This lesson is part of a full course, Business English Networking. Take this lesson to get a short tutorial on the learning objectives covered. To dive deeper into this topic, take the full course. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: - Write effective sentences to begin an email - Write friendly, closing sentences

English is a difficult language to learn because of its many obscure grammatical rules, which are fairly easy to mess up--even for native speakers. While it’s easy for non-native speakers to get overwhelmed by confusing grammar rules, in this course, we'll provide you with tips that will help you understand the rules more easily and give you lots of practice with the tricky grammar of everyday English. Please note that the free version of this class gives you access to all of the instructional videos and handouts. The peer feedback and quizzes are only available in the paid version.

Acquiring good academic research and writing skills early on is essential for your success both at university and in your professional life. This course aims: - to give you an understanding of the conventions of academic writing in English and to teach you the components and benefits of what is called process writing. - to help you to put together your own “toolbox” of academic writing skills, as well as to give you a chance to test out these tools and to reflect on your own development as a writer. - to encourage reflection on discipline specific conventions; although the course deals with generic skills, you will be able to apply these generic skills to meet the particular needs of your own discipline. The course consists of four modules: 1. Writing in English at university: An introduction 2. Structuring your text and conveying your argument 3. Using sources in academic writing 4. The writer’s toolbox: Editing and proofreading In each module you will find video lectures and reading assignments and assignments, such as quizzes, reflective self-assessment questions, as well as some peer review exercises in which you will have an opportunity to interact with other students taking the course. The course is free of charge, and learners have access to a free electronic textbook written to complement the MOOC: Writing in English at University: A Guide for Second Language Writers.

In this course, the context is hosting an event and finding an appropriate venue for it. You will learn language and strategies for successful negotiations culminating in a written announcement for an event. Course Learning Objectives • Negotiate strategically in formal and informal settings • Identify and resolve customer issues after a negotiation has taken place • Evaluate and compare services and features of two venues • Plan a business event using negotiation skills • Write an announcement for a business event after selecting a venue

In this course, you will be introduced to some of the challenges of teaching and learning listening and speaking, such as paralinguistics, performance variables, reduced and regional forms, and differing types of oral discourse. Don't worry--you'll learn what those mean, too! Then you'll learn how to ease the acquisition of listening and speaking for your students. The course also highlights the powerful opportunity to include pronunciation in listening and speaking classes and offers strategies to incorporate pronunciation activities.

In this course, you will learn how to get in touch with all the people in your life by phone, email, text, and even social media. Learning activities in this course will take place on Voxy, an engaging language learning platform that automatically adapts to your current level and your performance across reading, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary skills so that every lesson is optimized for rapid improvement. Each week is made up of engaging, short, task-based lessons that can be done anywhere, anytime. Lessons include content from the real world, so you will learn from real conversations and emails between friends and colleagues. By the end of the course you’ll have the confidence to call, message, and email in any situation!

The goal of hiring managers is not just to hire people who need a job. It’s to hire people who believe in their organization, its mission and the work that’s involved in the job position. Every hiring manager knows: Hire people to do a job and they’ll work for your money. Hire people who believe in the work and they’ll work for their passion. And this is not a case of “fake it until you make it.” You have to be genuine about your belief in an organization and its mission. That means you have to have researched the industry, the company, and the position – and be able to show how your goals in life align with the company’s mission. Having done so will shape the impression you convey as a candidate, the way you answer traditional questions, and the way you demonstrate that you’re the right candidate for the job. This course is the second in a five-course specialization. We recommend that courses #1, #2 and #3 be taken in sequence. Course #4 - on resume and cover letter writing - can be taken in any sequence, while course #5 is the capstone for the specialization as a whole. This course can be thought of as "Interviewing I", while course #3 is "Interviewing II." Course #3 covers more advanced interview formats, including behavioral and situational interviews - along with the special case of telephone screenings. The logic for including telephone screenings - which happen at the start of the interview process - late in this specialization on interviewing is that those screenings, while happening early in the process, involve all the skills that you'll learn from course #1 through course #3. As for this course, it will teach you how to: 1. Do thorough research on a company of your choice. 2. Prepare for those critical first 3-5 minutes of an interview (when many recruiters say an interview is either won or lost). 3. Prepare for the all important "Tell Me About Yourself" question. 4. Prepare for traditional interview questions. 5. Use strategies for handling the salary question. We don't teach you salary negotiation techniques, but we do teach you how to avoid putting yourself in a weak negotiation position. 6. Prepare an elevator speech - all three variations. 7. Use persuasive speech techniques to present professional accomplishments and qualifications in a manner that conveys benefits to a potential employer. 8. Use persuasive speech techniques to convince a potential employer of your interest, motivation and preparation for a particular position. 9. Adapt your nonverbal communication style to the expectations of English-speaking interviewers.

Whether you have taken the IELTS test before, you will benefit from completing this course on the reading section of the exam. The lessons in this course will improve your overall skills in reading and prepare you for every type of question in this section of the test, increasing your chances of getting your target band score. You will be ready to confidently complete the 40-question reading section, which includes a dozen different types of reading tasks. We’ll review plenty of sample readings and questions so you’ll know exactly what to expect. The helpful tips and strategies offered in this course will give you the invaluable tools and knowledge you’ll need to identify correct answers while efficiently managing the 60-minute time allotted for the reading section. Taking tests can be stressful, but being familiar with the test and practicing will reduce anxiety and give you the confidence you’ll need to perform at your best.

Yunnan, abbreviated as Yun and called Dian for short, is a multi-ethnic province which has historically been situated in the southwest frontier of China. Over time, the ethnic minorities evolved into splendid cultures, each with their own unique social life, religious beliefs and customs. The course is taught in English and provides an introduction to 25 ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province, namely the Yi, Bai, Hani, Dai, Zhuang, Miao, Hui, Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Naxi, Yao, Jingpo, Tibetan, Bulang, Buyi, Achang, Pumi, Mongolian, Nu, Jinuo, De'ang, Shui, Man and Dulong nationalities. By participating in this course, you will gain fascinating insights into the culture of each ethnic group as we look in turn together at their geographical location, population distribution, language, costumes and diet, festivals and holidays, religious beliefs, literature and art, etc. This course aims to improve your English and bring these amazing people groups in Yunnan Province to life. we are sure you will thoroughly enjoy this course.

This course begins with a welcome message and an overview of the Specialization. After this introduction, you will be asked to take a proficiency test to see if this course is right for you. During the course, you will begin learning vocabulary and customs related to socializing and networking in English. The goal is to enable you to interact with business contacts in person, on the phone and over email in a professional way. Course Learning Objectives • Determine whether the objectives of this Specialization align with your learning goals • Evaluate your current level of proficiency in business English communication • Present relevant information about yourself in a discussion forum • Develop your networking skills • Write short emails with appropriate formatting • Recognize and produce formal and informal language in emails • Develop vocabulary related to jobs and companies