Transcript Business English A Case Study in China

The Curriculum Development and
An ESP Course Design for Business
English in China
Presenter: Sharon
Professor: Patricia Su
Date: April 19th
Introduction
The booming of Business English in China has
come in response to the need of
 China’s socio-economic development
 the reform of English language education in China
 the advances in research in business discourse
and English for Specific Purposes.
While China’s economy is increasingly globalized,
there arises the demand for a large number of
talents well-attuned to international business and
adept at intercultural communication.
Business English
Business English is now understood to refer to
English in use in economic, public, and social
activities concerning trade and investment in
the era of globalization.
It covers the use of English in the fields of
Tourism
Trade , Law
Journalism
Foreign Affairs
Marketing , Finance
Management
Curriculum Development
Richards (2001,p.2) states that curriculum
development is to focus on determining
 what knowledge, skills, and values students
learn in schools
what experiences should be provided to bring
about intended learning outcomes
 how teaching and learning in schools or
educational systems can be planned, measured,
and evaluated.
Business English Curriculum Development
• Aim
-to cultivate in the students abilities and
qualities including
Language abilities
Cross-cultural
communication
Abilities and
Qualities
Business knowledge
Humanistic savvy
Business English Knowledge and abilities
Major Types
Sub-type Indicators
1.sounds, vocabulary, and grammar of English
Language
Knowledge and
skills
2.skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing
3.interpreting and translating skills
4.discourse competence
5.language learning abilities
1.economics
Knowledge Business knowledge
and
and skills
abilities
Intercultural
communication
skills
2.management
3.international business law
4.business skills
1.intercultrual cognitive skills
2.intercultural accommodation abilities
3.intercultural interaction abilities
1.political stance and ethics
Humanistic qualities
2.critical and innovative thinking
3.savvy of Chinese and foreign cultures
Language Skills and Intercultural
Communication Skills
 In addition to mastering the basics of language,
the training of language communication skills
should be fore grounded, in particular
intercultural communication skills.
 In the teaching of courses in language,
intercultural communication, business knowledge
and humanistic understanding, emphasis should
be put on cultivating sensitivity to differences
between cultures, tolerance, and flexibility in
handling cultural differences.
ESBP Course Design for Chinese
International Business Personnel
There are quite a few in-service business English
training courses throughout China, the current incompany English training courses often copy from
the general business English teaching syllabus in
colleges. As the learning characteristics learning
needs of target learners are neglected, most of
these training courses are inefficient (Zhang J.J, 2007)
The course design as following based on English for
Specific Purpose theories, offers a tailored training
courses.
Course Overview
Aims of this course
Objectives of this
course
Type of course
Improve the trainees’ skills in business English use so that
they would be successful in career
The students will be able to immediately use what they
have learned to accomplish their jobs more effectively.
An intensive course by using a learning-centered approach
Target learners
Fresh college graduates aged from 25 to 30 and have
learned English for several years ( about 16 people)
Course duration
The course lasted two months (sixteen 2-hour workshops
on weekends). 1hour lecture plus a one-hour tutorial.
Teaching materials
Cotton, Falvey and Kent’s (2005) Market Leader and Xu’s
(2007) English for business communication
Teaching Methods
The case study method, the task-based approach for
problem-solving activities, and real-life working situations
Contents
Telephoning, introductions, product presentations, crosscultural communication, business meetings, report writing
Course evaluation
Summative and formative evaluations
Course Discussion
The trainees and the manager of the company
are quite satisfied with this ESBP course
according to the course evaluation conducted
at the end of this training.
Several trainees have suggested in the course
evaluation sheet that more professional
international business knowledge should be
added into the ESBP course.
Conclusions
 The principles and practices that lie behind ESBP
course design in terms of the needs analysis,
syllabus, assessment and evaluation are
discussed.
 This ESBP course, which takes English language as
the carrier and combines it with the core
business knowledge, has been proven to be fairly
effective because it responds to the learning
needs of trainees and helps the learners succeed
in their career in the international business field.
Intercultural Issues
• Ellis and Johnson (1994)
-one key element for Business English learners is
“awareness appropriate language and behavior
for the culture and situations which they will
operate.”
-the cultural teaching is to help students
communicate effectively in international business
situations by using their sensitivity, tolerance and
flexibility in dealing with cultural differences.
Cultivate one’s culture-awareness
 How to integrate the language teaching with the
cultural teaching is still at an early stage of
exploration.
 The introduction of a cultural component into
language classes could promote students’ curiosity
about a target culture and raise awareness of their
own culture.
-it can provide a meaningful context for language
learning, thus enhancing motivation
(Lotman & Uspensky, 1978).
Appendix I: Questionnaire for Trainees
Name:
Sex:
Age:
Educational Background:
The main business scope of the company:
English Proficiency:
Work experience:
The most important business English skill for you:
You communicate in business English mainly:
Your purpose of improving business English skills for:
Your previous English learning experiences and suggestion for this proposed course:
The current use of English in your daily life:
What do you lack most in business English communication in your workplace?
Expectation of this training course:
Request of learning conditions:
Other needs and request:
References
 Wang Lifei, Chen Zhunmin, Zhang Zuocheng (2010).
Developing a National Curriculum for BA Program in Business
English of China. Asian ESP Journal Volume 7 Issue 1, 33-52
 Jiang Shaohua (2010). ESBP Course Design for Chinese
International Business Personnel. Asian ESP Journal Volume 7
Issue 1, 58-85
 Mu Congjun, Liu Junlin (2010). Exploring Professional
Attributes of Being a Qualified Chinese Interpreter in the Field
of Exhibition and Convention. Asian ESP Journal Volume 7
Issue 1, 155