Business English
If you are looking to brush up your English skills, the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences (WiSo Faculty) offers subject-specific language courses in Business English and English for the Social Sciences in cooperation with the Englisches Institut Köln. The courses focus on developing business communication skills interactively. To find out more, please check the information below.
23.09.2021
Current news
There are a few courses that still have spots left:
B1: Mondays, 18:00-21:00
C1: Wednesdays or Thursdays, 09:00-12:00
If you have one of the accepted certificates or have participated in a placement test before, you can still register on ILIAS. We will open your respective course level on ILIAS on 28 September to choose your course afterwards.
The course registration for the summer semester 2022 will open in late January.
It is now possible for us to provide digital copies of your certificate for the summer 2021 course. Please contact us via email (and include your matriculation number) if you would like the digital copy of your certificate. Hard-copy certificates are not available yet. As soon as we have more information about this, we will contact you via email.
Due to COVID-19 measures, hardcopy certificates cannot be collected in person. For urgent inquiries regarding certificates, please contact us via email.
Course information
Course description
This Business English course aims to improve your communication skills in a business environment. It includes discussions, oral presentations and written tasks relating to business environments. An emphasis is placed on cultural appropriacy e.g., choice of language for workplace settings. Depending on the learner level, grammar training will also be included.
The course is designed to be very interactive and with focus on practical language skills. It includes usage of online learning platforms to complement the weekly classes. During class, you will regularly work in small groups and receive individual feedback from the teacher. You will be required to prepare for class and do follow-up work on each session. In order to pass the course, students must attend at least 9 of the 12 sessions.
The course structure and its learning objectives are aligned with the 'Common European Framework of Reference for Languages' (CEFR), a guideline used to describe the achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe.
The levels defined by the CEFR are as follows: A1- Beginner, A2 - Elementary / Pre-intermediate, B1 - Intermediate, B2 - Upper-intermediate, C1 - Advanced Intermediate
Registration and placement test
Registration for the fall term starts in June and for the spring term in January via ILIAS. You cannot register for the course via KLIPS 2.0 directly. When registration is active, a link to the registration page will be published on this website. The registration period will end as soon as all available places have been allocated.
To take the course, you will either have to take a placement test or provide a valid certificate confirming your level of English proficiency. Your registration will not be complete if you do not take a placement test or provide a valid certificate.
Placement tests take approximately one hour and are conducted by the English Institute of Cologne. Sessions are limited and places are allocated on a 'first-come, first-served' basis.
Once the registration period ends, we will inform you of your allocation via email. If there is high demand for the course, we will operate a waiting list. If you are placed on the waiting list, you will be informed if a place becomes available.
If you are allocated a course but need to withdraw, please send us an email as soon as possible.
Please note:
- Students who have already taken the placement test in a previous term do not need to retake the test. If this is the case, please send us a short email letting us know which semester you took the test in.
- Students who have one of the following certificates do not need to take the placement test: Cambridge, TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, FILTERtest. In this case, please register on ILIAS and join the relevant group. Then, send us a short email with a scan of your certificate.
- If you fail the course, you cannot retake the course nor will you receive the credit points.
- The "English for the Social Sciences" course only takes place if a sufficient number of students have registered for it. Otherwise, students who opted for this course will be offered a place on the "Business English" course.
Timetable
The courses take place once a week and typically start in the first week of the lecture period of that term.
The classes will be scheduled for the following time slots:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday: 2 pm – 5 pm or 6 pm – 9 pm.
Wednesday or Thursday: 9 am – 12 pm.
The courses are made up of 12 sessions with the final session reserved for the end of course test. There are no sessions during term breaks or public holidays. The exact timetable for the term will be finalised after all students have participated in the placement test.
Studium Integrale/extracurricular modules
For bachelor's students of the WiSo Faculty, the course can be taken as part of Studium Integrale (SI) if you have not already completed this. Master's students can take the course as part of their extracurricular modules (EA = Extracurriculares Angebot).
The course is worth 6 credit points if you attend the course regularly and pass the end of semester exam. Additionally, all students receive a certificate at the end of the course indicating their language level.
