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Business English reading materials as a source of content knowledge

This study explores the perspective of undergraduate students on using business English reading materials to acquire specialized knowledge. It examines their comprehension problems, motivation, and acculturation to the discipline.

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Business English reading materials as a source of content knowledge

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  1. Business English reading materials as a source of content knowledge - undergraduate students' perspective Jolanta Łącka-Badura, PhD LSPHE 2019 Imperial College London

  2. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTSUE Katowice very little / no specialised knowledge • comprehension problems • sometimes – low motivation to engage in the reading tasks • students not acculturated to the discipline • lack of a cognitive model for the discipline • learning a great deal about business through English (cf. Sobkowiak 2008)

  3. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS UE Katowice Business English • language needed for knowing/ talking about business (academic BE) NOW • language needed for doingbusiness / being ” operationally effective” in business (BE for work) IN THE FUTURE specialised language + specialised content knowledge (M. Ellis i C. Johnson 1994: 35)

  4. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

  5. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND • Content-Based Instruction (CBI) + • English for Specific Purposes (ESP) • Reading comprehension in ESP pedagogy

  6. CBI and ESP content- frequently (and ’naturally’) used as the organizing principlein a variety of ESP courses (e.g. Grabe and Stoller, 1997; Richards and Rodgers, 2002) • successful outcomes of combining the two approaches / incorporating Content-Based Instruction in ESP programs (Cianflone & Coppolino 2009; Kavaliauskiene 2004; Master 1997; Stryker and Leaver 1997)

  7. CBI and ESP Content-Based Instruction as a”logical extension”of ESP Flowerdew (1993: 122-123) • emphasis on acquiring content through language rather than learning the language for its own sake (e.g. Richards and Rodgers, 2002)

  8. Reading comprehension in ESP pedagogy • reading in ESP TALOTAVI (Text as a Linguistic Object)(Text as a Vehicle of Information) (Dudley-Evans and St. John 1998; Hirleva 2013) • the value of a text - measured in relation to students’ needs • ”judging the fitness” of the materials ”for a particular purpose” (Hutchinson and Waters 1987: 96) • no”absolute good or bad” choice of materials, their evaluation is viewed by the scholars as ”concerned with relative merit” (ibid.).

  9. THE STUDY

  10. PARTICIPANTS 2941st year undergraduate students of the University of Economics in Katowice (B2) 12 groups • Management • Economics • Finance • International Economic Relations • Informatics and Communications • no prior experience of learning Business English • no prior professional work experience

  11. READING MATERIALS TEXT 1A: Anna Wintour, Jim Buckmaster (Market Leader upper-intermediate, 3rd. ed. Pearson, 2011, unit 7) TEXT 1B:The Big Three Management Styles (http://www.refresher.com/the-big-three-management-styles) 4 groups: 82 students TEXT 2A:Diego Della Valle: Italian atmosphere is centralto Tod’s global expansion (Market Leader upper-intermediate, 3rd. ed. Pearson, 2011, unit 2) TEXT 2B: Fundamentals of International Marketing (http://www.citeman.com/2589-fundamentals-of-international-marketing.html 4 groups: 96 students TEXT 3A:Kieran Prior: Goldman Sachs’s whizz-kid wheeler dealer (Market Leader upper-intermediate, 3rd. ed. Pearson, 2011, unit 6) TEXT 3B:The Basics of Investing (http://www.balancetrack.org/basicsofinvesting/ch4.html) 4 groups: 89 students

  12. TEXT A

  13. TEXT B

  14. PROCEDURE

  15. PROCEDURE • Reading comprehension task + questionnaire 1)pre-reading activities 2)while-reading activities 3) post-reading activities • Total time: 75-80 minutes

  16. RESULTS

  17. PRE-READING • building expectations >>> 3 questions • titles >>> preliminary evaluation • skimming >>> preliminary evaluation • previewing vocabulary

  18. PRE-READING: STUDENTS’ QUESTIONS MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1A, 1B • Which management style is the most/least effective? 52% • What are the qualities of a good manager / How to be a good manager ? 42% • How to manage people effectively? 36% • In what ways do management styles differ? 32% • How many different styles are there 21% • Which management style is the most/least popular 16% • 5 – 10%: how have management styles evolved, pros and cons of different styles, how can I learn/improve my management skills, opinions of management experts, professional management terminology

  19. PRE-READING: STUDENTS’ QUESTIONS MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 2A, 2B • What is international marketing? 51% • How does international marketing work? 35% • What are the key activities in / aspects of IM? 21% • How to succeed in IM / How to start an IM business? 20% • How to develop IM skills and qualifications? 14% • How does IM differ from domestic marketing? 11% • 5 – 10%: • examples of successful companies involved in IM, how to deal with international customers, how to prepare advertisements for international markets, problems faced by companies involved in international marketing

  20. PRE-READING: STUDENTS’ QUESTIONS MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 3A, 3B • How to invest profitably? What are the best instruments and strategies ? 48% • What risks/problems are involved and how to minimise them? 32% • How does the stock market work? 24% • How to begin investing on the stock market? 22% • Where can I learn how to invest? 13% • 5 – 10%: do you need any special qualifications, the pros and cons of investing, how to find the best broker/intermediary, what are the new trends in investment, real experience of successful investors

  21. TITLES >>> PRELIMINARY EVALUATIONWhich of the two texts would you prefer to read?

  22. SKIMMING>>> PRELIMINARY EVALUATIONWhich of the two texts would you like to read more closely? Why?

  23. WHILE-READING ACTIVITIES • inferring meaning from context • analysing and summarising paragraphs • preparing quiz questions

  24. POST-READING • comprehension quiz • useful facts / information • final evaluation

  25. POST-READINGFACTSLEARNT / USEFUL INFORMATION FOUNDWhat would you like to remember? Do you find it useful/relevant?

  26. POST-READING:FINAL EVALUATIONWhich of the 2 texts is more relevant and useful? Why?

  27. POST-READING: FINAL EVALUATION Which of the 2 texts do you find more relevant and useful? TITLE SKIMMING FINAL EVALUATION • A:31%>>>47%>>>20% (’course book’ / ’a success story’) • B:69%>>>49% >>> 68% (’loaded with business content’) • A & B:0%>>>4% >>> 12%

  28. EVALUATION PATTERNS

  29. FINAL EVALUATION - REASONSWhich of the 2 texts is more relevant and useful? Why? TEXT A: • A is more interesting, more inspiring • A provides a real example / tells a real story • A is easier to understand • B – only ‘dry facts’ / too scientific / too theoretical / boring TEXT B: • I have learnt sth that I didn’t know before / sth useful • I have acquired real knowledge ( >> useful for my career) • B contains a lot of important information ( >>> to remember) • B is more relevant to my needs / related to other univ. courses • B is more clear, more concrete, more interesting A & B: • A: interesting, easier; real example/story; reading for pleasure • B: teaches us sth useful, contains general information / important infromation / real knowledge; Bshould be read before A

  30. CONCLUSIONS 1 PRE-SERVICE BUSINESS ENGLISH LEARNERS (undergraduate students of the University of Economics): • expect to acquirebusiness knowledge (learnbusiness fundamentals) through reading Business English materials • are also interested in ’real examples’ / ’real stories’ - express the need to first ’learn’ the basics - ’introductory’ reading section in each unit + comprehension tasks? • CBI + ESP in tertiary education > a good combination

  31. CONCLUSIONS 2 students’ expectations • not the only/most important criterion to judge the pedagogcal value of BE reading materials but • should not be underestimated >>> students’ motivation and engagement

  32. BIBLIOGRAPHY • Bargiela-Chiappini, F. and Zhang, Z. 2013. Business English.In B. Paltridge and S. Starfield (eds), The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. 193-211. • Brinton, D.M., M.A. Snow and M.B. Wesche, 1989. Content-Based Second LanguageInstruction. New York: Newbury House. • Brinton, D.M. (2007). “Content-based instruction: Reflecting on itsapplicability to the teaching of Korean”. Presented at the 12th AnnualConference American Association of Teachers of KoreanChicago, Illinois. 14th-16th June, 2007. Available at http://www.aatk.org/www/html/conference2007/pdf/Donna%20Brinton.pdf. Accessed 19 March, 2012 • Cianflone, E. and R. Coppolino, 2009. “English for Specific Purposes and Content Teacher Collaboration: Report on a Pilot Project”. English for Specific Purposes, Vol. 8, Issue 3(24). Available at: http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_24/Cianflone%20&%20Coppolino.pdf. Accessed 19 March, 2012. • Clarke, P.J, Truelove, E., Hulme, C., Snowling, M.J. 2014. Developing Reading Comprehension. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. • Dudley-Evans, T. and M. J. St John, 1998. Developments in ESP. A multi-disciplinaryapproach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Dudley-Evans, T., 2000. “Genre analysis: a key to a theory of ESP?”. IBERICA, 2. Pp.: 3-11.http://www.aelfe.org/documents/text2-Dudley.pdf. Accessed 3 October, 2011. • Flowerdew, J. 1993. Content-based instruction in a Tertiary Setting. English for Specific Purposes, 12. 121-138. • Gajewska, E. and Sowa, M. 2014. LSP, FOS, Fachsprache… Dydaktyka języków specjalistycznych. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Werset. • Grabe, W. and F.L. Stoller. 1997. “Content-based Instruction: Research Foundations”. In M. A. Snow, & D. M. Brinton (Eds.), The Content-Based Classroom:Perspectives onIntegrating Language and Content. New York: Longman. Pp.: 5–21. • Grabe, W. and F.L. Stoller. 2001. Reading for academic purposes: guidelines for the ESL/SFL teacher. In M. Celce-Murcia (ed.), Teaching English as a Second of Foreign Language. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. 187-2013. • Grabe, W. and F.L. Stoller. 2013. Teaching and Researching: Reading (2nd edition). London and New York: Routledge. • Grabe, W. 2009. Reading in a Second Language: Moving from Theory to Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press. • Hirleva, A. 2013. ESP and Reading. In B. Paltridge and S. Starfield (eds), The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes. Chichester: John Wiley &Sons. 77-94. • Hutchinson, T. and A. Waters, 1987. English for Specific Purposes. A learning-centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Jacobs, V. A. and Ippolito, J. 2015. Comprehension of informational texts in the secondary classroom.  In S. R. Parris and K. Headley (eds),Comprehension Instruction:Research-based Best Practices (3rd edition). New York: Guilford Press. 278-292. • Jordan, R.R. 1997. Englishfor Academic Purposes: A Guide and Resource Book for Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Krashen, S. 1993. The Power of Reading. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. • Kavaliauskiene, G., 2004. “Research into the Integration of Content-based Instruction into the ESP Classroom”. Journal of Language and Learning, Vol. 2, No. 1. Pp.: 1-12. • Master, P., 1997. “Content-Based Instruction vs. ESP”. TESOL Matters Vol. 7, No. 6. P. 10. • Met, M., 1999. “Content-based Instruction: Defining Terms, making Decisions.” The National Foreign Language Center: Center for AdvancedResearch on LanguageAcquisition. Available athttp://www.carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/modules/principles/decisions.html. Accessed 11 November, 2011. • Myers, G.A. 1992. Textbooks and the sociology of scientific knowledge. English for Specific Purposes 11. 3-17. • Nelson, M. (2000). A Corpus-based study of the lexis of Business English and BusinessEnglish teaching materials. Unpublished thesis. University of Manchester. Available at http://users.utu.fi/micnel/thesis.html (Accessed 23 February, 2012). • Richards, J.C. and T.S. Rodgers, 2002. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching(2nd edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. • Savaş, B. 2009. “Role of Functional Academic Literacy in ESP Teaching: ESP Teacher Training in Turkey for Sustainable Development”. The Journal of International Social Research, Vol. 2, No. 9. Pp.: 395-406. • Sobkowiak, P. 2008. Issues in ESP:Designing a Model for Teaching English for BusinessPurposes. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM. • Stryker, S.B. and B. L. Leaver (eds), 1997. Content-Based Instruction in Foreign Language Education: Models and Methods. Washington D.C.: GeorgetownUniversity Press. 

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