GENERAL INFORMATION Course requirements: _ minimum 80% attendance (maximum of 4 unexcused absences per semester); _ handing in two business letters (for details, see below); _ active participation in seminars (systematic preparation for seminars and fulfillment of assignments and homework); _ passing the credit test (minimum 60% of the total number of points) in the last class of the semester, i.e., Thursday, December 16, 2010 - seminar groups 8, 17, 20 and Friday, December 17, 2010 – seminar group 29) _ Electronic sources: IS MU: BPJ_JI1A Jazyk I/1 – Angličtina (interactive syllabus) web: http://www.econ.muni.cz/katedry/oddeleni-jazyku-na-esf/ _ Primary sources: · Trappe, T., Tullis, G.: Intelligent Business: Coursebook. Upper Intermediate. Longman, Pearson Education Limited 2006. ISBN-10: 0-582- 84809-1 · Pile, L.: Intelligent Business: Workbook. Upper Intermediate. Longman, Pearson Education Limited 2006. ISBN-10: 0-582-84685-4 · Boháček, M., Brandejská, Z., Trumpešová – Rudolfová, E.: Intelligent Vocabulary. Glosář k učebnici Intelligent Business: Upper Intermediate. Brno, MU, 2007. ISBN 978-80-210-4389-3 _ Supplementary literature: * Johnson, C., Barrall, I.: Intelligent Business: Skills Book. Upper Intermediate. Longman, Pearson Education Limited 2006. ISBN-10: 0-582-84806-7 · On-line Interactive English Grammar for Business Students; Bližší informace a hlavní osno vu kurzu naleznete na následujícím odkazu v IS: https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/1456/jaro2006/PJI2A/inde x.qwarp · Emmerson, P.: Business Grammar Builder. Macmmillan, 2002. ISBN 0-333-75492-1 · Brieger, N., Sweeney, S.: The Language of Business English. Prentice Hall 1994. ISBN 0-13-042516-8 · Dynda, A., Dyndová, E.: Česko-anglická obchodní korespondence. Pragoeduca Praha 1995, 1997. ISBN 80-858556-50-6 · Murphy, R.: English Grammar in Use. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, 1994, 2003. ISBN 0-521-43680-X · Fronek, J.: Velký česko-anglický slovník. Praha, Leda, 2000. ISBN 80-85927-54-3 · Fronek, J.: Anglicko-český slovník s nejnovějšími výrazy. Praha, Leda, 1998. ISBN: 80-85927-13-6 · Straková, M., Bürger, J., Hrdý, M.: Česko-anglický hospodářský slovník. Plzeň, Fraus, 2000. ISBN 80-7238-047-8 · Straková, M., Bürger, J., Hrdý, M.: Anglicko-český hospodářský slovník. Plzeň, Fraus, 2000. ISBN 80-7238-046-X Authentic materials: * The Economist * Financial Times * BBC World Service, especially: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ * … and many other sources … _ SEMINAR ASSIGNMENT: Business letters Your seminar assignment for this semester involves writing up and handing in two business letters. The deadline for handing in the letters is Friday, October 22, 2010. To meet the requirements, you have to follow these guidelines: · first, you have to find another classmate to make a pair because you will be cooperating on the business letters; · the letters are intended to be correspondence between two business partners (i.e. you and your classmate) in the following way: one of you sends a letter ® the other person replies to it ® the first one reacts to the reply ® the other person replies to the reply; · the concrete topics of the letters are up to you but they have to be relevant, i.e. they have to relate to your business activities (that you choose to perform) – e.g. a business partner’s complaint about badly performed work/services or a reaction to a supplier’s offer or a bid from a competing company for cooperation or a letter from a state authority because of your breaking rules/norms or a claim for a refund because of low-quality goods/services you delivered, etc. · each of the letters should consists of 150-200 words including formalities (i.e. addresses, date, salutation, subject of the letter, closing sentence, your name, position within the company and signature); · don’t forget to include your name and university number (UČO) on each page; · hand in your letters as a pair (i.e. 4 letters together) and mark each letter with an appropriate number according to the logical sequence (first letter = 1, following letter = 2, next letter = 3, final letter = 4); · hand in your letters in time (within the deadline), in the required extent and in a printed form. Model business letters as well as additional information on how to write a proper and good business letter are available in a booklet called Intelligent Business: Style guide (it is a supplement to your Intelligent Business textbook) on pages 16 – 19. Use this source as a useful way of drawing inspiration for your own seminar work. Tips and examples (copied from the Style guide, page 16): Formal business correspondence is usually done by letter as this leaves a written record which can be kept for reference. Business letters can be of different types with different purposes: to apply for a job, to inform people of developments, to request action, to make an enquiry, to complain, etc. To write a successful business letter you need to use the right tone and to communicate your message to the reader using straightforward language. The way a letter is written reveals a lot about the person who is writing it and it also sends a message about the organisation that he or she is working for. It is, therefore, very important to make sure that the information, layout, style and spelling are all correct before you send it. · Language styles Business letters are usually quite formal in style. A conversational style is therefore not appropriate and you should avoid contractions, for example. Try to use verbs in the active and not in the passive form as this will make your letter more dynamic. You should also avoid writing sentences that are too long and that include complicated or unnecessary language. A straightforward letter will get your message across more effectively than a long wordy one. There are certain conventions concerning the correct way to address people and to close your letter. · Opening Letters always start with Dear ... followed by the correct form of address. If the letter is going to someone whose name you do not know, it starts with Dear Sir, or Dear Madam, or Dear Sir or Madam, ... . But if you do know the name, then you can begin with Dear Mr/Ms Taylor, or Dear Greg Taylor, ... . · Closing Letters are usually closed in standard ways. At the end of your letter you should include a short sentence like I look forward to hearing from you. or Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further information. Below that, you should put a closing phrase: Yours sincerely, (formal, for letters beginning Dear + name) Yours faithfully, (formal, for letters beginning Dear Sir/ Madam) Yours truly, / Best regards, / Best wishes, (less formal) · Useful phrases and notations Following our recent telephone conversation ... I am writing to you to confirm ... Thank you for taking the time to ... Regarding the question of ... I think you will agree that ... We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. I am enclosing full contact details. enc (shows that something is enclosed), cc (copy sent to another person), PS (for additional sentence(s) included after the signature) · Layout When writing a business letter, you should follow the standard format. The letter opposite shows where the following different components should appear on the page. a letterhead / address (but not name) of writer b name and address of recipient c references d date e opening f subject heading g body of the letter h closing i signature j name and job title k enclosures SAMPLE LAYOUT: