and group-work

  Reading comprehension

  Webquests

• 
  

  At the end of the course, there will be a written test lasting 90 minutes. For Task 1, candidates have to read, understand and complete a text by putting 30 specified words into the correct form. If the word required is a verb, the correct form could be in the present, past or future, simple, perfect or continuous, active or passive, the infinitive, the gerund or the stem. If it is an adjective, it might be the comparative, the superlative, positive or negative. If it is a noun, it might be a crime, a criminal, a person, male or female, a thing or an idea. For Task 2, the candidates have to write either an email, a memo or a letter according to the instructions given.

   

  The oral exam lasts about 10 minutes and consists of simulated telephone conversations. In a transactional exchange, each candidate should be able to make or change an appointment by phone, hire a car, call a taxi, book a hotel room or a table at a restaurant and/or change a reservation, explain and resolve a problem in English. Therefore, each candidate should be able to pronounce the alphabet and email symbols correctly, as well as numbers, dates, countries, nationalities, languages, prices etc.

   

   

  CRITERIA:

   

  Written Test

   

   

  Task 1 – reading comprehension and grammar exercise - 0-30 points - (50%)

   

   

   

  Task 2 – writing an email, a memo or a commercial letter

   

  Criteria:

  
  

  5 points=excellent; 4=good; 3=acceptable; 2=poor; 1=weak; 0=insufficient sample of language

   

  Grammatical accuracy - 0-5 points - (8.5%)

   

  Punctuation, spelling, capitalization - 0-5 points - (8.5%)

   

  Appropriateness of language - 0-5 points - (8.5%)

  
  

  Relevance and adequacy of content - 0-5 points - (8.5%)

   

  Presentation, organization, cohesion and coherence - 0-5 points - (8.5%)

   

  Adequacy and range of terminology and lexis - 0-5 points - (8.5%)

   

   

   

  Oral Test

   

  Criteria

   

  5 points=excellent; 4=good; 3=acceptable; 2=poor; 1=weak; 0=insufficient sample of language

   

   

  Pronunciation - 0-5 points - (16.5%)

   

  Fluency - 0-5 points - (16.5%)

   

  Grammatical accuracy - 0-5 points - (16.5%)

   

  Adequacy and range of terminology and lexis - 0-5 points - (16.5%)

   

  Achievement of set tasks - 0-5 points - (16.5%)

   

  Communicative effectiveness- 0-5 points - (16.5%)

   

English

English