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Business English Language Course at De Montfort University, February-March 2007
Business English courses at De Montfort University have become a traditional part of the programme, and the latest took place between 5 February and 3 March 2007. The course was attended by representatives of the FSU counties working under the CNCP Programme. The group comprised of 15 participants from Ozersk, Sarov, Snezhinsk, Zheleznogorsk, Moscow, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, representing nuclear centres, city administrations and scientific institutions. At the beginning of our trip we visited the HTSPE offices in Hamel Hampstead. Thanks to CNCP Manager Greg Kaiser and his assistants Cathy Show and Daxa Patel we had an opportunity to meet the office team and see how the company operates. De Montfort University is a large educational establishment, with almost 23,000 students. It is located in the very centre of England, 5 minutes walking distance from Leicester city centre. The University consists of 5 faculties, offering over 400 educational programmes, including art and design, business and legislature, computing and engineering science, health and life, and humanitarian disciplines. At the beginning of the course we received a package of materials with information about the university and the timetable for the entire training period, which helped us plan our time. The course included classes in the university, homework, and language practice, which heavily benefited from the other activities. The training started with introductions and an entrance test in English language. It should be noted that the group consisted of people with differing levels of language and vocabulary, although, as time showed, everyone succeeded in improving their knowledge. Through tests and individual homework many people were able to fill in gaps in grammar. Our teachers Mary Archer, Graham Hudson and David Boyden, who lead other English courses for CNCP, take a special approach - their lively classes, good atmosphere, and teaching speed helped us make best use of our time. The areas we covered included negotiation, entrepreneurship, innovation activities, corporate culture, formal business English, writing reports and proposals, preparation of presentations, marketing, brand managements and issues related to intellectual property, and the differences between various cultures in negotiations. We took part in exercises, wrote essays, and participated in business games. The training rooms are extremely well equipped, including multi-media devices and interactive boards. We used computers and special software, and we were impressed with the university library. This is a modern four-storey building operating round the clock, providing students with access to an enormous collection of over 390,000 books, computers with high-speed Internet access, an extensive DVD and video collection and audiotapes. The library can accommodate 1,200 students. A user-friendly computerized search system, free access and a comfortable working schedule helped the students from our group to work effectively on their homework. We benefited enormously by taking part in the scientific conference in Leicester, as we were able to attend sections related to entrepreneurship and business. Some of us were lucky enough to take part in the Effective Negotiations session, where we, along with students from other groups, took part in a role play in the sales process. Not only were we able to interact in English in an unusual environment, we also gained experience of negotiation. Another interesting event was meeting and talking with a group of students from other countries. Thanks to Graham Hudson we were able to visit the university business incubator and the new products development innovation centre. We found out about spin out companies, and the incubator structure and principles of its operation. This visit was especially valuable to participants implementing business incubator projects in Sarov, Seversk and Ozersk in particular. Our trip included a special event, the preparation and signing of the agreement between the De Montfort University and Seversk State Technological Academy. We all stayed with English families giving us the chance to talk with native speakers every day, as well as watch television, and learn about British culture. It should be mentioned that Alma Manzione tried to accommodate everybody's interests when choosing host families. We all made good friends with our host families, who made every effort to make us feel at home. Free time was planned with most effectively. The cities we visited included London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Nottingham and Manchester. Within a short period of time we had developed a great passion for the spirit and traditions of Great Britain, and had learnt a lot about its history. We were fortunate to be able to visit the National Space Centre in Leicester, the British Museum, the Tower of London, Madame Tussauds, the Edinburgh Zoo, the National Marine Centre in Birmingham, Warwick Castle and Loch Ness. We were also greatly impressed with Edinburgh Castle and Saint Island. Some of us even had the chance to support Manchester United at a football match. We kept practicing English even outside the classroom, in shops, pubs, the sports centre, and even when playing the traditional English game of skittles. Carole Weeks and Jenny Tweddle, from the University, looked after us very well, and helped us organize these trips. The business game Dragons' Den, similar to the Russian game Capital, was one major highlight of the trip. We tried to sell business ideas to our teachers, who played the role of investors. We had to demonstrate our new knowledge of English, negotiation skills, presentation making and use of business terminology. Our group members showed a great deal of imagination when demonstrating their ideas, which varied from extreme tours to Siberia to advertising on Leicester buses. In preparing for the game we conducted a market analysis of our business ideas and made feasibility studies. It should be noted that the investors bought all of our ideas. On March 2 a graduation ceremony was held in Trinity House Chapel. A bright sunny day emphasized the grand atmosphere, in a wonderful historic setting. We all received scrolls, tied with red satin ribbons, as well as our well-earned marks. The month-long course provided us with a great depth of knowledge and experience, and gave us a chance to strengthen relations with specialists from city administrations and nuclear centres from other closed cities, as well as meet with representatives of the British side. Undoubtedly, all this will prove invaluable in our future professional activity and will have a positive impact on cooperation under the CNCP Programme. On behalf of our group I would like to express our sincere gratitude to HTSPE, personally to Trevor Hayward and Chris Bailey for organizing these courses, and to the Moscow office, especially training coordinator Olga Zaluchenova for her constant attention and excellent coordination. We benefited from our Moscow colleagues' support throughout the entire trip. We would like to specially thank them for their professionalism, sensitivity and responsible attitude.
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