An Academy of Banking in Namibia

Academy of Banking Namibia

PRACTICING WORKPLACE ENGLISH (ENN1504)

1.

WHAT IS PRACTISING WORKPLACE ENGLISH

The course is designed to assist in the development of pro¬ficiency in English and writing skills related to the world of work, and to enhance the quality of workplace documentation, including reports, proposals, minutes of meetings and business correspondence. We expect that you are - or at some stage will be - employed in an organisation where you will be required to communicate effectively in a professional environment, using English. The ability to write well in the world of work is a valuable life skill, so we hope you will find this course useful in your professional life.

2.

PURPOSE OF AND OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE

2.1

PURPOSE

This module will be useful to students who would like to develop proficiency in English and a range of related communication skills and strategies for the public and/or private sector work environment.  The central focus is on the ability to write in English as a set of work- related life skills. As you work through the course you will be asked to respond critically to form and meaning in texts relating to the world of work, with reference to qualities of good business writing.  You will also be required to produce texts of your own that reflect what you have learnt from this.  You will therefore be able to transfer your skills to new contexts, and to develop them independently. Spoken and written texts such as letters, memorandums, email, reports, proposals, presentations, and documentation relating to meetings will be critiqued, improved and produced as original text. Skills involved include planning, information gathering, drafting, revising, editing and proofreading. As pre-writing activities, strategies for critical reading or listening to short work-related texts are treated as integral to the writing tasks. The main aim of the course is to enhance your knowledge and understanding of business English in organisational contexts, and to improve your ability to write it. By business we mean not only the world of the private sector and profit-making companies, but also service providers in the public sector, including government departments.  It is the kind of English we use in our writing at work. The conventions of business writing are not absolutely rigid.  Different industries and organisations have internal guidelines, or a 'house style' for producing documents which differ in small ways. There is, for instance, no one "correct" way to set out a business letter or a report. While it is important to keep this flexibility in mind, it is also essential to know what the conventions in most organisations entail. Our examples follow these general conventions. If we think about the purposes of business writing, the reasons for the conventions become much clearer. Business writing is done for two main reasons: • to keep a record • to share ideas or transmit information Documents such as letters and reports usually combine these two purposes. Others, like internal memorandums, are mainly about conveying information or making requests, while minutes of a meeting are mainly about keeping records. "Time is money" is the principle that underlies business writing. Most business documents are written and read under pressure by busy people, so we are developing a "language of efficiency". A second consideration is that most business correspondence is not written exclusively for a familiar person. Even when you know the person you are sending it to, your memo, report or minutes of a meeting may also be read by all sorts of people without your even knowing about it. This requires a neutral tone (i.e. unemotional and courteous), and a style that is natural but not too informal.

2.2

OUTCOMES

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1 -

CRITIQUE GIVEN TEXTS

Critically explore and analyse discourse features, the principles underlying established conventions of format and style, and language use in both draft and finished texts. Texts are critiqued in a way that shows the student's ability to • identify values, attitudes and intentions implicit in the text • understand explicit and implicit meaning • explore and describe the relationship between meaning and form (This will include attention to the presentation of content in subsections, paragraphing, sequencing, and to the coherence of text) • identify flaws and suggest improvements in approach, language use (appropriateness) and usage (accuracy) Appropriateness includes attention to tone and register as elements of style, and to characteristics of good business English. The writing style is suited to the subject matter, target audience and purpose, which implies that the text is free of insensitivity towards race, gender, ability, culture and other differences. Accuracy includes attention to syntax and vocabulary, and the mechanics of spelling and punctuation.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2 -

REVISE, EDIT AND PROOFREAD DRAFT

TEXTS

Revision implies evaluating and reworking the results of initial planning (pre-writing activities) as reflected in content and structure. Editing entails improving diction, grammar and writing style. Proofreading involves correcting mistakes in spelling, punctuation and typing. This implies that although meaning can be extracted from the draft text with effort, the reworked text is free of features that might obstruct reading and distract attention from the content. Flaws in draft text are identified and rectified in a way that shows the student's ability to • revise: evaluate and rework the results of initial planning as reflected in content and structure. • edit: improve diction (word choice), grammar and writing style. • proofread: correct mistakes in spelling, punctuation and typing.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 3 - PRODUCE WRITTEN TEXTS FOR SPECIFIC

PURPOSES RELEVANT TO A WORK ENVIRONMENT THAT REFLECT

QUALITIES EXPECTED IN GOOD BUSINESS WRITING

Written texts for specific purposes relevant to the work environment are produced in a way that shows the student's ability to • Adopt a systematic but not necessarily or entirely linear writing process. The process of writing, which underlies all specific outcomes in this module, involves the following: o Planning - ways of thinking about the writing task, including brainstorming to generate ideas, and critical reflection to evaluate, select and cluster ideas. ▪ This is demonstrated in the use of techniques such as keyword clustering, mind maps, manipulation of a table of contents and flow charts. ▪ It also includes pre-writing activities such as explicit definition of probable readership, subject matter and purpose. o Research - relevant information is located in a variety of sources and integrated into a coherent text. o Drafting - ideas and information are presented in an appropriate text type/format, with attention focused primarily on content and structure. o Revising - evaluate and rework content and structure, with attention focused primarily on form. o Editing - improve sentence construction and writing style. o Proofreading - correct mistakes in spelling, punctuation and keyboard use. • Generate original texts in which the characteristics of good business writing are evident, at a level appropriate to the employment context. Clarity is the combined effect of the following qualities of good business writing: o Research - relevant information is located in a variety of sources and integrated into a coherent text o Structure - the text is organised to reflect meaning and content; the message can be grasped without undue effort to create a framework for understanding. o Conciseness - not writing more than is necessary to achieve the purpose. o Completeness - including everything that is useful and necessary. The reader should not have to ask: When? Where? Why? Who? What? How? o Appropriateness - using language that suits the purpose (to inform, describe, explain, persuade, argue, complain, request, etc.), the subject matter and all probable readers. o Accuracy - using grammar, spelling and punctuation that make the text easy to read and comprehend, and enable the reader to attend to the contents of the message without distraction. o Complete accuracy (correctness) is not always attainable and essential, but is generally preferred, and therefore remains a target.

3.

WHAT’S THE OFFER

1. Starting in March 2015 the IoB offers this course to alumni of the IoB who have graduated with the Advanced Diploma in Banking, Finance and Credit (Q0343 NQF Level 7) and to registered IoB students with a limited intake of 250 students per semester. 2. Registrations from 1 March 2016 with an examination on 24 June 2016. 3. An IoB certificate will be issued to all successful students – not NQF rated. 4. Four assignments (between 1 and 3 pages), each contribution 25% of the year mark, submitted as a pdf file every two weeks with a two hour examination on 20 May  5. No classes but tutor available via e-mail to answer questions. 6. Registration for the second semester will start 1 August 2016 with an examination on 21 October 2016.

4.

COST

N$ 500 payable on registration, includes the study guide, tutorial letter, marking of e-mailed assignments (model answers provided once marked), admission to the examination, and the completion certificate.  Application will be made to the NTA to have the course registered & approved. Writing skills in professional correspondence presented by the University of South Africa as ENN1504 Copyright vests in UNISA and IoB has purchased the rights to use the study guide for 2016 and 2017 without any changes thereto.

Academy of Banking Namibia