1. The Curriculum Development and An ESP Course Design for Business English in China Presenter: Sharon Professor: Patricia Su Date: April 19 th

2. 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.

3. 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 Trade, Law Foreign Affairs Marketing, Finance Management Tourism Journalism

4. 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.

5. Business English Curriculum Development Aim -to cultivate in the students abilities and qualities including Language abilities Cross-cultural communication Business knowledgeHumanistic savvy Abilities and Qualities

6. Business English Knowledge and abilities Knowledge and abilities Major TypesSub-type Indicators Language Knowledge and skills 1.sounds, vocabulary, and grammar of English 2.skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing 3.interpreting and translating skills 4.discourse competence 5.language learning abilities Business knowledge and skills 1.economics 2.management 3.international business law 4.business skills Intercultural communication skills 1.intercultrual cognitive skills 2.intercultural accommodation abilities 3.intercultural interaction abilities Humanistic qualities 1.political stance and ethics 2.critical and innovative thinking 3.savvy of Chinese and foreign cultures

7. 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.

8. ESBP Course Design for Chinese International Business Personnel  There are quite a few in-service business English training courses throughout China, the current in- company 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.  There are quite a few in-service business English training courses throughout China, the current in- company 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.

9. Course Overview Aims of this course Improve the trainees’ skills in business English use so that they would be successful in career Objectives of this course The students will be able to immediately use what they have learned to accomplish their jobs more effectively. Type of course 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, cross- cultural communication, business meetings, report writing Course evaluation Summative and formative evaluations

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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).

14. 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:

15. 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