Student assessment based on business presentations portfolio in ESP class

Author : BOCIANU IRINA

Abstract : The present paper is an attempt at analyzing the delivery of two types of business presentations: classic business plan presentations and product/service pitches made by the students from a series of business faculties within the Bucharest University of Economic Studies during the English class. The paper analyses the presentations’ delivery means and evaluates the students’ skills and abilities both in structured and casual contexts following Luthy & Deck model (2021) going through all the presentation components: opening/introduction, organization of presentation, visual component, summary/closing/finish. The paper further analyses issues such as oracy proficiency according to Hill criteria (2021): simulations, interviews, peer feed-back, sessions. An overall conclusion states that communication skills both in classic business plan presentations and emotion-oriented pitches are placed on fluency, accent, business vocabulary in context and content. One caveat, though, that is part of public speaking is represented by shier or anxious students’ fear of being mocked or bullied or the lack of good appropriation of specialised terminology to be used in business contexts. Nevertheless, as public speaking focuses on a lot of practice and simulation of real-life situations, strategies to combat the fear of public speaking are put into practice. All in all, using this type of language assessment based on a portfolio of presentations is complex and encompasses a series of skills and abilities that prepare students for the very competitive business labour market.

Keywords : Presentation, pitch, language assessment, portfolio, business vocabulary, ESP.

Conference Name : International Conference on English Learning and Teaching (ICELT - 25)

Conference Place : Warangal, India

Conference Date : 27th Dec 2025