English for Careers in Business

Abstract

In today’s competitive business environment, English is increasingly becoming the global language of communication in the commercial world. Demands for business English have increased in recent years, and business English also has been given much attention, as English is regarded as the lingua franca in international business contexts. However, using English effectively in the workplace requires a very specific and demanding knowledge of business-centered language. According to a questionnaire survey conducted by Huh (2006), only a small number of Korean business professionals seemed to have taken business English courses, and the responses regarding previous experiences of taking business English courses indicated that many business English courses were not specialized enough to substantially deal with business-related tasks and materials. The lack of specialization and consequential ineffectiveness of business English courses also appeared as the reasons not to take business English courses among the Korean business professionals. According to the respondents, they have mentioned that business English courses were not much different from general English courses, and, as a result, taking business English courses was not worth investing time and money (Huh, 2006). Thus, this portfolio is aimed to specialize specific business-centered language and help EFL Korean students to improve general business English communication skills. This portfolio is designed to help undergraduate Korean students who study English for specific purpose (ESP) especially for people who are planning a career in a business or industry where English is used on an everyday basis. This full portfolio course follows from the beginning of one’s job search until the day to able to achieve a successful business negotiation. Therefore, the intended audience will practice business writing, talking on the telephone, negotiating, and instant messaging. Throughout this portfolio, the target audience will be introduced to meaningful business English expressions and phrases with these real-life scenarios. Each lesson focuses on an interesting story in the business world and leads to short discussions. Vocabulary development, reading comprehension, and speaking fluency are all worked on in together in order to develop general business English communication skills.