Introduction

The Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) English for Professionals programme is designed to meet the growing demands of graduates with excellent communication skills in localised and globalised workplaces.

The programme, better known as BA EFP amongst USM community, emphasises the fundamentals and practical aspects of written and spoken competence, linguistics and applied linguistics, and critical and creative thinking commonly observed in professional environments. The courses aim to develop students’ understanding of the relationship between the modes of written and spoken communication with audience and professional communities.

The programme adheres to the requirements of The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), USM and Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), thus emphasising the  following learning outcomes – knowledge, practical ability, cognitive inquiry, communication competence, teamwork, values, ethics and professionalism, lifelong learning, management and entrepreneurial spirit and leadership skills. All these outcomes are achieved through various modes of teaching and learning activities including lectures, tutorials, blended learning, projects, hands-on activities, collaborative learning and discussions – in meaningful localised and internationalised interactions. Thus, the all-encompassing nature of the programme allows students to gain relevant knowledge in language studies and develop language skills in diverse real-life situations.

Career Opportunities

The B.A. (Hons.) English for Professionals programme is multidisciplinary, and the knowledge gained from the courses can be used for various opportunities including:

• Administrative offices
• Advertising and marketing
• Broadcasting and journalism
• Consultancy
• Copywriter
• Editing and publishing
• English language teaching and learning
• English language training
• Freelance (proofreading, translation, emcee)
• Multimedia
• Postgraduate study
• Public Relations and Marketing
• Tourism and hospitality

Programme Duration

The study duration of the Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) English for Professionals programme is:

Total Credits Required for Graduation

Major Courses (84 Units)

Minor Courses (20 Units)

Students may choose to *minor in any of the programmes offered by the following Schools or Centres:

Major Course Synopses

LET 101 Introduction to World Languages and Multilingualism                    

This course provides an introduction to multilingualism and its effects on the individual, language and politics. Language families, attitudes toward language and dialects, language and culture, multilingualism, foreign language learning, written codes, official languages, and language policies are among some of the topics that will be covered. Students will gain an understanding of multilingualism and their implications on language policies in different countries.

LET 102 The History and Structure of English

This course explains historical events that led to the linguistic changes in standard and non-standard English, from 450 AD to the present. These events will be elaborated in six stages of English language development, i.e. Before English, Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, Late Modern English, and present day English.

LET 103 Introduction to Linguistics and Linguistic Meaning

This is an introductory course to linguistic knowledge and linguistic meaning.  The linguistic knowledge component is divided into the study of phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.  This course introduces students to the cognitive organisation of linguistic structure and language use.  The linguistic meaning component covers the role of linguistics in the process of communication and the study of semantics and pragmatics that include pragmatic difficulties in the language user’s assumptions and intentions.

LET 104 The Study of English Grammar

This course involves a comprehensive study of the major elements of English using the principles of linguistic analysis. Basic parts of speech and basic sentence structures are taught to enable students to apply Phrase Structure Rules (PSR). Phrasal categories, lexical categories and clauses are also taught in the process. Students are then taught to analyse sentences through sentence types and their functions in sentence classifications.  

 LET 105 The Study of English Literature

This course focuses on a variety of texts that include fiction, poetry and drama. The selection of classical and contemporary texts includes Shakespearian plays and texts drawn mostly from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These texts will be studied and analysed in their political, social, cultural and historical contexts to help develop an awareness of how these elements shape and impact writing. The course also explores how language, structure and forms contribute to the meanings of texts and how writers use language to achieve intended effects.

LET 106 Professional Reading

This course focuses on the theoretical and practical approaches to effective reading. It emphasises the critical strategies and analysis in studying the relationship between text types and text styles and how texts contribute to the understanding of readers. The relationship between literary and non-literary texts is also explored.

LET 107 Writing for Professional Communication

This course focuses on two major aspects of writing, namely academic and workplace. The former focuses on writing skills that students are required to learn as undergraduates, while the latter is focused on writing skills that are deemed necessary at the workplace.        

LEM 200 Industrial Training Orientation Programme

This course gives students the opportunity to identify and research their careers of interest in professional and semi-professional settings, as well as entrepreneurial endeavours. Students will be able to interact with organisations through questionnaires and acquire digital and numeracy skills.

LEM 211 English Discourse

This course introduces spoken and written discourse and illustrates the functions of language styles in social and ideological contexts. Through different genres, this course shows how discourse is structured and how it represents and produces social realities. Lexis, grammar and rhetoric are studied to achieve this aim and encourage a critical perspective on modern media texts.

LEM 212 Phonetics and Lexis of English

This course introduces students to various aspects of English phonetics such as acoustic and articulatory phonetics, intonation, as well as related theories and concepts. It also provides a conducive academic setting to help students gain knowledge of aspects related to English lexis, including etymology, morphology and semantics. In addition, the course provides opportunities for students to work in groups to present elements related to the etymology and development of English lexis, as well as to conduct small studies related to English phonetics.

LEM 213 Interlanguage Study

This course aims at helping students to understand interlanguage and second language acquisition and concepts that are related to these disciplines. Theories and approaches that have contributed to the development of interlanguage and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) are also explained in this course. The course also helps students to develop basic skills in analysing data related to SLA and factors affecting it.

LEM 214 English in Society

This course is the study of the relationship between language and society, and between the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of the language live. In this course, among the topics that will be covered are social dialects; gender and age; language change, style, context and register; speech functions; politeness and cross-cultural communication; attitudes to language and applications of sociolinguistics; language choice in multilingual communities; language maintenance and shift; linguistic varieties and multilingual nations; national languages and language planning; and language and identity.

LEM 215 Psychology of Language

This is an introductory course to psycholinguistics. This course aims to introduce students to scientific ways of studying the mental processes behind the use of language. The topics covered here focus on speech production and perception, and structures of the brain closely associated with language use.

LEM 300 Industrial Training

This course gives students the opportunity to undergo industrial training in professional or semi-professional organisations that are relevant to their interests. Students will get to connect theories they have learned in the classrooms to the values and practices of an organisation, gain work experience, communicate with a professional workforce, and plan for their future careers.

LEM 310 English Discourse in the Professions 

This course provides students with knowledge on various features of various genres in professional discourse and how these genres are constructed. It also helps students to analyse various genres using some established frameworks such as those in academic and business discourse. The course also focuses on helping students to develop the abilities to evaluate how writers and users of professional discourse construct their discourse (written and oral). 

LEM 311 English for Administration

This course is designed to expose students to professional English language skills in administration. Communication skills related to processes and projects in administration are also taught.  Students will also be taught to communicate with a high degree of accuracy and appropriateness in different situations to use grammatical devices and produce sentence structures to create a style which is appropriate to the subject matter and the intended 'audience'.

LEM 312 English for Public Relations and Marketing

This course introduces students to the spoken and written language used in the field of public relations and marketing. Students will get to prepare promotional texts and execute a market study of the effectiveness of the materials. Students will also learn how to analyse and integrate the linguistic aspects and images in a promotional text. The advancement of technology that brings public relations and marketing to social media will also be studied.

LEM 313 English for Scientific, Technical & Web-based Writing

This course helps students to understand the different types of scientific, technical, and web- based writing.  The emphasis will be on writing style and format to achieve clarity, correctness and conciseness in writing.  Students will learn effective writing techniques for scientific articles, manuals, webpages and others.  Students are also given the chance to use the appropriate writing style and format when designing a website.

LEM 314 English for the Media

This course introduces students to various aspects related to language and media. The course also provides students with opportunities to work in groups to produce commercial advertisements or public service advertisements.

LEM 315 English for Law

This course enables students to understand the relationship between language and the law and how they work together in professional settings. Training in analysing linguistic features, investigating cognitive structures and interpreting meanings of various types of legal texts will help develop students as effective communicators. In the process of developing a critical understanding of legal texts, students will be able to develop their abilities in problem-solving, critical strategic thinking and leadership.

LEM 316 Oral Communication for Social and Occupational Purposes

This course focuses on the techniques of producing good spoken discourse such as speeches and group discussions in social and professional situations. The course also includes effective organisational patterns for speeches in different contexts. Basic principles of oral communication and the importance of non-verbal communication will be introduced for effective communication.

MAPPING OF PEO - IEG

MAPPING OF PLO - IEG