This module analyses communication in professional settings, approaches to intercultural communication, and the role culture and cultural identities may play in professional contexts. The course will focus primarily on spoken interactions, such as workplace meetings and presentations, media interviews, and various problem-solving interactions in a range of professional settings. Theories and methods that are covered include discourse analysis, corpus linguistics, intercultural communication, management studies, interactional sociolinguistics, pragmatics and gendered discourse. The course aims to build on courses covered in years one and two, and to develop students’ cultural intelligence and employability skills in preparation for their future careers. 

• Evaluate different methods of collecting, presenting and analysing data 

• Recognise and analyse discursively and culturally significant aspects of professional interaction 

• Summarise and evaluate relevant literature on professional discourse and intercultural communication 

• Develop a logical argument in relation to an empirical project and reach a conclusion that can be defended as reasonable 

The module will be delivered through a mix of large group and small group sessions, including, where relevant, asynchronous materials such as lecture recordings. Full details on the delivery mode of this module will be available on Learning Central at the start of the academic year – and may be, in part, determined by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales guidance.

• Gain understanding of and practice in data collection and analysis  

• Analyse professional interactions from a variety of theoretical perspectives 

• Assess notions of ‘culture’ from a critical perspective, and manage potentially intercultural contexts effectively 

• Compare and contrast theoretical and methodological frameworks 

• Plan and deliver an appropriate short presentation 

The module is assessed by 100% Coursework, consisting of 10% individual presentation and 90% research project.   

The presentation will outline the plan for the research project, and will be delivered in seminars. Students will receive training in presentation skills, and the presentations will be assessed according to the following criteria: relevance of content, organisation of information, and delivery. Feedback will be provided on the presentation, focusing on the proposal for the project.  

The project itself will involve collecting and analysing publicly available data from a social or professional setting, focusing, for instance, on the social function of selected linguistic features and how it may relate to issues of culture and identity. One option is to analyse interactions from media sources such as the BBC, and to compare and contrast them with published interactions. The research questions will be specified by Week 2 of the module.  The research project will demonstrate the student’s ability to work independently and to design a piece of research to answer a specific question.   

The module is assessed according to the Assessment Criteria set out in the English Language Undergraduate Student Handbook. The requirement that students demonstrate ability to design, present and execute research on authentic interaction will restrict the availability of alternative forms of assessment as an adjustment for students with disabilities.  Otherwise there are no academic or competence standards which limit the availability of adjustments or alternative assessments for students with disabilities. 

Topics covered in the module include: 

• Professional discourse: what is it, and how can it be analysed? 

• Intercultural communication: moving beyond stereotypes and considering small cultures 

• Cultural identity: analysing identities in action 

• Face and politeness at work: negotiating obligation and power in the workplace 

• Business meetings: genre and corpus perspectives 

• Professional interviews: following and breaking constraints 

• Conflict and communication: how is conflict discursively constructed? 

• Business communication education: implications for the professional context 

• Business communication education: implications for the professional context