The purpose of this course is to help students improve both their language and soft skills for academic and professional contexts linked to their degree course as well as extend their lexical range. The interactive, hands-on approach engages students in situations where they acquire the tools to improve their communication skills and then put them directly to the test. Short debriefing sessions will allow students to assess their performance in view of fine-tuning and adopting best practices. Particular focus is given to the Virtual Communication skills which are in high demand today.

Knowledge and understanding: Through participation and practical activities, students will gain hands-on knowledge of the academic language components (lexical and structural) and communication strategies needed to improve their public speaking and written communication skills in the English Language, in particular relating to issues linked to Governance, Administration and Policy. In particular, they will develop their academic reading and writing skills, critical thinking and virtual literacy in English. Applying knowledge and understanding: The student will be asked to apply the language component and communication strategies to cases, simulations, presentations, problem-solving and other academic or professional tasks. Making judgements: The course materials are designed in such a way as to encourage comparison and evaluation of alternative sources and stances and to express resultant conclusions in a language and form appropriate to the specific context. Communication skills: At the end of the course, students will be able to use the appropriate lexical range, accuracy and appropriacy to operate effectively in contexts linked to their degree course. Through the various interactive activities carried out during the course – lessons with discussion, debates, group work–students will be able to put these communication skills into practice in various contexts and assess their own performance in view of gaining the English language communication skills necessary for their professional career. Learning skills: By putting into practice the methodologies learned during the interactive lectures and seminars, students will be able to apply the acquired strategies to future tasks related to their academic and professional careers.

The topics and genres covered in the course correspond to the specific needs of students of Governance, Administration and Policy. They include among other things the language of international agreements and treaties, materials on the conduct of the population census, demography, study of public speaking techniques before parliament and select audiences, using statistics and visuals in the service of technical presentations, European Union interinstitutional style guides to the writing of legislation, resolutions etc.,

The materials are drawn from a range of sources including university textbooks, United Nations Agreements, Eurostat data bases, US Census Bureau, parliamentary resolutions, recorded speeches of politicians, academics, prominent international functionaries.

Hands-on, practical workshops where students can apply best practices and assess their performance

Students will be evaluated during the course, through continuous assessment, and, at the end of the course, by means of an oral examination. Continuous assessment will be made of the student’s performance in interactive class activities and outside the classroom assignments submitted. It accounts for 50% of the mark and is expressed over a total of 30. The oral exam, which has a weight of 50% of the final grade, will be held at the end of the course and will concern the entirety of the course programme. The student will be required to show that he/she is able to discuss the topic areas covered during the course effectively and accurately using the appropriate language and communicative skills. In order to assess the level of preparation of the student, the following evaluation criteria will be taken into account: ability to communicate accurately and appropriately in English, ability to demonstrate acquired skills clearly and with appropriate lexical range; ability to critically engage in an academic discussion with the commission. The final grade is given by the average between continuous assessment and the final oral exam

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