ESP Journal about business issueProfessor : Patricia SuPresenter : Ming-Jen Tsai (Pink)Number : 10022614Date : April 19th, 2012

Case studies

We will now look at three case studies which illustrate the implementation of the parameters described in this report.

Case study 1

Topic: Language for business: effective needs assessment, syllabus design and materials preparation in a practical ESP case study. (by Nathan Edwards *)

This paper presents an ESP case study which took place in a specialized business context involving senior German bankers.

Background

They had studied English at the university level, and had an impressive vocabulary and store of idioms, although these were not always used appropriately or in a native-like way.

The class took place twice a week in the morning at 10:00 h and lasted for two45 min periods in a large meeting room at the bank.

Details of course aims and objectives based on needs analysis

The one important aim of the course the improvement of the student's spoken English used in business meetings and negotiations.

The second important aim would be to include work on giving presentations using different kinds of graphs and charts.

The final aim of the course was to continue to build both general and specialist vocabulary.

During the course the students were asked for their valuable feedback and opinions on the exercises used, as well as about the general direction of the course.

Description of the course syllabus, materials and teaching methodology

Teaching nearly 40 contact hours a week, including weekends.

Jumbled sentences were used to help students become familiar with the discourse patterns of language used to conduct business meetings, to negotiate and to engage in ``small talk''.

Articles and reports were used to practice. The students were often required to guess the meaning of new vocabulary based on the context, clues in the surrounding text, or on cognate roots.

Description of the course syllabus, materials and teaching methodology

A variety of vocabulary exercises based mainly on the exercises in Build Your Business Vocabulary were used.

Short vocabulary quizzes were held orally near the beginning of each class in order to recycle previously learnt vocabulary and key words from past articles and discussions.

Case study 2

Topic: How does a sales team reach goals in intercultural business negotiations? A case study.

(by Taina Vuorela *).

Research of business negotiations: background of the study

The study: it will be of interest to see whether a sales team uses similar means when attempting to reach their goals in a business negotiation. Some similarities regarding the functions of teamwork could be expected when investigating how the sellers pursue their goals as a team in the present study.

Methodology and research questions

The research approach of the study is phenomenological. Background information was collected about the participants and the business relationship between the buyers and the sellers, and informal interviews were held with the sellers immediately after the Client Negotiation and at regular intervals with one seller, who acted as a specialist informant, in order to check on the researchers interpretations against the views of the sellers.

Methodology and research questions

In researching the interactional strategies used in reaching goals as a team of sellers, the following research questions:

1. What kind of goals can be identified in the Client Negotiation? 2. What kind of interactional strategies, conscious or unconscious, do the members

of the sales team use in order to reach their

goals? 3. What kind of teamwork can be identified in the Client Negotiation?

Analysis and results

From the technical part of the Client Negotiation (cooling radiator, protection system) and two from the commercial part (payment terms, price).

Regarding the items analyzed from the commercial part of the Client Negotiation, the sellers had set themselves achievement goals in their Internal Meeting. Their own topics in order to improve the terms of the contract.

Regarding the price of their engine, the sellers initial goal is to either maintain the present price level or increase it.

Case study 3

Topic: Towards an integrated approach to teaching Business English: A Chinese experience.

(by Zuocheng Zhang *)

A historical overview

Since the early 1980s when China opened up to the outside and moved towards a market economy, students of Business English found themselves having to learn not only the language but also the way of doing business.

The 1990s witnessed a boom in Business English teaching in China. The number of colleges and universities offering Business English programs increased significantly.

Understanding Business English

1.ESP and Business English: -Understood properly ESP, it is an

approach to language learning, which is based on learner need.

-Business English is characterized by ‘‘sense of purpose’’, ‘‘social aspects’’, and ‘‘clear communication’’.

Understanding Business English

2.Language-as-discourse view and Business English:

-The teaching of Business English requires a sound description of English in use in business.

-Representing a domain of social and economic life, it has its own subject matter, interpersonal relations, choice of media and channels of communication, and patterns of organizing messages.

Understanding Business English

3.A working definition of Business English:

-business and language, i.e. the activities and topics of business participants, complicated networks of interpersonal relations, strategies and tactics taken up for pursuing particular goals, dynamics of discourse, and features of linguistic realizations

An integrated approach to the teaching of Business English

Research into three essential fields – subject knowledge, business practice and language skills.

The vertical axis represents courses in business studies, like marketing, finance, and fundamentals of business law.

The courses represented in the horizontal axis acquaint students with the procedures, conventions, politeness systems, strategies and tactics for addressing various goals in the professional community.

Business discourse, represented by the oblique axis, plays a pivotal role in organizing Business English curricula.

Thank you for your attention.

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