Bridging the Gap: Aligning an English for Business Communication Syllabus with Workplace Demands through Professional Insights
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study seeks to address discrepancies between English for business communication curricula and industry requirements by soliciting recommendations from industry professionals to: i) Identify the communication skills that should be emphasized in an English for business communication syllabus tailored to teach business English at a university in Vietnam; and ii) Determine how the syllabus content should be revised to meet the actual workplace communication needs. The findings indicate that industry professionals emphasize the importance of communicative competence, which involves not only the mastery of specific communication skills but also the demonstration of appropriateness and effectiveness. Although the selected syllabus topics were deemed relevant to workplace needs, the specific functions outlined under each chapter were identified as problematic. They tended to prioritize safer, less challenging forms of communication and lacked a logical progression. The findings provide valuable insights aimed at enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of English for business communication curricula.
Keywords:
English for business communication, syllabus design, needs analysis, mismatch.
References
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[2] C. S. C. Chan, Forging a Link between Research and Pedagogy: a Holistic Framework for Evaluating Business English Materials, English for Specific Purposes, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2009, pp. 125-136, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2008.12.001.
[3] C. S. C. Chan, Investigating a Research-informed Teaching Idea: the Use of Transcripts of Authentic Workplace Talk in the Teaching of Spoken Business English, English for Specific Purposes, Vol. 46, 2017, pp. 72-89,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2016.12.002.
[4] C. S. C. Chan, Proposing and Illustrating a Research-Informed Approach to Curriculum Development for Specific Topics in Business English, English for Specific Purposes, Vol. 52, 2018, pp. 27-46, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2018.07.001.
[5] C. S. C. Chan, Long-term Workplace Communication Needs of Business Professionals: Stories from Hong Kong Senior Executives and Their Implications for ESP and Higher Education, English for Specific Purposes, Vol. 56, 2019, pp. 68-83, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2019.07.003.
[6] M. Chan, Communicative Needs in the Workplace and Curriculum Development of Business English Courses in Hong Kong, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, Vol. 77, No. 4, 2014, pp. 376-408,
https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490614545987.
[7] T. L. Clokie, E. Fourie, Graduate Employability and Communication Competence: are Undergraduates Taught Relevant Skills?, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, Vol. 79, No. 4, 2016, pp. 442-463, https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490616657635.
[8] L. P. Le, Aligning Specialist English Language Curriculum in Higher Education with Development Imperatives and Workplace Communication Needs in Vietnam: A Case Study of the Vietnamese Petroleum Industry, PhD Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2017.
[9] J. Newton, E. Kusmierczyk, Teaching Second Languages for the Workplace, Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 31, 2011, pp. 74-92, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190511000080.
[10] T. Lehtonen, "You Will Certainly Learn English Much Faster at Work than from a Textbook": Law Students Learning English beyond the Language Classroom, System, Vol. 68, 2017, pp. 50-59, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2017.06.013.
[11] E. Oliveri, R. J. Tannenbaum, Are We Teaching and Assessing the English Skills Needed to Succeed in the Global Workplace?, in V. H. Kenon, S. V. Palsole, The Wiley Handbook of Global Workplace Learning, Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken, 2019, pp. 343-354.
[12] T. C. N. Nguyen, M. Kettle, C. Doherty, Tertiary Education ESP Program Delivery in Vietnam and Language Practices in Globalized Workplaces: Examining the Extent of Alignment, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Vol. 35, 2022, pp. 440-459, https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2022.2076864.
[13] P. Sundkvist, X. N. C. M. Nguyen, English in Vietnam, in K. Bolton, W. Botha, A. Kirkpatrick, The Handbook of Asian Englishes, Wiley Blackwell, Hoboken, 2020, pp. 683-704.
[14] V. V. Hoang, the Roles and Status of English in Present-day Vietnam: A Socio-cultural Analysis, VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, Vol. 36, No.1, 2020, pp. 1-21, https://doi.org/10.25073/2525-2445/vnufs.4495.
[15] J. D. Brown, the Elements of Language Curriculum: A Systematic Approach to Program Development, Heinle ELT, Boston, 1995.
[16] S. Evans, Business as Usual: The Use of English in the Professional World in Hong Kong, English for Specific Purposes, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2010, pp. 153-167, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2009.11.005.
[17] G. M. Barés, E. Llurda, Internationalization of Business English Communication at University: A Threefold Needs Analysis, Ibérica, Vol. 26, 2013, pp. 151-170.
[18] M. E. Oliveri, L. McCulla, Using the Occupational Network Database to Assess and Improve English Language Communication for the Workplace, ETS Research Report Series, Vol. 2019, No.1, 2019, pp. 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12265.
[19] J. Flowerdew, Some Dichotomies in Genre Analysis for Languages for Specific Purposes, in V. Bhatia, P. S. Hernández, P. P. Paredes, Researching Specialized Languages, John Benjamins Publishing, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 2011, pp. 139-154.
[20] C. Nickerson, B. Planken, Introducing Business English, Routledge, New York, 2016.
[21] C. S. C. Chan, University Graduates’ Transition into the Workplace: How They Learn to Use English for Work and Cope with Language-related Challenges, System, Vol. 100, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102530.
[22] H. Basturkmen, Needs Analysis and Syllabus Design for Language for Specific Purposes, in C. A. Chapelle, The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex, 2018.
[23] C. Nickerson, Unity in Diversity: The View from the (UAE) Classroom, Language Teaching, Vol. 48, No. 2, 2015, pp. 235-249, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444812000237.
[24] D. Magaldi, M. Berler, Semi-structured Interviews, in T. K. Shackelford, V. Zeigler-Hill, Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, Springer, 2020, pp. 4825-4830.
[25] V. Braun, V. Clarke, Thematic Analysis, in H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, K. J. Sher, APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology, Vol 2: Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, Neuropsychological, and Biological, American Psychological Association, Washington DC, 2012, pp. 57-71.
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[28] D. B. Rane, Good Listening Skills Make Efficient Business Sense, The IUP Journal of Soft Skills, Vol. 5, No. 4, 2012, pp. 43-51.
[29] B. H. Spitzberg, W. R. Cupach, Interpersonal Communication Competence, SAGE Publications, Beverly Hills, 1984.
[30] T. A. Coffelt, F. L. M. Smith, Exemplary and Unacceptable Workplace Communication Skills, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, Vol. 83, No. 4, 2020, pp. 365-384, https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490620946425.
[31] E. Darics, Introduction: Business Communication in the Digital Age - Fresh Perspectives, in: E. Darics, Digital Business Discourse, Palgrave Macmillan UK, London, 2015, pp. 1-16.
[32] D. Vuchkovski, M. Zalaznik, M. Mitręga, G. Pfajfar, a Look at the Future of Work: the Digital Transformation of Teams from Conventional to Virtual, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 163, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113912.
[33] N. Van Quaquebeke, F. H. Gerpott, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Workplace Communication: Promises, Perils, and Recommended Policy, Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2024, pp. 375-381,
https://doi.org/10.1177/15480518241289644.
[34] A. Koester, Workplace Discourse, Continuum, London, 2010.
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