English

This course explores the role and application of English in the context of new media, (mis)communication, and its influence on society. Designed for students with at least a B1 CEFR level, the course aims to improve students' linguistic competence while equipping them with the tools to understand and participate in English-language media and communication platforms in multiple professional contexts. The course is divided into three thematic modules, each focusing on a specific aspect of new media and communication, complemented by targeted grammar practice.
The three modules jointly pursue the goal of the English course, and of the degree course in general, to provide students with specialized language skills suitable for use in modern communication contexts.
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Module 1: Communication, Identity, and Digital Society
Instructor: Prof. Jekaterina Nikitina
Schedule: Wednesday, 08:45-10:30
Focus: Understanding how English is used across social media platforms, messaging apps, and online communities for storytelling and interaction.
· Key Topics:
o Communication & internetting
o New media & digital literacy
o Disinformation & discrimination: how discourse fuels trolling and cyber-bullyism
o Disinformation, misinformation, post-truth, alternative facts, hate speech, conspiracy theories & fake news
o Social media language: hashtags, abbreviations, emojis, and tone
o Writing posts, captions, and short articles for different audiences
o Engaging with online discussions and understanding netiquette
o Digital communities, language and identity: creating an online persona
o Discourse perspectives on trends, memes, and viral content
o Cross-cultural communication: understanding slang and idiomatic expressions
· Grammar Focus:
o Present simple vs. present continuous (e.g., describing habits and ongoing activities online)
o Modal verbs for suggestions, permissions, and obligations
o Phrasal verbs in digital and professional contexts
o Conditionals
o Future forms: predictions, plans, and intentions
o Relative clauses to provide more detail
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Module 2: English for Professional Communication, Branding and Internationalization
Instructor: Prof. Jekaterina Nikitina
Schedule: Thursday, 08:45-10:30
Focus: Developing skills for using English in international and multicultural professional settings such as business presentations, branding, and corporate communication.
· Key Topics:
o Multimodality and multimediality
o Transmedia navigation
o Social Media Critical Discourse Studies
o Genres and media in business communication
o Branding & advertising: place, nation and personal
o Intercultural business communication: understanding how context influences meaning and communication strategies across different national and business cultures
o Content marketing and advertising across cultures: telling the story of the company in an engaging way
o Branding and marketing language: slogans, persuasive writing, and audience targeting
o Analyzing case studies of successful business communication campaigns
o Corporate social responsibility
· Grammar Focus:
o Formal vs. informal language for different contexts
o Future forms: discussing plans and goals
o Relative clauses to add clarity and detail
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Module 3: English in Digital and Social Media Communication
Schedule: Friday, 08:30-10:30 (in person/online)
Focus: Developing practical language-oriented skills as applied to digital and media communication.
· Key Topics:
o Writing professional emails and preparing business presentations
o Standard grammar or English as a lingua franca
o Different genres and new media literacy
o Role-playing communication specialist tasks: presenting proposals, pitching ideas, and handling client communication
o Delivering a professional business pitch or presentation
· Assessment:
This module includes ongoing assessment within which students will make a presentation drawing inspiration from one of the topics covered in class (Module 1, 2, or 3). They will be assessed based on their performance in the presentation. The evaluation, expressed as a verbal grade on a scale of "Fail/Pass/Average/Good/Very Good/Excellent," will consider:
a) the content of the presentation
b) grammatically correct and fluent delivery