English Professional Skills (5 cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Content scheduling

The aim of the course is to develop the students’ English language and communication skills both in speaking and writing for various communicative situations encountered in the working life. The learning objectives of the course are as follows:

Spoken communication

The student
- discusses field-related topics in groups in a planned and structured way
- participates actively in group discussions by commenting, asking, and reacting
- plans and presents a field-related topic in a structured way
- uses functional language and signposting
- expresses themselves in a clear and spontaneous way as well as in their own words

Written communication

The student
- follows the structure and language of professional email and reporting
- recognizes and applies the appropriate style for the situation
- expresses themselves in a clear and logical way
- writes in their own words without tools such as translator and AI application
- uses and refers to sources correctly

The course topics are
- introducing yourself for job search
- emailing
- group discussions and meetings
- reporting
- presentations

The students will also study current IT-related topics and vocabulary and utilize these in the course work.

The course will run from 1 September to 21 December 2025. A detailed schedule can be found in itslearning.

Objective

Upon completing the course, the students should have acquired skills to

* communicate at level B2 (CEFRL) both in speaking and in writing
* use appropriate style and register for communication
* produce clear, coherent and well-structured texts, e.g., emails, reports
* present detailed descriptions related to their field of study
* express and exchange opinions using fluent language
* read longer articles and reports

Content

The aim of the course is to develop and deepen the students’ field-relevant English language and communication skills, as well as guide in the self-evaluation of skills.

Materials

The course material is available in itslearning.

Teaching methods

During the course, students work both independently and in groups, as well as with the teacher.

The course consists of contact meetings: 14x2h=28h. Presence of 75% is required in the contact meetings. The presence in the contact meetings supports the practice of communication and team work skills, as well as provides evidence of skill development for evaluation.

Additionally, students will work in online environment.

Exam schedules

No exams are organized.

Pedagogic approaches and sustainable development

During the course, students are encouraged to
- dialogue and discussion
- learning and doing together in teams
- developing problem-solving skills
- developing critical thinking

Students should be prepared for the contact meetings which are mainly used for active practice, guidance and demonstration of skills.

Completion alternatives

The student can complete Transfer of Credits within the first two weeks of the course if the student has completed a course with the same credits and similar content at a same level (higher education) educational institution within the last 5 years. The student will also need to provide an official transcript and course content description.

Please note that this method of attainment does not apply to Open Path students.

Student workload

The scope of the course is 5 credits which is 135 h of work for students. This includes:

- preparation for the contact meetings e.g. making notes, reading an article, information search, reading study material
- work in contact meetings
- planning and realizing course work for evaluation
- self-evaluation.

The students will be tested on their skills on the course topics with the following assignments:
- pitching video for job search and a summary for professional profile
- email message
- group discussions
- reporting follow-up tasks of group discussions
- test on formal writing
- face-to-face meeting
- presentation
- self-evaluation at the end of the course

The assignments cannot be replaced by any other assignment, extra work or exam. With problems completing an assignment the student should contact the teacher BEFORE the given deadline. Students should note that a number of assignments e.g. speaking assignments can be completed in contact meetings only.

Evaluation methods and criteria

The evaluation during the course is continuous and assignment-based.

Each course topic consists of assignments that are evaluated with points from 0-3 p. Assignment-specific evaluation criteria can be found in itslearning. Late assignments will not be evaluated.

The gathered points will be converted into grades in the scale of 0-5 in the final evaluation as follows:

Grade 1: 16 - 18 p
Grade 2: 19 - 21 p
Grade 3: 22 - 24 p
Grade 4: 25 - 27 p
Grade 5: 28 - 30 p

The role of AI is noted in the course work instructions and evaluation. Assignment-specific instructions are given on the use of AI. As a rule, AI can be used for learning, brainstorming and information search but not for producing course work or demonstrating learning and skills.

Presence in the contact meetings is considered in the final evaluation as follows:
- presence more than 75% +1 p
- presence less than 75% lowers the final evaluation

Failed (0)

The course is failed if

- the gained points from the evaluated assignments is less than 16 p
- the student has insufficient attendance (less than 75%)
- the student has not completed all the tasks
- the student has completed tasks but they are not of an acceptable standard

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1-2)

The course evaluation is satisfactory if

- the gained points from the evaluated assignments and presence is 16-18 p (1) and 19-21 p (2)
- the student has completed the tasks with the minimum of set requirements outlined by the teacher and listed in the task instructions

Assessment criteria, good (3-4)

The course evaluation is good if

- the gained points from the evaluated assignments and presence is 22-24 p (3) and 25-27 p (4)
- the student has completed the tasks well fulfilling most of the set requirements outlined by the teacher and listed in the task instructions

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The course evaluation is excellent if

- the gained points from the evaluated assignments and presence is 28-30 p
- the student has completed the tasks very well fulfilling or surpassing the set requirements outlined by the teachers and listed in the task instructions

Further information

The channel of communication during the course is itslearning.