Industry English
Industry English Prof. Kent Lee Fall 2025 English Dept., Pukyong National University, Busan, S. Korea
1 Introduction
- Course description
This is an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course designed to help students from a wide range of academic disciplines—such as computer science, IT, engineering, science fields, business, maritime studies, medicine, health, and social sciences—to develop their ability to understand and use professional, technical, and field-specific English. The course focuses on improving vocabulary, communication skills, and reading and discussion skills relevant to each student’s field of interest. At times we will deal with cross-cultural issues, technical writing, presentation and speaking skills, advanced grammar, pronunciation, and English linguistics.
- Prerequisites / requirements
This course is for advanced undergraduate students (3rd & 4th year students) and graduate students from any field, whose English is at an intermediate or advanced level.
- Theme
Students will engage with authentic materials and current issues from their own fields to learn how English is used in real-world professional and technical contexts.
- Format
This course uses discussion based activities, collaborative projects, and authentic materials. Students will explore key terms, texts, and communication styles from their disciplines while also learning to explain and compare ideas across fields. Class sessions will involve a combination of lecture plus discussion, group discussion, and group tasks. For holidays, make-up lecture videos will be posted in the LMS for make-ups.
- Readings and materials
The textbook for this course is a short course booklet, which will be made available as a free PDF file posted in the LMS. Other materials will be available in the LMS, and on the course website.
- Textbook / course booklet: A short booklet, to be made available as a free PDF in the LMS
- This website
- An updated PDF version of the syllabus will be posted in the LMS.
- Samples of documents, texts, online articles, and/or videos from your field (you will need to find these yourself and bring them to class at times)
- Grading
You will be graded according to the following framework. See the course booklet for specific grading criteria.
| Component | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Attendance & participation | 10% |
| General assignment / homework | 25% |
| Midterm | 25% |
| Final portfolio | 40% |
2 Course outline & components
Weekly class sessions and units may include the following. Unders
- tanding your field
- Technical descriptions
- Technical writing
- Problem solving scenarios
- Oral communication
- Professional writing
- User guides & manuals
- Presentation skills
- Presenting research & data
- Customer / client interactions
- Complex noun phrases
- Definite & indefinite noun phrases
- IT and IT security
- Business processes
- Data analytics
- Professional emails
