English: Business Letters For Big 4 (Extended)
Business writing in English for software engineers in Big 4 consulting. The course is not about the format of a letter but about pragmatics: why a Russian-speaking professional is heard as blunter than they are, and how that is fixed. Its axis is room for refusal: an English business message leaves the reader a way to object, decline or explain, and that room is created by the text rather than assumed. Six classes of softening, a 22-item RU→EN interference register, the softening ceiling (where directness is mandatory), the grammar of blameless causation. Genres: client email, code review, chat and tracker, escalation, refusal and change request, status and RAG, incident communication. Every example comes from an engineer’s working day on a project. Entry level B1–B2, model answers are given at two levels.
Path through the course · 20 units
any order · units can be taken in any order you likeView: map · steps
Stage 1
~1 h
1 · can start
~1 h
Stage 2
~1 h
2 · can start
Face, Distance, and Indirectness
~1 h
Stage 3
~1.5 h
3 · can start
~1.5 h
Stage 4
~1.5 h
4 · can start
The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory
~1.5 h
Stage 5
~2 h
5 · can start
~2 h
Stage 6
~1.5 h
6 · can start
~1.5 h
Stage 7
~2 h
can start
7
The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone
~1 h
20 · optional
~1 h
Stage 8
~1.5 h
8 · can start
Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker
~1.5 h
Stage 9
~1.5 h
9 · can start
~1.5 h
Stage 10
~4.5 h
can start
10 · команда
~1.5 h
13 · клиент
~1.5 h
16 · видимость
~1.5 h
Stage 11
~4.5 h
can start
11 · команда
~1.5 h
14 · клиент
~1.5 h
17 · видимость
~1.5 h
Stage 12
~4.5 h
can start
12 · команда
Proposals and Design Documents
~1.5 h
15 · клиент
~1.5 h
18 · видимость
Acknowledgement, Thanks, Handover
~1.5 h
Stage 13
~2.5 h
19 · can start
Capstone: One Friday, Four Channels
~2.5 h
Exam
closed
final
Exam
The path in words
- Stage 1 · Why We Sound Rude — can start; ~1 h
- Stage 2 · Face, Distance, and Indirectness — can start; ~1 h
- Stage 3 · Six Classes of Softening — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 4 · The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 5 · Grammar Without Blame — can start; ~2 h
- Stage 6 · Anatomy: The Twelve Moves — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 7 · The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone — can start; ~1 h
- Stage 7 · What You Don't Write — can start; optional; ~1 h
- Stage 8 · Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 9 · Code Review as a Genre — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 10 · Chat and Tracker — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 10 · Disagreement and Pushback — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 10 · Status Reporting and RAG — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 11 · The Follow-up Ladder — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 11 · Refusal and Scope Creep — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 11 · Incident Communication — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 12 · Proposals and Design Documents — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 12 · Complaints and Escalation — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 12 · Acknowledgement, Thanks, Handover — can start; ~1.5 h
- Stage 13 · Capstone: One Friday, Four Channels — can start; ~2.5 h
Programme · 20 units
| 1 | Why We Sound Rude Объяснить, что эффект грубости в английском деловом письме создаётся не выбором слов, а тем, что формулировка не оставляет читателю выхода | ~1 h | can start |
| 2 | Face, Distance, and Indirectness Различать угрозу автономии читателя и угрозу его профессиональному статусу и выбирать соответствующую починку | ~1 h | can start |
| 3 | Six Classes of Softening Различать шесть классов смягчения и опознавать класс по конкретному выражению | ~1.5 h | can start |
| 4 | The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory Назвать контексты, в которых смягчение вредит: инцидент, находка по безопасности, фиксация факта, сорванный срок, жёсткое ограничение | ~1.5 h | can start |
| 5 | Grammar Without Blame Строить безагентную каузацию четырьмя приёмами: пассив, номинализация, предложная причинность, неодушевлённое подлежащее | ~2 h | can start |
| 6 | Anatomy: The Twelve Moves Собирать сообщение из ходов M1–M12, а не из шаблона | ~1.5 h | can start |
| 7 | The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone Формулировать запрос с четырьмя обязательными элементами: действие, исполнитель, дата, таймзона | ~1 h | can start |
| 8 | Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker Оценивать риск того, что смягчённая формулировка будет прочитана буквально | ~1.5 h | can start |