::: LANGUAGE TRAINING PROGRAMME :::
SPECIALIZED ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES
JANUARY - MARCH 2015
Course
Writing skills for administrative writers
Target audience Post level 9 or LPE, or those working and writing mostly in English. Primarily aimed at nonnative English writers, but natives are welcome too.
Description
This course, in the form of three days of workshops, covers emails, letters, memoranda,
minutes of meetings and other UN-specific documents with consideration for such aspects as
useful tools and how to use them, layout, register/levels of formality, set phrases, translation and
lexical difficulties, grammar and linking words. In the weeks following the second workshop, you
will work on two tasks and will receive feedback by email. Following the third workshop, we will
schedule a face-to-face individual tutorial.
Duration
Equivalent to a 48-hour course.
Schedule
Over a 12 week period, three Friday workshops in weeks 3, 4 and 9 from 9 a.m. - 4.30 p.m,
follow-up assignments and a private tutorial later in the term to suit your timetable.
Workshop dates: Fri 23 Jan, Friday 13 Feb, and Fri 6 March
Contact point
Sarah Jordan (sjordan@unog.ch)
Course
Writing skills for report writers
Target audience Post level 9 or LPE, or persons working and writing mostly in English. Native or non-native
English speakers. Writers of reports, and writers of proposals and other substantive
documents at the United Nations and other agencies.
Description
This course, in the form of three days of workshops, aims to help you make your reports
clearer, more readable and concise. In the workshop we look at preparing to write,
different approaches to writing and the document as a whole. Along the way, we look at
many grammar and style points, as well as punctuation and lexical issues. We will work
with real examples from United Nations texts. In the weeks following the second workshop,
you will work on two tasks and will receive feedback by email. Following the third workshop, we
will schedule a face-to-face individual tutorial.
Duration
Equivalent to a 48-hour course.
Schedule
Over a 12 week period, three Friday workshops in weeks 4, 5 and 9 from 9 a.m. - 4.30 p.m,
a follow-up assignment and a private tutorial later in the term to suit your timetable.
Workshop dates: Fri 23 Jan, Friday 13 Feb, and Fri 6 March
Contact point
Carol Waites (cwaites@unog.ch)
Course
Grammar and style workshops for writers of English
Target audience Post level 9 or LPE, or persons working and writing mostly in English. Native or non-native
English speakers. Writers for the web, writers of reports, and writers of proposals and other
substantive documents at the United Nations and other agencies.
As it is similar to the report writing course, writers may be interested in either or both! A
good plan could be to start with the report writing workshop, have a break of six months or
so, and then do the Grammar and style workshops
Description
Flummoxed by how to use the Oxford comma? Worried about how to adopt a better style?
Lie awake worrying about the subjunctive?
Come along to learn some practical tips on how to make your reading engaging, readable
and informative
This course is designed to re-introduce and extend the linguistic content of the 2-day
workshops on Writing skills for report writers. We will work with real examples from United
Nations texts. You will also be asked to submit an assignment and redraft it during the
workshops, based on the feedback you have received.
Duration
Equivalent to a 24-hour course.
Schedule
2-hour blocks, once a week
Contact point
Carol Waites (cwaites@unog.ch)
Course
It’s in the news
Target audience Post level 9 or LPE, or those working mostly in English.
Description
For those wishing to keep their English skills up-to-date, there’s no better stimulant than
what is in the news on a daily basis. Together, we will keep our finger on the pulse of world
events, particularly those relevant to the UN context. Written, audio and video media will be
used in a pedagogic manner to provoke discussions on topical issues, with a special focus
on vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
Duration
Equivalent to a 24-hour course.
Schedule
2-hour blocks, once a week.
Contact point
Sarah Jordan (sjordan@unog.ch)
Course
Advanced Discourse Analysis
Target audience Level 8, 9 or those aiming at the Language Proficiency Exam.
Description
For those wishing to improve their English language skills, come and learn more about
understanding oral and written texts in depth. Together, we will analyse the texts for
grammar, pronunciation, punctuation, idioms, attitude and tone. Written, audio and video
texts will be used in a pedagogic manner for our analysis, with a special focus on the media,
journalistic opinion texts and modern fiction. Examples of texts used include TED.com, the
Guardian Weekly, and contributions and suggestions from the participants. Each session
will include an oral and a written text given in advance.
Duration
Equivalent to a 24-hour course.
Schedule
2-hour workshops, once a week.
Contact point
Carol Waites (cwaites@unog.ch)
Course
Effective Office English
Target
audience
Level 9 or LPE, or those working and writing mostly in English. Primarily aimed at nonnative English writers.
Description
A modular course in written communication for administrative writers working in a UN
context. Different types of documents including emails, letters, memoranda, minutes of
meetings and other UN-specific documents will be reviewed with a particular focus on
presentation, punctuation, spelling, appropriate register/levels of formality, grammar, linking
words, translation and lexical difficulties. We will refer to real UN documents provided by
the participants and set about diagnosing problems and finding solutions to make texts
more dynamic and effective using no more words than are necessary.
Duration
Equivalent to a 24-hour course.
Schedule
2-hour blocks, once a week.
Contact point
Sarah Jordan (sjordan@unog.ch)
::: Directed Self-Study in English :::
(B2 level and above)
Course
Directed Self-Study in English
Target audience For students who are at levels 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. This course is intended for students who
are highly motivated and have specific professional needs and reasons for not being able
to attend a general course.
Description
The programme is designed to cater for individual needs and may follow the programmes of
the regular courses, or address more specific needs. This is a semi-autonomous course with
individual consultations.
Duration
Equivalent to a 48-hour course.
Time
Flexible.
NB
Individual interview and needs analysis, negotiated contract between tutor and student,
pedagogical material and assistance throughout course, access to self-study materials and
Resource Centre, evaluation and access to conversation classes/coaching sessions.
Contact point
Anne O’Brien (aobrien@unog.ch)