Introducing Business English

Catherine Nickerson, Brigitte Planken

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317439264
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Introducing Business English provides a comprehensive overview of this topic, situating the concepts of Business English and English for Specific Business Purposes within the wider field of English for Special Purposes. This book draws on contemporary teaching and research contexts to demonstrate the growing importance of English within international business communication.

Covering both spoken and written aspects of Business English, this book:

• 
  
  

• examines key topics within Business English, including teaching Business English as a lingua franca, intercultural business interactions, blended learning and web-based communication;
• discusses the latest research on each topic, and possible future directions;
• features tasks and practical examples, a section on course design, and further resources.

Written by two leading researchers and teachers, Introducing Business English is a must-read for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Business English, Business English as a Lingua Franca, and English for Specific Business Purposes.

Part I Introduction

DOI: 10.4324/9781315694337-1

Chapter 1 What is Business English?

DOI: 10.4324/9781315694337-2

Introduction

This chapter introduces Business English and English for Specific Purposes and explains how they have developed and influenced the teaching of Business English over the past two decades. It also introduces some of the scholars who have been most influential in the field of Business English, explains how their work has helped shape that field and discusses the implications their work has had for the teaching of Business English. Next, the chapter highlights the importance of the interconnections between written texts and spoken forms of communication and shows that this interrelatedness is typical of how English is used in the contemporary business context. In doing so, it introduces the terms intertextuality and interdiscursivity and explains how these have been referred to in research. Finally, the chapter provides readers with an overview of the rest of the book.

In this book, we use Business English as an umbrella term to refer to any interaction, written or spoken, that takes place in English, where the purpose of that interaction is to conduct business. For example, it can be used to refer to a business meeting, an email sent to set up a business appointment, or an advertisement promoting a new product. All of these events or documents have been studied by researchers with an interest in Business English and they are also all likely to be included or referred to in a Business English training course. We will see that the focus on different – and discrete – genres, i.e. on different types of spoken and written Business English and their distinctive characteristics (in terms of their content, structure, and goal), has been a common feature of studies of Business English, and of investigations of written Business English in particular. We explore this in Part II for spoken Business English and in Part III for written Business English.

As we discuss in more detail in the next chapter, Business English is different to most other languages used to conduct business because nowadays so many people in so many different parts of the world use it as a communication ‘code’ to facilitate their work. While other languages like Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua), Hindi, and Spanish are used by many business people in specific geographical locations, Business English has a special status because it is used by such large numbers of native speakers, second language speakers, and foreign language speakers across the globe regardless of their location or first language, and also in situations where those speakers are frequently in interaction with each other, both virtually and face-to-face. As a result, in many places Business English co-exists alongside one or more other languages used in business, and the business people that use it may switch between English and their own first or additional languages. As we discuss in more detail in the next chapter, Business English is now often viewed as a necessary skill for succeeding in business, just as having good computer skills or an understanding of accounting might be required.

The teaching of Business English has been strongly connected to the research field of English for Specific Purposes for more than three decades, and more specifically since the publication of Johns’ (1980) landmark publication ‘Cohesion in written business discourse’ published in the inaugural issue of the ESP Journal, now English for Specific Purposes. This publication, which looked at the language items that occurred together in letters, reports, and business textbooks – i.e. the ‘constellations’ of cohesive items – marked the beginning of research into Business English as a prominent area of interest within English for Specific Purposes.

Johns found that there were differences in the language items that occurred together in each of the three types of documents that she looked at, and research like this – looking for both similarities and differences in different types of communication used for business – has continued to be a common feature of English for Specific Purposes research since that time. Johns’ article also made an important distinction between applied Business English (as represented at that time by business letters and reports), and academic English for business and economics (as represented by business textbooks). Researchers interested in Business English have also often focused on either applied Business English or on academic Business English. This book is about applied Business English and the different forms of communication that have evolved and been studied since the publication of Johns’ article.

In Task 1.1, you are asked to characterize forms of communication that are common in today’s workplace.

Task 1.1 Communication at work: the context for Business English

While research has shown that email has become increasingly important in today’s business world, business people – and companies – have at their disposal many other forms of communication, such as letters or websites, which are used to communicate both internally (e.g. with colleagues) and externally (e.g. with clients or consumers).

First, list at least three different forms of communication besides email that employees might use in the workplace.

Next, think of a specific business situation or business task in which each form might be used, and identify the purpose and the audience.

Then, within the context of the business situation or task you have identified for each form of communication, characterize it in terms of whether it is written or spoken, virtual or real-time, personal or corporate, internal or external, one-way or two-way, face-to-face or long-distance, informative or persuasive.

Finally, consider which type(s) of communication should be dealt with in a Business English course, and give reasons why you think this is important.

A second important article that has helped to shape the field of Business English was published by Williams in Applied Linguistics (Williams, 1988). Williams investigated the language used in three meetings by 12 native speakers of English and compared this with the language that was used in 30 English textbooks aimed at teaching people Business English for meetings. She found that there were very few similarities between the real language used in business meetings and the model language presented in the textbooks to learners, as the language used by real speakers was much more complicated than the language presented in the textbooks. Williams’ study has continued to be influential because it highlighted the mismatch that can exist between teaching materials and real language. In the decades since the study was published, other researchers have carried out similar studies (e.g. St John, 1996; Nickerson, 2005). These studies have shown that a mismatch continues to exist in many of the published textbooks that are intended to teach Business English. Later in this book, we look at some of the Business English textbooks that have incorporated real language, embedded in real business tasks, into the models and exercises they present.

Johns’ and Williams’ studies encapsulate many of the continuing concerns of Business English and English for Specific Purposes research that focuses on business interactions and texts. English for Specific Purposes is mainly concerned with two things: first, the collection and analysis of real data, including extra contextual information on how that data is used by business people, and second, the application of the research findings in a classroom setting in order to maximize the effectiveness of teaching a specific form of communication. English for Specific Purposes is both descriptive, in that it tries to uncover or deconstruct the characteristics of a particular form of communication, and prescriptive, in that it uses real data and empirical analysis to make suggestions about how best to teach or train people to communicate effectively in a specific context. Researchers with an interest in Business English are often also active as teachers or trainers, and it is characteristic of the field that they have frequently drawn on both the descriptive and prescriptive nature of English for Specific Purposes in their research publications. In the next section, we describe three studies of Business English that were motivated by pedagogy – i.e. in order to design an appropriate set of teaching or training materials. One took place in Hong Kong (Li So-mui & Mead, 2000), one in a Finnish multinational operating in various countries around the world (Charles & Marschan-Piekkari, 2002), and one in the call centre industry in Asia (Lockwood, 2012). These studies are illustrative of the close connection between Business English and the research approach inherent in English for Specific Purposes. For each study, we outline what the researchers did and how their findings can be used to design an appropriate teaching programme.

Task 1.2 Comparing real-life and textbook data

Go to the library and borrow a prescriptive textbook on business communication that includes samples – in English – of business letters or business emails (e.g. letters of complaint or request emails).

Next, for one type of sample text you have found in the textbook, find some authentic, real-life examples of the same text type. These might be actual letters or emails in English written by you, your friends, family, or colleagues. Two to five texts of each type (textbook examples and real-life letters) should be sufficient for the task.

Compare the two sets of texts in terms of at least the following aspects:What similarities and differences did you notice between the two sets of texts?

• structure
• level of formality
• salutation and closing
• English (grammar, syntax, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, etc.).

Where do the two sets of texts differ most?

Do you think any of the differences you identified in the authentic texts (versus the textbook texts) would impede the effectiveness of the communication? In what way?

Based on your comparison, what do you think deserves attention in a Business English course? Explain your answers.

Three studies of Business English

Li So-mui and Mead’s (2000) study investigated the English needed by textile and clothing merchandisers in Hong Kong. The study details what is known as a needs analysis survey, which means an investigation aimed at collecting information in different ways to determine what a particular target group’s needs are. In Li So-mui and Mead’s study the aim was to find out what Hong Kong merchandisers needed to do with Business English at the time the study took place, and what they would need to do with Business English in the future, as the result of changes in the business environment, for example. The study was carried out specifically to develop learning and teaching materials for tertiary level institutions training textile merchandisers in Hong Kong.

Li So-mui and Mead used four information sources: 1) questionnaires completed by Hong Kong merchandisers, all of whom had had English or communication training, and all of whom had been working for at least one year, 2) follow-up telephone interviews with senior employees, 3) an analysis of a set of workplace texts considered typical of the sorts of texts that the merchandisers needed to deal with, and 4) a set of visits to the workplace to observe what the merchandisers did. The researchers were able to show that although more than half of the merchandisers used spoken English at work, English was in fact used much more for writing than it was for speaking. In addition, they were also able to identify the countries with whom the merchandisers were mostly doing business (mainland China, the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Canada), the channels of communication they used (at that time – in the mid-nineties – fax and telephone), and why they needed to write (e.g. to describe products, to follow up an order, to clarify orders, etc.). The analysis of written documents also allowed them to identify a mismatch between the faxes presented in textbooks and the real fax texts that their respondents had to deal with. As in the study of business meetings by Williams (1988) discussed before, the textbook faxes were considerably less complex than the authentic faxes.

The information collected during this study allowed Li So-Mui and Mead to understand the ways in which Business English was used in the textile industry in Hong Kong, the skills that were most needed, the people textile merchandisers needed to be able to talk to, the channels they needed to focus on, and what tasks they needed to achieve with language. This in turn meant that the researchers could provide students studying merchandising with appropriate language learning activities to more effectively prepare them to deal with the Business English tasks that would be required of them in the future.

The study of the multinational corporation Kone Elevators by Charles and Marschan-Piekkari (2002), involved both an extensive interview survey and a set of more in-depth follow-up interviews. As in the case of Li So-Mui and Mead’s study of the communication used by textile merchandisers, the aim was to design appropriate communication training for Kone Elevator employees working in middle management. Charles and Marschan-Piekkari held interviews with 110 staff located in ten different countries in Europe, Mexico, and the Far East. They followed these up with six in-depth interviews with key people (usually referred to as key informants in this type of study) within the organization. The researchers asked employees about their experiences with language and about any specific problems they encountered in which language had played a role. In addition, they asked the key informants about the history of language training at the corporation. The study is an example of a linguistic audit, which is an extensive and systematic needs analysis survey that not only identifies existing and future language needs, but also seeks to identify specific situations in which different languages either are or could be used, and the different forms of communication that are needed (or could be needed) in each one of those situations. A linguistic audit carried out in this way – that is, mapping languages, situations, and forms of communication – can identify new business opportunities, such as opportunities that are lost or ignored because employees need better Business English skills. We discuss the use of linguistic audits in more detail in Part V of this book.

Some of the recommendations in the Kone study were that listening comprehension was a very important skill that needed to be developed in addition to language production, and also that employees at Kone should be trained to become familiar with ‘global Englishes’ such as the English produced by Japanese, Dutch, French, and Indian speakers, so that they could deal with different accents, communication strategies, and expressions. We discuss this study in more detail in the next chapter when we look at the use of Business English as an international language and the role that native speakers play in international communication. Also, we discuss how its findings could be used in the design of an appropriate corporate training course.

Lockwood’s (2012) study is focused on the call centre industry, specifically on a large call centre organization providing customer service with major offices in both India and the Philippines. Lockwood describes how she and her research team were tasked by the organization to provide a Business English training curriculum as well as an English language assessment strategy to be used in evaluating employees. The language assessment strategy was implemented first, followed by the training curriculum. As in the previous two studies that we have discussed here, the researchers used several different methods and consulted several different types of people to collect the information they needed to develop the assessment test and the curriculum. Their aim was to take the views and experiences of different types of employees or stakeholders into account, including the customer service representatives themselves, their account managers, and the human resource recruiters and trainers who would eventually be responsible for administering the assessment test...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Part I Introduction
• Part II Spoken Business English
• Part III Written Business English
• Part IV The Modern Business World
• Part V Learners, Teachers, and Materials
• References
• Index