English for Public Relations

Introduction

English for Public Relations 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 the specialisation of public relations. The course blends grammatical structures necessary for this level, with vocabulary, reading, listening, writing, speaking, and pronunciation.

Grammar

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

  • Use present and past tenses correctly
  • Use the appropriate conditional forms to talk about situations and consequences
  • Use the present perfect to describe a link between past and present events
  • Use going to and will to talk about future predictions and intentions
  • Use the passive form correctly
  • Distinguish and be able to correctly describe countable and uncountable nouns

Vocabulary

By the end of the course, students will have learned approximately 120 expressions used in public relations.

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 public relations contexts.

Unit Summary

Module 1

  • Introduction to Public Relations
  • Grammar: Present tenses
  • Vocabulary: Key terms in PR and their meanings
  • Reading: A brief history of PR
  • Listening: Describing the role of PR in a company
  • Writing: Outline of a PR campaign
  • Speaking: Discussing the importance of PR in today’s world
  • Pronunciation: Anxious and Chess + connected speech

Module 2

  • Press Releases
  • Grammar: Past tenses
  • Vocabulary: Terms related to press releases
  • Reading: Analysis of a successful press release
  • Listening: Instructions for creating a press release
  • Writing: Drafting a simple press release
  • Speaking: The importance of a good press release
  • Pronunciation: Beats and Beach + connected speech

Module 3

  • Crisis Management
  • Grammar: Going to and Will
  • Vocabulary: Words and phrases associated with crisis management
  • Reading: Case studies of crisis management
  • Listening: How to handle a PR crisis
  • Writing: Writing a crisis communication plan
  • Speaking: Crisis communication
  • Pronunciation: Bet and But + connected speech

Module 4

  • Social Media for PR
  • Grammar: Present perfect
  • Vocabulary: Key terms in social media PR
  • Reading: Understanding the role of social media in PR
  • Listening: The value of social media in PR
  • Writing: Creating a social media post for a PR campaign
  • Speaking: The impact of social media on PR
  • Pronunciation: Bud and Bird + connected speech

Module 5

  • Event Management
  • Grammar: Countable and uncountable nouns
  • Vocabulary: Terms related to event management
  • Reading: Case studies of PR events
  • Listening: Organising a PR event
  • Writing: Writing an event proposal
  • Speaking: The challenge of organising a product launch
  • Pronunciation: Cart and Cut + connected speech

Module 6

  • Stakeholder Relations
  • Grammar: First conditional
  • Vocabulary: Key terms in stakeholder relations
  • Reading: Understanding stakeholder importance in PR
  • Listening: How to maintain good stakeholder relations
  • Writing: Drafting a stakeholder communication
  • Speaking: Keeping stakeholders happy
  • Pronunciation: Day and Ray + connected speech

Module 7

  • Internal Communications
  • Grammar: Passive
  • Vocabulary: Terms related to internal communications
  • Reading: The role of internal communication in PR
  • Listening: The importance of internal communications
  • Writing: Writing an internal communication message
  • Speaking: Feeling left out
  • Pronunciation: Guess and Yes + connected speech

Module 8

  • Ethics in Public Relations
  • Grammar: Second conditional
  • Vocabulary: Key terms related to ethics in PR
  • Reading: Understanding ethical considerations in PR
  • Listening: A debate on PR ethics
  • Writing: Drafting a code of ethics for a PR firm
  • Speaking: The importance of good ethics in PR
  • Pronunciation: Hope and Hop + connected speech

Follow-up

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

en_GBEnglish (UK)