SECTION 130.135. Business English (One Credit), Adopted 2015

(a) General requirements. This course is recommended for students in Grade 12. Prerequisite: English III Recommended Prerequisite: Touch Systems Data Entry. This course satisfies the high school advanced English graduation requirement. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course.

(b) Introduction.

(1) Career and technical education instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education and succeed in current or emerging professions.

(2) The Business Management and Administration Career Cluster focuses on careers in planning, organizing, directing, and evaluating business functions essential to efficient and productive business operations.

(3) In Business English, students enhance communication and research skills by applying them to the business environment, in addition to exchanging information and producing properly formatted business documents using emerging technology.

(4) Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences such as career and technical student organizations and other leadership or extracurricular organizations.

(5) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.

(c) Knowledge and skills.

(1) The student demonstrates professional standards/employability skills as required by business and industry. The student is expected to:

(A) communicate effectively with others using oral and written skills;

(B) demonstrate collaboration skills through teamwork;

(C) demonstrate professionalism by conducting oneself in a manner appropriate for the profession and workplace;

(D) demonstrate a positive, productive work ethic by performing assigned tasks as directed;

(E) show integrity by choosing the ethical course of action and comply with all applicable rules, laws, and regulations; and

(F) demonstrate time-management skills by prioritizing tasks, following schedules, and tending to goal-relevant activities in a way that uses time wisely and optimizes efficiency and results.

(2) The student prepares for effective communication skills. The student is expected to:

(A) organize ideas logically and sequentially;

(B) locate and interpret written information;

(C) distinguish communicated fact from opinion by identifying key words;

(D) interpret visual materials such as charts, graphs, pictures, and maps and translate the information into textual form;

(E) employ precise language to communicate ideas clearly and concisely; and

(F) organize ideas in writing in a coherent, logical progression.

(3) The student employs appropriate research techniques to produce effective business communication. The student is expected to:

(A) incorporate information from printed copies and electronic resources and references;

(B) locate and paraphrase secondary sources;

(C) document secondary sources;

(D) design, conduct, and analyze the results of a survey;

(E) conduct interviews to obtain resource materials; and

(F) create a business project incorporating data imported from various sources.

(4) The student exchanges information via telecommunications such as email, images, social media, and other online information services with appropriate supervision. The student is expected to:

(A) evaluate which telecommunications methods are most appropriate to a given situation; and

(B) apply appropriate business ethics and correct etiquette when using telecommunications.

(5) The student illustrates proficiency in interpersonal communication. The student is expected to:

(A) develop professional vocabulary skills;

(B) execute effective oral presentations;

(C) deliver an effective business presentation such as sales, reports, and proposals;

(D) apply effective communication techniques when using the telephone and different forms of technology;

(E) demonstrate the ability to listen by writing summaries of presentations and oral conversations;

(F) display active listening through oral feedback;

(G) follow oral and written directions;

(H) demonstrate the ability to give oral instructions for completing a simple task; and

(I) apply proper business interviewing techniques in various situations such as one-on-one, group, and committee interviews.

(6) The student develops communication skills necessary to address a changing business environment. The student is expected to:

(A) describe the communication process;

(B) identify barriers to effective communication;

(C) assess the ethical and legal implications of messages;

(D) discern appropriate channels for transmitting messages;

(E) interpret nonverbal communication in various activities;

(F) illustrate the impact of nonverbal communication on the total communication process;

(G) identify ways to improve communication in organizations; and

(H) discuss potential communication problems in multicultural business environments.

(7) The student produces business documents using current and emerging technology. The student is expected to:

(A) format business documents;

(B) demonstrate basic writing skills through assigned tasks;

(C) compose positive, negative, and persuasive messages;

(D) compose business letters and memos using the appropriate organizational strategies;

(E) produce a business report containing text and graphics; and

(F) develop a business newsletter.

(8) The student documents technical knowledge and skills. The student is expected to:

(A) prepare a professional electronic portfolio that includes information such as:

(i) attainment of technical skill competencies;

(ii) recognitions, awards, and scholarships;

(iii) extended learning experiences such as community service and active participation in career and technical student organizations;

(iv) sample letter of application;

(v) resume;

(vi) samples of work; and

(vii) teacher recommendations; and

(B) present the portfolio to interested stakeholders.

(9) The student understands how to collect and use information in procedural texts and documents. The student is expected to:

(A) draw conclusions about how the patterns of organization and hierarchic structures support the understandability of text;

(B) evaluate the structures of text such as format or headers for their clarity and organizational coherence; and

(C) evaluate the structures of text for the effectiveness of their graphic representations.

(10) The student uses comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. The student applies the knowledge and skills in paragraphs (2)-(9) of this subsection with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. The student is expected to:

(A) evaluate how messages presented in media reflect social and cultural views in ways different from traditional texts;

(B) evaluate the interactions of different techniques used in multi-layered media such as layout, pictures, typeface in print media, images, text, or sound in electronic journalism;

(C) evaluate how one issue or event is represented across various media to understand the notions of bias, audience, and purpose; and

(D) evaluate changes in formality and tone across various media for different audiences and purposes.

(11) The student uses elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. The student is expected to:

(A) plan a first draft by selecting the correct genre for conveying the intended meaning to multiple audiences; determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies such as discussion, background reading, personal interests, or interviews; and developing a thesis or controlling idea;

(B) structure ideas in persuasive ways such as using outlines, note taking, graphic organizers, or lists to develop drafts in timed and open-ended situations;

(C) revise drafts to clarify meaning, consistency of tone, and logical organization;

(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and

(E) revise a final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences.

(12) The student writes expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. The student is expected to:

(A) write an analytical essay of sufficient length that includes effective introductory, concluding, and supporting paragraphs that incorporate relevant perspectives and evidence;

(B) write procedural and work-related documents such as resumes, proposals, college applications, or operation manuals that include a clearly stated purpose combined with a well-supported viewpoint on the topic; appropriate formatting structures such as headings, graphics, or white space; and accurate technical information; and

(C) produce a multimedia presentation such as a documentary, class newspaper, docudrama, infomercial, or visual or textual parody that includes graphics, images, and sound and appeals to a specific audience.

(13) The student understands the function of and uses the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. The student continues to apply the knowledge and skills in paragraphs (2)-(12) with greater complexity. The student is expected to:

(A) understand and use adjectival, noun, or adverbial clauses and phrases; and

(B) use a variety of correctly structured sentences such as compound, complex, or compound-complex.

(14) The student writes legibly and uses appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in compositions. The student is expected to correctly and consistently use conventions of punctuation and capitalization.

(15) The student spells correctly. The student is expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings.

(16) The student organizes and presents ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and the audience. The student is expected to:

(A) synthesize research into an extended written or oral presentation;

(B) provide an analysis that supports and develops personal opinions, as opposed to simply restating existing information;

(C) use a variety of formats and rhetorical strategies to argue for the thesis;

(D) develop an argument that incorporates the complexities of and discrepancies in information from multiple sources and perspectives while anticipating and refuting counter-arguments;

(E) document sources and format written materials using a style manual such as Modern Language Association; and

(F) produce a document of sufficient length and complexity to address the topic.

(17) The student makes oral presentations. The student is expected to use proper conventions of language and presentation.

(18) The student works productively with others in teams. The student is expected to offer ideas or judgments that are purposeful in moving the team toward goals, ask relevant and insightful questions, tolerate a range of positions and ambiguity in decision making, and evaluate the work of the group based on agreed-upon criteria.

Source Note: The provisions of this §130.135 adopted to be effective August 28, 2017, 40 TexReg 6601