Communicating Effectively - Strategies for Spoken English

Target Group

Any member of staff (English level: intermediate or above) who wishes to become more fluent and confident in expressing themselves in spoken English.

Workshop Goals

This course is intended to help staff improve their spoken English strategies for WU-related situations.  The main goal is for the participants to become more fluent and confident in expressing themselves in specific communicative contexts, particularly those in which either clear and accurate communication is required, or when there are potentially awkward situations. The communicative strategies may include: use of appropriate language in formal situations; paying and receiving compliments; saying sorry and thank you; providing information; developing conversations; being assertive; reacting to news (good or bad); dealing with complaints; etc. 

In each contextual example we will examine how to improve communicative effectiveness. Where appropriate this will include focusing on pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary choice and phrasing.

 

Workshop Content

The weekly sessions will include a variety of exercises and tasks to encourage active participation and discussion in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Participants will be welcome to provide their own suggestions for communicative situations, thus ensuring a needs-based approach to the course.

Location, Date and Time

On Tuesdays, 3.30 pm - 5.00 pm
 

Fees and Registration

This workshop is open to a limited number of participants. The registration deadline is 16 February 2016.

Please note that you should notify us before the registration deadline if you are unable to attend the workshop. Otherwise the full fee will be charged.
Please let the Personnel Development and Planning Office know if you will not be attending. There are often waiting lists for the workshops, and this will give one of your colleagues the chance to attend. In addition, if we can fill the vacancy with someone from the waiting list, no cancellation charges will apply for you.

To sign up for this workshop, please click "Register" at the bottom of this page. For any further information please contact Elke Rittersbacher (elke.rittersbacher@wu.ac.at, DW 4448).

The course fee is €40.

Trainer

Anthony Copnall, M.A., P.G.C.E.   Born and educated in England, Anthony Copnall holds a bachelor’s degree in German and Swedish and a master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) which he gained at the Institute of Education, University of London A qualified modern languages teacher, he taught at secondary school level in England before becoming a lecturer at WU’s Institute for English Business Communication in 2002, a post which he has held full-time since 2004. He is an experienced continuing education trainer and has run a variety of popular workshops for academic, professional and business contexts for WU and external institutions