General

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology understands the importance of English for business that non-native speakers should learn. The rapid growth of the global economy through online business has urged everyone to learn more than just basic English. This is the time to take the advantage of the internet in learning new things, including business English.

Check the schedule and details here

What You Will Learn

1.Business English: Basic 

English for business also contains several important subjects like writing reports and creating professional presentations, proposals, and other business-related papers.

Participants will learn:

• Define things and events in Business English terms
• Mark requests using Business English
• Deliver arguments in Business English
• Speak with the proper Business English tone and style
• Organize an audience analysis
• Equal audience with the purpose and medium of communication
• Analyze and summarize business data

2. English for Effective Business Writing

Students will prepare for the professional business documents that they should write in the Capstone project.

Participants will be able to:

• Compose business emails
• Compose an executive summary
• Compose convincingly in English
• Adjust content to purpose, context and audience
• Apply business purposes writings with appropriate style and tone.

3. English for Effective Business Speaking

Students can develop the use of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, spoken communication skills within a Business context. Students will be tested to show their ability in delivering professional business speeches for specific purposes.

The skills will be used in cross-cultural communications for delivering a professional business presentation.

Participants are able to:

• Deliver proper job interviews
• Provide persuasive business tones
• Compose instructive business presentations
• Express in English
• Adapt content to purpose, context and audience persuasively
• Apply the right style and tone for business purposes writing.

4. Business English for Cross-Cultural Communication

Students will learn about cross-cultural theories and their relevance to everyday business. Students should combine their vocabulary, reading, speaking, and writing skills in the previous courses by enhancing cross-cultural understanding through cross-cultural Business contexts like presentation and reports.

Participants are able to:

• Recognize potential communication’s cross-cultural issues and misunderstandings
• Conduct strategies to deal with common communication’s cross-cultural issues and misunderstandings
• Compose documents with a suitable tone for business communication purposes within a cross-cultural situation
• Deliver a speech within a cross-cultural situation by using the proper style for business communication purposes.

5. Business Case Analysis

Students will apply the written and spoken skills to a genuine business by choosing HKUST’s business case.

Participants are able to:

• Arrange an online video presentation that should analyze the case, as well as provides recommendations,
• Create a business recommendation report consisting of an executive summary and case and recommendations analysis (2,000 words).

About The University

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is classified as one of the most innovative universities worldwide, in which it was ranked in the seventh position of the best universities in Asia, on the 27th in the world. It has four main academic schools in science, engineering, business and management, and also humanities and social science.

The Instructors

Kin Tang

He started joining the Center of Language of Education at HKUST in 2006, in which he previously worked at the University of Hong Kong before finally rejoining HKUST in 2011. He is also actively involved in marketing and business development.

Delian Gaskell 

She is an Instructor in the Center for Language Education at the HKUST and actively teaching and coordinating undergraduate courses in Business Communications and writing. Her basic interests include computer-aided language learning, and also corpus linguistics as well as discourse analysis.

Sean McMinn 

He’s been a Senior Instructor in the Center for Language Education at the HKUST and is actively teaching undergraduate English courses in Business Communications, speaking, and writing. He was awarded a Teaching Excellence Award in 2015, in which previously in 2007 he was awarded a Teaching in Innovation Award for his career at HKUST.

Learner Outcome

50% of students have started new careers after finishing this course.

50% of students also got a pay increase as well as a higher level of promotion.

Those, who graduate from this course, can work in specific careers like marketing, law, finance, and even politics. The course allows every non-native speaker to speak, think, and act like native business people, so they can get along well with their clients without any hesitation.