Usos Acadèmics i Professionals de l'Anglès (20493)
Titulació/estudi: Grau en Publicitat i Relacions Públiques
Curs: 3r
Trimestre: 1r
Nombre de crèdits ECTS: 4
Hores dedicació estudiant: 100/120
Llengua o llengües de la docència: English
Professorat: Elena Elorriaga Quintana
Course Presentation
Public Relations and Communications were created in the Anglo-Saxon society and currently continue to develop professionally and academically in that area faster than in any other part of the world.
Most academic publications are written in English; therefore students need to familiarize themselves with all the English terminology in order to gain a good understanding of the academic texts. In addition, as Public Relations and Communication professionals, they will be working in a globalized sector in which English is the common language. Therefore they need to gain a good command of the English language for all PR & Communication professional purposes.
Public Relations Departments offer students a number of communication courses in English. But the courses are focused on specific content, and the class size and length of syllabus does not allow them to spend time improving their language performance.
The purpose of the English for Communication and Public Relations course is to offer students the opportunity to improve their English language performance skills in a variety of Public Relations and Communications situations. Communication terminology, concepts and content will be part of the course, but the actual use of the language (written and spoken) will be the main focus of it.
Content
We will use the Public Relations Campaign format as a basis to articulate the content of the course. We will review corporate mission, vision and values paying attention to the actual drafting of these corporate pieces. We will also be overviewing the planning process: strategy, messages, stakeholders etc. working on how to set up a full proposal, and then expand on each one of its elements.
During the lecture sessions we will also dedicate time to review questions related to writing a Public Relations statement: style, grammar, tone, and the different types of written documents.
Skills
Specific skills are intended to help students:
· Be capable of using a third language (English) in the academic and professional context including competences in oral efficiency
· Comprehend and effectively manage the specific terminology of the corporate communications environment
· Read and write different types of texts; including objectives and strategies in communications plans, articles, messages, press releases, essays and specific papers and documents used in the corporate brand communications sector
· Practice and improve presentation, negotiation and commercial skills by technically and culturally adapting to the assertive and compelling oral competences demanded in the professional global environment of today
Course Structure
The course calendar runs for 10 weeks; six hours per week: one all-students lecture and five seminars of an average of 15 students each. The course hours are.
Monday: 4:30 to 6:30
Tuesday: 2:30-6:30
Class participation is fully encouraged, especially during the seminar sessions when students will practice
· Individual interventions
· Oral presentations with visual and digital support
· Methods and language skills for group discussions
· Reading comprehension exercises of professional texts
· Writing techniques in terms of structure, editing, styling and formatting
Course Grading
Contribution in class 35%
Projects/Assignments 30%
Group Project 35%
Contribution in class includes: positive and proactive participation in the class and group discussions, excellent preparation of all the reading matter and topics to be discussed in class.
Assignments include exercises that will be prepared by the students during the length of the course and will also be discussed and presented in class via group and individual exercises.
The Group project is an assignment that will be prepared by a group (3-4 persons) and presented in/to the class.
Course Requirements
Students are expected to read extensively on the subject and come to class well prepared, complete all assignments and proactively engage in class discussions.
Due to the nature of the course, students must attend all course sessions; unjustified absence of more than 2 sessions will result in automatic failure of the course.
Bibliography
There will be several articles, reports and case studies to be distributed during the course.
Books
FOSTER, John. Effective Writing Skills for Public Relations. Kogan Page, 2008. (4th edition)
NEWSON, Doug & HAYNES, Jim. PR Writing, Form & Style. Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. (8th edition)
GREGORY, Anne. Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns. A Strategic Approach. Kogan Page, 2011. (3rd edition)