English through Global Debate

2025/2026

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

3

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

School of Foreign Languages

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

4 year, 1-3 module

Instructors

Andreeva, Elena

Лукашенко Анна Дмитриевна

Tarev, Boris

Tulum, Andrei

Yakusheva, Irina

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course is designed for students majoring in World Economy and International Relations as English for Special Purposes. The course tailors to the needs of the students in terms of their professional specialization in language skills and specialized vocabulary. The course summarizes the skills obtained in the previous courses of English for Special Purposes and advances the language mastery to a higher proficiency level (C1-C2). In addition to traditional educational formats, the course provides for the development of skills in working with artificial intelligence tools such as Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing to collect information, work with sources, formulate arguments and counter-arguments in the course of training for debates. Elements of such instruments as automatic speech recognition (ASR) and deep learning for audio (DLA) are also introduced for independent assessment of a student’s performance in debate.The course consists of six units varying economics and international affairs agenda: economy vs ecology, global governance, wealth redistribution, immigration, security, labour market. The topics are mastered through authentic language materials used in fostering the skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking. The ultimate goal of the course is to promote the skill of debate that includes inter-personal communication with persuasion techniques. Using artificial intelligence (AI) as a complementary tool may improve students’ learning process while challenging their critical thinking abilities. Encouraging human-machine collaboration reinforces a student’s ability to adapt the technology to a variety of tasks and roles, to sort through large sets and amounts of data, analyse large blocks of information in terms of reliability and quality, identify fake information. AI tools will also enrich students' self-study and self-improvement processes.In addition to traditional educational formats, the course provides for the development of skills in working with artificial intelligence tools such as Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing to collect information, work with sources, formulate arguments and counter-arguments in the course of training for debates.

Learning Objectives

• The formation of a general cultural and professional foreign language communicative competence consistent with the larger professional competence of a bachelor of economics and international relations
• The development of academic and professional communicative skills in line with using English within educational, academic and professional environments, further undergraduate studies, post-graduate studies and research in the field concerned
• Achieving professional command of English comparable to C1 level (according to CEFR)
• The formation of a foreign communicative competence among bachelor degree students at a level of B1 and higher (according to CEFR)
• Attaining relevant public speaking skills and sociocultural awareness in accordance with acceptable communicative competence levels
• The promotion of informational culture: including but not limited to searching and systematizing relevant information, identifying its credibility, summarizing and ensuring its instrumental use for a wide range of purposes, processing large quantities of information presented in a foreign language
• The formation of skills, required to handle a wide array of texts according to the international exam format
• An all-round development of cognitive and research skills with reliance upon sources, available in a foreign language for the classroom environment and independent work
• The generation of a conceptual and terminological apparatus within the field and language concerned
• The development of skills in working with artificial intelligence tools such as Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing to collect information, work with sources, formulate arguments and counter-arguments in the course of training for debates
• Reinforcement of a student’s ability to adapt AI to a variety of tasks and roles, to sort through large sets and amounts of data, analyse large blocks of information in terms of reliability and quality, identify fake information

Expected Learning Outcomes

• The student demonstrates ability to analyze, juxtapose and interpret information within the subject field – with due reliance upon the relevant thesaurus and valid communicative strategies;
• The student observes cause and effect relations, assesses arguments in support of- or against a given statement, constructs relevant argumentation and counter-argumentation;
• The student appeals to data, points to logical fallacies, summarizes statements;
• The student demonstrates an ability to make reports of sociocultural and professionally-significant nature using a foreign language;
• The student demonstrates the ability to work with artificial intelligence tools such as Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing to collect information, work with sources, formulate arguments and counter-arguments in the course of training for debates
• The student demonstrates an ability to work with artificial intelligence tools such as Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing to collect information, work with sources, formulate arguments and counter-arguments in the course of training for debates

Course Contents

• Debate Skills 1: Climate debate
• Debate Skills 3: Redistribution debate
• Debate Skills 4: Diversity debate
• Debate Skills 5: Security debate
• Debate Skills 6: Education debate

Assessment Elements

• Participation (Modules 1-2)
• Speaking tasks (Module 3)
• Speaking tasks (Modules 1-2)
• Exam debate (Module 2)
• Writing tasks (Modules 1-2)
• Writing (Module 3)
• Persuasive speech (Module 3)
• Participation (Module 3)

Interim Assessment

• 2025/2026 2nd module
  0.4 * Exam debate (Module 2) + 0.2 * Participation (Modules 1-2) + 0.2 * Speaking tasks (Modules 1-2) + 0.2 * Writing tasks (Modules 1-2)
• 2025/2026 3rd module
  0.2 * Participation (Module 3) + 0.4 * Persuasive speech (Module 3) + 0.2 * Speaking tasks (Module 3) + 0.2 * Writing (Module 3)

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Mastering English through Global Debate, Talalakina, E.V., Brown T., 2017
• Stanislav Mraz, & Klaudia Hranikova Pytelova. (2018). Foreign Intervention In Internal Conflicts. Medzinarodne Vztahy (Journal of International Relations), (4), 407–419. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.brv.journl.v16y2018i4p407.419

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• White, S. (2018). War Spin: How U.S. Politicians, the President and the Media Frame Foreign Intervention. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D66CC221

Authors

• YAKUSHEVA IRINA VLADIMIROVNA
• Lukashenko Anna Dmitrievna
• TAREV BORIS VLADIMIROVICH