Faculty of Translation and Interpreting
Course syllabus/Teaching plan of the subject
2015-2016 Academic Year
Case Study: Languages and Business (21510)
Degree:​
Applied Languages
Year:​
second
Term:​
second
(Number of) ECTS Credits:​
4
Hours of student dedication to the course:​
100
Course type: ​
Compulsory
Plenary session teacher:​
Mercè Lorente
Language of instruction:​
Catalan
1. Course presentation
The main objective of the course CASE STUDY: LANGUAGES AND BUSINESS is
for students to identify and discuss corporate language needs, on the basis of real
cases, to acquire basic knowledge of business environment and the competencies
about language management in enterprises, and to practise analysis techniques for
language uses and for the detection of language needs in professional
environments.
2. Competencies to be acquired
Among the set of competencies to be achieved by the end of the grade, in this
course the following general (G) and specific (S) skills are addressed, identified as
learning outcomes:
G.2. Situation analysis and problem solving
a) Identify typologies or models of companies.
b) Apply correctly analysis protocols for language needs in business.
G.4. Documentary search and information resources
c) Distinguish the relevant information for the cases analysis.
d) Document the normative framework of each case correctly.
G.5. Information management
e) Relate the information obtained with the results of the analysis of needs for a
good description of the situation of each case.
G.17. Application of knowledge into practice
f) Transform the results of the analysis into viability plans.
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S.12. Ability to search and manage information and documentation
g) Use search and information management tools for each project or case analysed
(advanced searches in browsers, databases, automatic or assisted information
extraction).
S.15. Capacity for designing and managing language projects
h) Use office automation tools for the projects or cases management and for the
final presentation of each case.
3. Contents
1. The role of languages in business environments: internal and external
communication, customer service, international relations, corporate image,
advertising, public relations, language as a business strategy.
2. Types of companies: production sectors, small and medium enterprise,
multinational companies, enterprises by sectors, juridical status of companies,
organisations with business management, business internationalisation
processes.
3. Language models in enterprises. Languages strategies. Corporate social
responsibility. Language management in business. Good practices.
4. Language planning in companies. Management of change: audits and
exceptional plans. Government programmes for language promotion or
normalization for enterprises.
5. Language projects for enterprises: viability plans, planning, training
programmes, language resources and technology, the evaluation of the actions.
6. Language services companies and communication companies: language as an
economic object. Externalization of language management in enterprises.
7. Business partnership. Initiatives of sectoral language support for enterprises.
Government programmes. Actions of business people associations and actions
of professional associations.
8. The legal framework: language policy legislation related to companies and
commercial legislation related to languages (advertising, labelling, consumer
rights).
9. Analysis techniques for language uses: surveys, interviews, in situ observation,
communicative materials analysis. Analysis of needs. Users’ profiles. Analysis of
the language quality. Advertising analysis.
10. The economics of language. Application of the economic paradigm to language
management in enterprises and to government language planning. The
specialization in language management in business.
4. Evaluation and reassessment
The evaluation is carried out by means of assignments organized and managed in
groups, but in which individual responsibilities are clearly identified. The works are
always oriented to the comparative analysis of two real enterprises in the same
sector. The group part includes the enterprises description and the presentation of
the language model.
Items for the individual analysis:
● Enterprise’s language strategy
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●
●
●
●
●
●
Corporative websites
Presence in social networks
Customer service
Language in advertising
Labelling and dissemination materials
HR language competencies
Evaluation
Evaluation
Percentage
activities
of final mark
Group
assignment:
description of the
cases and
organization
Final
presentation of
the assignment:
oral and written
Participation in
the presentation
session and in
complementary
activity
Individual part of
the assignment.
Individual exam
about basic
contents.
It can/cannot
be made up
Reassessment
Percentage
How is it
of final
made up?
mark
20%
It cannot be
made up
-
20%
It cannot be
made up
-
10%
It cannot be
made up
-
25%
It can be
made up
It can be
made up
25%
25%
25%
Requisites
and
observations
New
submission
Exam in
reassessment
period
5. Methodology: training activities
Plenary sessions (GG) will cover 15% of student dedication to the subject, and will
be intended to present the basic contents of the course, the presentation of the real
cases and to introduce the general methodological aspects that need to be taken
into account in each case analysed. Searching for information, consultation of
materials and bibliography and individual study have an expected dedication of
25%.
Students will be organized in groups of 5 and will follow the PBL methodology
(Problem-Based Learning). Each group will choose a couple of enterprises from the
same sector and will work on searching for information, on the contact with the
enterprises, on the description of the language uses and on the identification of the
model of language management and/or language needs. Each group will make
specific reference to the intern organization and the distribution of tasks (types of
individual analysis). At the end of the term, the students will give a public
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presentation. This assignment developed throughout the term has an expected
dedication of 45%, including the individual tasks assigned.
The presentation of the projects will be carried out in a joint session, with
presentations that may include audiovisual materials, with an expected dedication
of 5%.
Individual and/or group tasks concerning searching for information, information
management, planning, incidences, etc., will occupy seminar time under the tuition
of the teacher (10% of the dedication).
As a term complementary activity, a talk offered by language agents from the
business environment will be programed, and the students enrolled in the course
must attend it.
6. Essential course bibliography
Bonnes pratiques linguistiques dans les entreprises. Montréal : Office Québecois à
la Langue Française ; Paris : Délégation Générale à la Langue Française et aux
Langues de France, 2013.
http://www.francaisautravail.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Bonnes-pratiques-1
9-3-2013-complet.pdf
Effects on the European Economy of Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in
Enterprise​
(ELAN). Full Report, December 2006.
http://ec.europa.eu/languages/policy/strategic-framework/documents/elan_en.pdf
Boix, Emili (2004). Poder i llengües a Catalunya. ​
Revista Catalana de Sociologia.
Núm. 20 (2004), p. 25-42
http://www.google.es/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCwQ
FjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.raco.cat%2Findex.php%2FRevistaSociologia%2Fa
rticle%2Fdownload%2F222402%2F303206&ei=hvbDU7y3FKmj0QWZh4CICA&usg=
AFQjCN
Canyelles, Josep M. (2010). ​
Empresa i llengua. Un enfocament de responsabilitat
social empresarial per a aportar valor a tots els grups d’interès​
. Barcelona:
Departament de Treball, Generalitat de Catalunya.
http://www.collaboratio.net/mm/File/ca/Empresa_i_llengua.pdf
Feely, Alan J.; Anne-Wil Harzing (2003) "Language management in multinational
companies", ​
Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal​
, Vol. 10 Iss: 2,
pp.37 – 52
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=882986
Spolsky, Bernard (2009) ​
Language Management.​Cambridge. Cambridge University
Press, pp. 53-64.
Strubell, Miquel; Marí, Isidor (eds.) (2011). ​
Mercat global i mercat local:
implicacions per al multilingüisme de l’empresa. Actes del seminari del CUIMPB-CEL
2008​
. Editorial UOC.
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Websites
Canal empresa de la Generalitat de Catalunya
http://www20.gencat.cat/portal/site/canalempresa/menuitem.834df6cacc7a022195813d10b0c0e1a0/?v
gnextoid=edba69a3c8007310VgnVCM1000000b0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=edba69a3c8007310VgnVC
M1000000b0c1e0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Le français au travail​
(Office Québecois à la Langue Francaise; DGLFLF)
http://www.francaisautravail.org/
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