English for Information Technology professionals

Introduction

English for Information Technology is an online course, consisting of 56 units of English, and providing approximately 60 hours of study for students.

Course aims

To give students at Intermediate, CEFR B1/Upper Intermediate B2 level practice in general and business-oriented language required for business contexts at this level, specifically tailored towards IT. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking, and pronunciation.

Граматика

By the end of the course, students will be able to

  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns.
  • Compare adjectives and adverbs, using comparative and superlative forms.
  • Describe real-life choices using the First Conditional form.
  • Use the passive voice correctly in written and spoken English.
  • Use gerund and infinitive forms to form more complex and accurate sentences.
  • Use the present continuous form to describe situations in the future.
  • Use the present perfect tense to describe situations requiring a link between the present and the past.
  • Use relative pronouns and clauses to link simple ideas into more complex sentences.

Речник

  • By the end of the course students will have learnt approximately 100 lexical items used in an IT setting.

Skills

  • By the end of the course students will have had exposure to and practice in reading and hearing formal and informal English from a variety of accents and IT contexts.

Unit summary

Module 1

  • Introduction to English for Information Technology
  • Граматика: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Речник: General IT vocabulary 1
  • Четене: A Day in my IT worklife
  • Слушане: Dialogue: One person’s experience working in IT
  • Писане: Write about how you started your career in Information Technology
  • Говорене: Are information technology jobs going to be replaced by AI?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /ə/ and /e/ ; dealing with connected speech

Module 2

  • Common IT Vocabulary and Terminology
  • Граматика: Comparatives and superlatives
  • Речник: General IT vocabulary 2
  • Четене: A constantly changing world
  • Слушане: Dialogue: Specialist vocabulary in IT
  • Писане: Write about new vocabulary you have learnt in the last year
  • Говорене: Is it important to learn technical vocabulary, when everything changes so quickly?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /ts/ and /ʧ/ ; dealing with connected speech

Module 3

  • Writing Effective Emails in the IT Industry
  • Граматика: First conditional
  • Речник: Vocabulary necessary for writing effective emails
  • Четене: A business email
  • Слушане: Talk: How to write effective emails
  • Писане: What is your opinion of emails, receiving and writing them?
  • Говорене: Do you write more emails or fewer emails than you did five years ago? Why?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /e/ and /ʌ/ ; dealing with connected speech

Module 4

  • Describing Software and Hardware in English
  • Grammar: Gerunds and Infinitives
  • Речник: Vocabulary necessary to describe computer hardware and software
  • Четене: Microsoft Powerpoint/Out of date computer hardware: a false economy
  • Слушане: Dialogue: Talking about a new software program
  • Писане: Write about your computer hardware set up and what you would like to improve about it
  • Говорене: What’s the best piece of software you’ve ever used, and why?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /ʊ/ and /ʌ/ ; dealing with connected speech

Module 5

  • Preparing for English Language IT Interviews and Job Applications
  • Grammar: The Passive
  • Речник: Vocabulary necessary for describing the interview process
  • Четене: Interview tips
  • Слушане: Dialogue: A sample interview
  • Писане: Write about a failed job interview and what you have learnt from it
  • Говорене: What was it about your last job interview that you think got you your current job?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /æ/ and /ʌ/ ; dealing with connected speech

Module 6

  • Effective Communication in Cross-Functional IT Teams
  • Grammar: Present continuous with future reference
  • Речник: Vocabulary necessary for describing effective communication
  • Четене: Please let me be understood!
  • Слушане: Talk: How to communicate effectively
  • Писане: Write about the issues you have had trying to communicate effectively with those from a different culture
  • Говорене: Are you a good communicator?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /d/ and /r/ ; dealing with connected speech

Module 7

  • Understanding Technical Reports and Documents
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Речник: Vocabulary necessary for the correct understanding of reports
  • Четене: Reporting your worklife
  • Слушане: Dialogue: Dealing with reports and technical documents
  • Писане: Write about whether you like or hate reading technical reports
  • Говорене: Do you pay attention to technical reports?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /f/ and /v/ ; dealing with connected speech

Module 8

  • Using English for Technical Writing and Documentation
  • Grammar: Relative pronouns and clauses
  • Речник: Vocabulary necessary for the effective writing of reports
  • Четене: Website issues and solutions
  • Слушане: Dialogue: Writing technical reports in English
  • Писане: Write about how the quality of your technical report writing has changed over the years.
  • Говорене: Are you able to write technical reports without using a translation tool?
  • Pronunciation: Minimal pair: /g/ and /j/ ; dealing with connected speech

Follow-up

Students completing the English for Information Technology professionals course should feel confident in tackling any upper intermediate course, including our Upper Intermediate Business Power course.