BUSINESS ENGLISH AS A TOOL FOR BUSINESS 

At the Ural State University of Economics English is studied at two departments. Elena Makarova, chair of the USUE Department of Business Foreign Languages, explained the key difference between Business English and General Engish.

- What languages ??do students study and in what professional areas will they be useful to them? 
- Usually, it is English, German or French. However, I would like to note that we also succeeded to popularize among students Chinese, Italian, Spanish, and Czech: they choose them as a second foreign language.

- A unique course of lectures on Intercultural communications ??was developed and is taught 
at the department in three foreign languages. Does the department attract foreign teachers to conduct lectures and exchange experiences? 

- Indeed, the original course “Intercultural Communications” in a foreign language has been taught by our department for over 20 years. This discipline is always popular with students. The course contains such modules as “Elements of Culture,” “Communication Styles,” “Hofstede Dimensions,” “Intercultural Negotiations,” etc.
Therefore, our students learn to build intercultural interaction in the framework of lectures and seminars as well as in the course of work on projects. The course is taught in English, which is attractive for Russian and foreign students of USUE. Each year, it is mastered by 10 to 15 foreign students specializing in various fields. In classrooms, a developing environment is created for real intercultural communication. Due to possibility of personal contacts and exchange of views, Russian students learn to overcome cultural and social barriers.
 
For students specializing in IT, we offer projects using the capabilities of computer technologies. In the 2019-2020 academic year, freshmen took part in digital stories contest on the topic “My University. My specialty". They created plots demonstrating the positive image of USUE and the advantages of our University for applicants. The implementation of this project, in addition to improving professional and language skills, contributed to the adaptation of freshmen to university studies.
Knowledge of English gives our students an undeniable advantage and opens up the widest prospects for them.
In addition, the teachers of our department are implementing the program “Translator of a foreign language in the field of professional communication”. We invite students learning two foreign languages ??to master this program.

At the Ural State University of Economics English is studied at two departments. Elena Makarova, chair of the USUE Department of Business Foreign Languages, explained the key difference between Business English and General Engish.