Overall objectives:

1 - This course aims at the acquisition and improvement by students - proficient users - of linguistic structures so that their knowledge of the English tongue in its various competences may be improved at an advanced level within the scope of the fields of Business and Law
2 - Entirely taught in English, this course is intended to help students develop specific skills, namely in promoting the study and analysis of specific terminology and discursive practices of the entrepreneurial and legal domains, whether in business/legal-related documents, technical texts and documents, specialized press or user manuals. Students will be required to participate in a variety of communicative activities to promote their self-confidence in their use of English in the fields of business, finance and law.

Syllabus:

1 - 1. Business English*: 1.1. The Human Dimension 1.2. Quality 1.3. Competitive Strategy 1.4. Marketing 1.5. IT and its Uses 1.6. Company Finance 1.7. Corporate Responsibility 1.8. The Global Economy
2 - 2. Legal English*: 2.1. The Legal System 2.2. Legal Professionals 2.3. Legal Professionals in Practice 2.4. Law in Practice 2.5. Liability 2.6. Contract 2.7. Intellectual Property 2.8. Information Technology Law 2.9. Environmental Law
3 - 3. English Grammar 3.1. The rhetoric of communication: scientific/technical writing (discursive practices in business, industry, legal systems and government); modes of discourse; tone (advocacy and objectivity) 3.2. Writing and revising: English usage and use - mechanics, verbs (forms and tenses), modals, phrasal verbs; sentence structure and discourse markers; reported speech, passive voice, inversion and emphasis. Note: * All subtopics will be further expanded to cover all pertinent aspects therewith related.

Literature/Sources:

BROWN, Gillian D. and Sally Rice , 2007 , Professional English in Use: Law , Cambridge Press
MASCULL, Bil , 2007 , Business Vocabulary in Use , Cambridge University Press

Assesssment methods and criteria:

Classification Type: Quantitativa (0-20)

Evaluation Methodology:
Classes are of the expositive, theoretical-practical type. The presentation of the syllabus material is achieved through constant lecturer-student-lecturer interaction. Students will use coursebooks (Professional English in Use: Law and Business Vocabulary in Use), alongside authentic documents from the field. During classmeetings, they will develop their oral production as well as their written work in English, both through individual work and pair work, in order to consolidate the topic under discussion, to stimulate critical thinking, impartial analysis and clear presentation of results. Only English will be used for communication purposes. In terms of assessment, Assessment - Type A was chosen from the Assessment Regulation of Madeira University. Hence, students are assessed during the semester in two written partial exams (Exam 1: 40% + Exam 2: 40%) and in an oral component (20%), in which their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills will be tested at advanced level.