English Language and Translation I

This is a year-long course stretching across both semesters. Its goal is to introduce students to the principles of discourse analysis through an in-depth study of real-life English texts, primarily in the field of strategic corporate communication, both internal and external. In line with the objectives of the degree programme, the course adopts a distinctly critical approach, to foster not only linguistic and rhetorical skills, but also metalinguistic, metadiscursive, and metacommunicative competencies, which are essential for addressing the challenges of today's corporate and institutional communication. Students will learn to recognise discursive, rhetorical, and textual strategies, and to assess their pragmatic effects in different communicative settings, also taking into account the complex intersections of identity, interests, and expectations of the various stakeholders involved. Building on these competencies, students will learn to produce and manage a wide range of text types of strategic importance in the field of corporate communication. They will also become familiar with the most popular Open AI tools and learn some useful techniques to produce effective prompts and post-edit texts, in order not only to refine the AI generated output, but also to identify and eliminate implicit and explicit biases. Moreover, the course aims to develop oral communication skills for the workplace. These skills will be enhanced through workshops focused on preparing oral presentations based on real-life case studies from the corporate world.
The course combines both theory and practice, including a focus on advanced syntax and grammar. The minimum language proficiency required for taking this course corresponds to level B2+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), although a level approaching C1 would be preferable. By the end of the course, students are expected to achieve a C1+ level of the CEFR, with particular expertise in institutional and corporate communication.

By the end of the course, students will master a wide range of advanced grammatical and lexical structures, being able to use them strategically both in speaking and in writing, particularly in the field of internal and external corporate communication. Moreover, they will have learned the principles of discourse analysis (including critical discourse analysis) based on the theory of textual genres, thus gaining transferable skills applicable to various career sectors. Students will be able to use Open AI tools critically and consciously to produce or post-edit different types of corporate texts, developing particular expertise in AI prompting strategies. Furthermore, they will be able to manage teamwork in order to produce and present contents related to corporate case studies. Although the skills acquired during the course are mainly related to corporate communication, their applicability extends well beyond this field, providing students with a solid foundation to build upon to independently pursue advanced skills in various areas of specialised communication.