All Engineering Centre for Languages & Inter-Communication courses

This intensive course is designed for students who have very limited or no previous knowledge of British Sign Language (BSL). The course aims to enable students to understand and use BSL effectively for purposes of practical communication with deaf or hard of hearing people, to develop understanding of the BSL sentence syntax and to learn more about a Deaf Culture.

• If you are not sure whether this course suits your proficiency level, please contact the instructor for more information (fyh20@cam.ac.uk).

The course uses "Chinese in Steps", a series of textbooks developed within SOAS Language Centre. Communicative context, with videos, audio, texts and conversation. Exact content will be decided with students.

The course uses "Chinese in Steps", a series of textbooks developed within SOAS Language Centre. Communicative context, with videos, audio, texts and conversation.

Introductory course to Chinese. This course is for those with no previous knowledge of Chinese. Communicative context, with videos, audio, texts and conversation.

Please note: This course will be class room based/face to face teaching at CUED.

“Pronouncing someone’s name correctly can make people feel valued, honoured and respected — and mispronouncing their name creates real problems.” Gerardo Ochoa

This session will explore Chinese names. How to pronounce them. What it says about the person. The stories behind names. The focus will be on pronunciation but you will also be welcome to share your own experience and tell your stories.

We will focus on refining participants' language for correspondence, focusing on native-speakers norms and choice of words as well as register for formal versus casual correspondence

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

Maximise your supervisions, as students and/or supervisors, by discussing the language, structure and style of effective Cambridge supervisions.

• NB. Please read ATTENDANCE section below before signing up for this course.

We will focus on how to overcome listening difficulties using authentic video and audio Engineering scenarios.

• NB. Please read ATTENDANCE section below before signing up for this course.

Come to this talk on Cambridge to find out more about the city's past and present and understand the context in which you live. Bring your questions.

Living in Britain

This online seminar focuses on any questions participants may have about aspects of living in Britain that are of particular interest to them, whether cultural, intercultural, historical or social.

It discusses practical everyday issues that participants may already have encountered, both within the University environment and in the wider community, and also possible situations that they may be concerned about dealing with in the future.

This is a very relaxed and informal seminar which will be conducted on a Q+A basis, and participants should email their questions or areas of interest in advance to Sheila Dodds (smd48@cam.ac.uk).

• NB. Please read the Attendance section below before signing up for this course.
• Delivery format (online or in person) to be confirmed.

Discover a bit more of Cambridge each term. Meet a member of our English team in CLIC and then take a guided walk to learn about different aspects of the city.

Session 1: Outline of the Lab

• Intro to the Falling Walls concept/background. Rules of the competition. Past Examples. Suggestions for basic structure. Elements of a successful 3 Minute Pitch, with appropriate visual materials. Next Steps.

Session 2: Targeted Training

• Defining requirements. Identifying suitable topic. Vocal delivery, content selection and presentation, body language tips. Key linguistic strategies. Tricks for your 3 PPTs.

Introductory course to French. This course is for those with no previous knowledge of French. Communicative context, with videos, audio, texts and conversation.

Introductory course to German. This course is for those with no previous knowledge of German. Communicative context, with videos, audio, texts and conversation.

Interacting effectively & managing meetings: This interactive online workshop covers how to participate in and manage meetings effectively and productively.

In addition to being proficient communicators in academic settings, there is also a need for Engineers to further develop and diversify their communication skills to suit a range of professional settings (Almeida, 2019).

The Lent term masterclass series focuses on communicating with impact, adapting effectively to audiences across academic and professional settings and using business English successfully. This series consists of the following workshops:

• Successfully pitching your work
• Interacting effectively & managing meetings
• Presenting yourself successfully
• Negotiating with clients

Research has identified that the ability to verbally express ideas clearly and the capacity to work confidently in a group are the two key skills for employability. This series of workshops focuses on aspects of these skills most pertinent to Engineers at Cambridge.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

Negotiating with colleagues and clients: This interactive online workshop provides guidance and feedback on the language and strategies of successful negotiation.

In addition to being proficient communicators in academic settings, there is also a need for Engineers to further develop and diversify their communication skills to suit a range of professional settings (Almeida, 2019).

The Lent term masterclass series focuses on communicating with impact, adapting effectively to audiences across academic and professional settings and using business English successfully. This series consists of the following workshops:

• Successfully pitching your work
• Interacting effectively & managing meetings
• Presenting yourself successfully
• Negotiating with clients

Research has identified that the ability to verbally express ideas clearly and the capacity to work confidently in a group are the two key skills for employability. This series of workshops focuses on aspects of these skills most pertinent to Engineers at Cambridge.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

Pitching your work successfully: This online interactive workshop provides guidance and feedback on sharing your research clearly and effectively in spontaneous and prepared situations.

In addition to being proficient communicators in academic settings, there is also a need for Engineers to further develop and diversify their communication skills to suit a range of professional settings (Almeida, 2019).

The Lent term masterclass series focuses on communicating with impact, adapting effectively to audiences across academic and professional settings and using business English successfully. This series consists of the following workshops:

• Successfully pitching your work
• Interacting effectively & managing meetings
• Presenting yourself successfully
• Negotiating with clients

Research has identified that the ability to verbally express ideas clearly and the capacity to work confidently in a group are the two key skills for employability. This series of workshops focuses on aspects of these skills most pertinent to Engineers at Cambridge.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

Presenting yourself successfully: This interactive online workshop provides strategies, tips and feedback on presenting yourself, both in written and spoken format (i.e., self-introductions, CVs, personal profiles, interviews, etc.).

In addition to being proficient communicators in academic settings, there is also a need for Engineers to further develop and diversify their communication skills to suit a range of professional settings (Almeida, 2019).

The Lent term masterclass series focuses on communicating with impact, adapting effectively to audiences across academic and professional settings and using business English successfully. This series consists of the following workshops:

• Successfully pitching your work
• Interacting effectively & managing meetings
• Presenting yourself successfully
• Negotiating with clients

Research has identified that the ability to verbally express ideas clearly and the capacity to work confidently in a group are the two key skills for employability. This series of workshops focuses on aspects of these skills most pertinent to Engineers at Cambridge.

• NB. Please read Attendance section below before signing up for this course.

“Global mindset,” “cultural intelligence,” “intercultural competence” … no matter how you want to call the skills that are necessary to successfully interact with people who might not see the world like you due to culture, geography, background, age or other factors, they are paramount in the industry.

Engineers need to be experts in their field (hard technical skills) but without the ability to influence, negotiate, build trust, lead, communicate ideas to different audiences (soft skills, also referred to as power skills in a recent report), projects have a much smaller chance of succeeding. When in an intercultural setting, have you ever struggled with your peers’ style of communication, wondered why some people seem to use more formal language, be more direct than others or perhaps less flexible with time than you are accustomed to? Culture plays a big part in how we communicate and enhancing communication is so much more than choosing to speak the same language.

In addition, remote learning mode brings further complications to the equation. The challenges of video conferencing such as the ‘zoom fatigue,’ the caveats of written communication (emails or text messages), or practicalities of working together across different time zones, add some extra pressure on the already vulnerable intercultural communication.

Many people believe that your future career opportunities are down to luck and being at the right place at the right time. The reality is that your attitude towards getting to know new people and strategic networking is one of the most important ingredients when it comes to your career development. In this workshop, you will learn about the optimal mindset for increasing your 'luck’ through networking, both face-to-face and online.

Join us for a catered sandwich lunch for this lunch and learn workshop. Please let us know of any dietary requirements by 10th January.

So you’ve mastered presenting to get your message across effectively...

But what if we told you that there was no guarantee that this message would work across different cultures?

There are different aspects you have to take into consideration when preparing to address diverse audiences, such as how they want to be persuaded, the appropriate style of the language to use and how to gain professional credibility in their eyes.

In our interactive session, we will share tools and techniques that will allow you to adapt your content and delivery style to the different needs and expectations of the diverse teams in the modern workplace. 

You will find out how to:

• Analyse your audience; • Structure your presentation in an easy-to-follow way; • Adapt your content (language, references, examples, types of evidence, visuals) to communicate your message to a diverse audience; • Use your voice to help your audience better understand the content and follow it with ease.

Join this session to find out how to adapt your presentation style to be a more effective pre-senter in a culturally diverse work environment.

Further information: This course will be led by Gosia Syta. A brief bio can be found under the Trainer header below.

Most students and researchers will experience culture shock in some form or other when living abroad or even when working in their home country. It can happen at any moment whilst interacting across cultures in person or remotely. Whilst a very good command of a language helps, it does not guarantee a smooth cultural experience. Indeed, there is more to communication than simply speaking the same language. Culture shock does not have to be a negative experience if you are prepared and know how to handle it.

In this workshop, you will gain a better understanding of the Bennett scale (also known as the "Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity"), which will help you to analyse your experiences and prepare you to deal with culture shock effectively. This workshop is open to both native and non-native speakers.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

You must have your webcam switched on.

For a long time, it was assumed that the responsibility of functioning well in an English-speaking environment lies solely with non-native speakers. However, it's now widely recognised that it's a shared responsibility, and English-speaking individuals (both native and proficient speakers of English) can play a significant role by being more inclusive.

In this session, you will find out what it takes to become a better communicator by exploring the concept of accent bias and discovering strategies to overcome it. You will also gain greater cultural awareness of the differences between direct and indirect communication styles, as well as practical tips and techniques to enhance your effectiveness in an international context.

This workshop will be delivered in a hybrid format. Feel free to join online or in person.

If you join in person a sandwich lunch will be provided. Please let us know if you're attending in person and any dietary requirements by 3rd May.

Humans have been relying on non-verbal signals for understanding long before we started using languages. That means, that our unconscious brain is still attuned to it and is working very hard every time you communicate with someone. First impressions are built in seconds!

In this session, you will learn about the basics of non-verbal communication (such as posture, eye contact, voice and more), will learn how to use body language to project confidence, build rapport and increase presence both physically and virtually.

This workshop will be delivered in a hybrid format. Feel free to join online or in person.

If you join in person a sandwich lunch will be provided. Please let us know if you're attending in person and any dietary requirements by 26th April.

Have you ever struggled with other students’ or colleagues’ styles of communication, wondered why some people seem to use more formal language, or be more direct than others? Culture plays a big part in how we communicate and collaborate, and adjusting to the cultural communication norms is more about shared values and expectations than speaking the same language. It requires a specific set of awareness, attitudes and skills.

In this workshop, you will develop your cultural and self-awareness, reflect on attitudes to adopt and be given some tips on developing the right skills that will help you to develop cultural intelligence.

This is not a webinar. This is an interactive workshop and you will be expected to contribute to the session.

To participate you must have your webcam switched on.