Business game in English lessons at university

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of integrating game scenarios of business cases into the English course for special purposes «Basics of public speaking and business communication». The paper examines the advantages of including role-playing games in the learning process, proves their effectiveness, and provides examples of real-world scenarios for conducting business games in English lessons. The author examines the features of this type of work in the context of complex goals: expanding vocabulary, developing listening and speaking skills, unleashing creative potential, and honing basic professional competencies and soft skills. This topic seems relevant, since game scenarios of business cases help create a similar professional context of business communication in English and ensure the formation of the necessary competencies among students. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time an attempt is being made to identify a list of role-playing games of particular interest for the course «Basics of public speaking and business communication». This list consists of the most efficient games conducted in classes in this discipline with third-year students of the International relations institute at the National Research Nuclear University, the Moscow Institute of Engineering and Physics. The methods used to conduct the research are observation and questioning. During the one-year course, students were offered several scenarios of business games and game assignments. In the conduct of a game scenario, the teacher noted and determined the extent of students' involvement in the game, their use of thematic professional vocabulary and fluency of oral speech. In addition, students were asked to rate the same indicators on a ten-point scale for each proposed game. A general analysis of the students' questionnaires, combined with the teacher's assessment, formed the bedrock of the selection of five most effective business games.