ESP Teachers

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ESP Teachers Perceptions of Business EnglishCourses

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate ESP teachersperceptions of Business English

courses. Specifically, this study aimed to explore how teachers planned Business English courses,

how they developed studentscompetence and skills, and how they continued their professional

growth. A qualitative approach was used to frame the inquiry of this study. The participants were

seven Business English teachers at one technological university in Southern Taiwan; four of them

were from the Applied English Department and three from the International Business Department.

Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and field notes. Major findings

of the study were as follows: First, in course design, Business English teachers would develop

studentsbusiness knowledge and improve their English communication skills. Second, students

English ability, business background knowledge, attitude, communication skills, independent

thinking ability, and flexibility were all considered important by Business English teachers, with

a view of helping students meet the needs of the job market. Third, teachers read relevant news or

magazines to absorb new business knowledge, and attended business seminars or enrolled in shortterm

business programs to improve their teaching abilities. Fourth, some teachers agreed with

the idea of increasing teaching hours of Business English in order to provide more professional

training programs for students. Fifth, teachers suggested that instructors from industry could be

hired as part-time Business English teachers to bridge the gap between classroom learning and the

real world. Based on the findings of this study, the implications for Business English teaching and
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learning and suggestions for future research were addressed.

Keywords: Business English, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers

ESP TeachersPerceptions of Business English Courses

* I-Chen Chen & Hung-Chang Wu

Department of Applied English

Southern Taiwan University of Science & Technology, Taiwan

20 I-Chen Chen & Hung-Chang Wu

1. Introductionn

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a movement based on the proposition that

language teaching should be tailored to the specific learning and language use needs of

identified groups of students (Johns & Price-Machado, 2001). In Taiwan, the growth

of ESP in the past several years has been rapid and striking (Lo, 2011). Institutes and

universities of technology in Taiwan are aware that it is crucial to cultivate students

English ability as well as improving specific English competence to meet their future

needs in the world of high technology and to allow them to participate in international

affairs. Many language learners are eager to study field-specific English in order to

increase their competitive competence or pursue their careers.

The characteristics of ESP courses could be divided into absolute characteristics

and variable characteristics (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). The absolute

characteristics suggest that ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of learners; in

addition, the content of the activities and materials as well as the language instruction


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may focus on specific fields. The variable characteristics suggest that ESP may be

related to or designed for specific disciplines and that it is likely to be designed for

adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation.

ESP is a goal-directed, effective and professional training curriculum (Carter &

Nunan, 2001; Robinson, 1991). The goals, objectives, and content of ESP courses are

related to meeting the requirements of learnerscommunicative needs in real settings

(Carter & Nunan, 2001; Lai, 2005).

An ESP curriculum, especially Business English courses, is provided in various

universities in order to improve studentsoccupational English ability. For Business

English instructors, design an appropriate curriculum is always a challenge because

they have to understand studentsreal needs (Johns & Price-Machado, 2001), as

is the choice of appropriate materials. In addition, Business English courses are

offered in different departments such as Applied English and International Business.

English major students and Business major students have different characteristics,

strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, it is important to discover how Business English

instructors rearrange or adjust the design of their Business English courses when their

students are from different departments.

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 21

The purpose of this study was threefold. First, it aimed to explore how ESP

teachers planned Business English courses. The techniques and strategies which

teachers used to prepare for Business English courses were explored. Second, it


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attempted to investigate how Business English teachers helped students meet the

needs of the job market. The researchers explored how Business English teachers

helped students develop the competence and skills in order to meet job requirements.

Third, it attempted to find out how Business English teachers continued their

professional growth. In order to further understand what characteristics an effective

Business English teacher needed, the researchers explored how they continued their

professional development. In addition, Business English teachers were encouraged

to offer their suggestions to improve the quality of Business English education. The

research questions were addressed as follows:

1. How do Business English teachers plan courses?

2. How do Business English teachers develop studentscompetence and skills?

3. How do Business English teachers continue their professional growth?

2. Literature Review

2.1 The Development of Business English

The development of Business English, a subdivision of ESP, began in the 1960s

(Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). The main reason for the development of Business

English was the massive expansion of international business. Pickett (1989, p.1)

explained that Business English is a mediating language between the technicality of

particular business and the general language of public.Dudley-Evans and St. John

(1998) indicated that Business English can be divided into specialist English and

General English. According to these authors, we understand that the component of


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Business English might include specific English and general English. Specific English

refers to communicating among business projects with many business terminologies

and General English refers to communicating with the general public.

In the 1960s, the education of Business English mainly focused on teaching

specialist vocabulary and terminology in specific business sectors (Cordeanu et al.,


1998). In the 1970s and 1980s, the Business English education came to focus on

various language skills training, especially on developing learnerscommunication

ability (Ellis & Johnson, 1994). Cordeanu et al. indicated that Business English

courses should (1) provide enough specialist content, (2) develop good communication

skills in business fields and general situations, (3) notice culture differences, and (4)

develop the ability of cross-cultural communication. The ability of communication

becomes more and more important after the 1990s (Cordeanu et al., 1998; Dudley-

Evans & St. John, 1998; Pickett, 1989).

Business English courses are one type of content-based course. Content-based

instruction integrates the learning of language with the learning of specific content.

Content should be a vehicle to drive language learning (Hadley, 2001). In a contentbased

course, the language is the skeleton, while the content is the flesh and blood;

the language could be seen as a means to complete a content task (Chen, 2010).

Business English includes both training for English proficiency and the development

of business knowledge. Learners learn the language used in business contexts, such as


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office communication and contract negotiation.

2.2 Elements in Business English Course Design

Needs analysis. The analysis of learnersneeds is always the first priority in

Business English course design (Harding, 2007). Identifying learnersneeds can be

divided into three parts: target situation analysis (TSA), present situation analysis

(PSA), and learning situation analysis (LSA) (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). Target

situation analysis refers to learnersneeds; that is, what the learner has to know in

target situations. In TSA, the reasons for (1) why the language is needed, (2) how the

language will be used, (3) what the content areas will be, (4) who the learner uses

the language with, and (5) where the language will be used need to be analyzed and

discussed in detail (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). For instance, a learner attends an

intensive Business English conversation course because he needs to go abroad to

attend international conferences. The learner may need to talk with native English

speakers in meetings or in the office. Therefore, outside agencies (companies or

instructors) determined the learnersneeds.

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 23

Present Situation Analysis refers to what learners currently lack; that is, what the

learner does not know. In PSA, the reasons for (1) what the learners proficiency level

is, (2) what skills the learner wants to improve most urgently, (3) whom the learners

use the language with, and (4) where the language is used need to be analyzed and

discussed (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). For instance, a Business English learner with


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poor speaking ability needs to communicate with native-English speakers when the

learner goes abroad to visit clients. For this reason, the learners present deficiency

needs to be discovered so that the learner is directed to appropriate training programs.

Learning Situation Analysis refers to learnerswants; that is, what the learner

feels he or she wants. Learnerswants are determined by their own perceptions. In

other words, the learner might have some background knowledge of their needs.

Therefore, needs are determined by learners in LSA (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).

Teaching materials. The needs of learners help the instructor to make decisions

on designing or selecting materials (Belcher, 2006). Tang (2006) proposed that good

teaching materials for Business English should address the needs of the students,

reflect the latest information or news on business, create simulated, life-like business

circumstances, and encourage independent thinking and problem-solving abilities.

In addition, Tsai (1998) indicated that the choice of materials would have at least

three effects on the process of the class. First, materials will determine what kinds

of language skills students will be exposed to. Second, materials will affect students

learning method. Third, materials will affect studentslearning motivation. Tsai also

suggested that instructors choose a commercial textbook which provides extensive

materials when students with mixed backgrounds attend Business English classes.

Besides textbooks, authentic material is another choice for students from different

departments, and it is difficult for instructors to find an appropriate textbook to meet

every students needs. The qualified authentic materials should (1) be compatible with


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the syllabus, (2) provide alternative choices for instructors and students to reflect their

needs, (3) meet the level of studentslanguage skills, and (4) enjoy good feedback

from people who have used them (p. 801).

Role of teachers. Several scholars discussed the characteristics of effective ESP

teachers. Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) proposed that an ESP teacher played


five different roles: teacher, collaborator, course designer and materials provider,

researcher, and evaluator. In order to meet the specific needs of the learners, teachers

must in the first place closely work together with field specialists. Moreover, an

effective ESP teacher should foster a learner-centered environment (Tudor, 1996).

He does this by taking into account the needs and preferences of his learners, by

filling gaps between the classroom materials and the real world, and by building

communication communities for learners to use English in the real world (Lai,

2005). In addition, in order to keep the course up-to-date with constant changes in a

knowledge domain and to assist learners in their professional development, effective

ESP teachers should be providers of authentic teaching materials (Dudley-Evans &

St. John, 1998; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) and counselors that provide first-hand

information about the job market (Anthony, 1998; Tudor, 1996).

It has been argued that many Business English instructors were General English

instructors (Kao, 1992; Lai, 2005; Huang, 2007). Huang (2007) indicated that

instructors needed to continually absorb the latest information and news on business


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and enhance their professional knowledge. Instructors should be encouraged to read

business news and magazines, so as to improve their professional knowledge and

cultivate an awareness of the latest developments worldwide.

2.3 Empirical Studies on Business English

Some studies investigated the needs of Business English learning. Tsui (1992)

found that non-native English speaking managerial staff, who worked in the Science-

Based Industrial Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, felt the need to improve their Business

English communication skills. Improving learnerslistening and speaking abilities

have become a primary concern for instructors of Business English courses (Firth,

1995). However, Chang (2000), in a study of Business English courses, reported

that writing and reading were regarded as important language skills because learners

needed to write business letters. Tsai (1998) investigated studentsneeds in Business

English courses and discovered that students needed to improve their English ability

before absorbing business background knowledge. The result was consistent with the

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 25

findings of other studies (Huang, 2007; Lai, 2005) that studentslow general English

proficiency was a huge barrier to acquiring professional English.

Regarding teachersand studentsperceptions of ESP courses, Tsao (2011)

carried out a study which surveyed 351 studentsand 23 university instructors

attitudes toward ESP. The results showed that teachers and students had different

views about the effectiveness of an ESP course. Students considered their needs, their


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learning capacity, and their learning motivation as the top-ranking factors. In contrast,

the teachers emphasized the importance of the course itself, placing teaching materials

and methods as the top concerns, and course objectives and student needs the second.

Shen (2009) also investigated teachersand studentsperceptions of ESP courses and

found that studentslow English language competence and ESP teachers experiences

were the factors affecting the effectiveness of ESP courses. However, these studies

focused on perceptions of ESP courses in general, while little attention has been

paid to teachersperceptions of Business English courses specifically. Therefore, the

current study contributes to the field of Business English teaching and learning.

3. Research Method

A qualitative research method was used to investigate teachersperceptions of

Business English courses in this study. The selection of participants, data collection,

and data analysis are described below.

3.1 Participants

Purposeful sampling was used to select the teachers who taught Business English

courses at a technological university in Southern Taiwan. The logic of purposeful

sampling lies in selecting information-rich cases for study in depth (Patton, 2002).

Seven Business English teachers participated in this study. Table 1 shows the

demographic information of the teachers. Each teacher was given a unique code (T1-

T7). Four teachers (T1, T4, T6, T7) were from the Applied English Department and

three teachers (T2, T3, T5) were from the International Business Department. Two


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teachers had masters degrees from a College of Business; four of the others had


masters degrees in teaching English as a second or foreign language (TESL/TEFL),

and the seventh teacher had a Ph.D. in English literature. Five of the seven teachers

had at least four years of work experience in the business field.

Table 1. Demographic information of the participants

Code Educational

background Teaching courses

Years of

teaching

experience

Years

of work

experience

in the

business

field

T1

(Applied English

Dept.)

English


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Literature

Financial English

Contract English

Business English

Writing

9 4

T2

(International

Business Dept.)

Marketing

Management

Business English

Writing 6 7

T3

(International

Business Dept.)

Applied

Linguistics

Business English

Tourism English 2 0

T4


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(Applied English

Dept.)

TESOL

Business English

Writing

Business English

Business

Communication

10 10

T5

(International

Business Dept.)

Economics Business English 1 4

T6

(Applied English

Dept.)

TESOL

Financial English

Business

Communication

Business English


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Writing

5 0

T7

(Applied English

Dept.)

TESOL

Business Presentation

Business Speaking

and Listening

8 4

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 27

3.2 Data Collection

Multiple data sources included interviews with teachers, classroom observations,

field notes, and a review of teaching materials.

Interview. The researchers interviewed each teacher once or twice depending

on the teachers availability (see interview guide in Appendix A). Teachers were

asked to share the reasons why they entered the field of Business English, how they

prepared for the courses, how they selected or designed teaching materials, and what

competence they thought students should have in order to meet the needs of job

markets. In addition, the interview also focused on teachersprofessional growth, such

as how they improved their own ability and how they solved problems in teaching


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Business English. At the end of the interview, teachers were encouraged to offer

suggestions to improve the domestic education of Business English.

Observation. Non-participant observation was used in this study. The purpose of

classroom observation was to understand what curricular activities were carried out

in the classroom, including the focus of the lesson and the content taught to students.

In addition, how teachers delivered subject matter knowledge to students and how

teachers responded to studentsneeds were also observed.

Teaching materials. All the teachers, except Teacher 1, used different textbooks

for their students. Each textbook offers various topics on business articles and

communication skills. Teacher 1 did not use a textbook, but prepared materials using

financial or other relevant news articles from CNN and business magazines.

3.3 Data analysis

The data collected from the interviews and classroom field notes were analyzed

by the content analysis method, identifying, coding, and categorizing the primary

patterns in the data (Patton, 2002). Coded data were organized into five sub-topics: (1)

teacherscurricular planning, (2) teachers views of the needs of the job market, (3)

teachersopinions of curriculum arrangement, (4) teachers professional knowledge

development, and (5) their suggestions to improve the domestic education of Business

English. Each sub-topic is elaborated in the next section.


4. Findings & Discussion


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4.1 Teacherscurricular planning

Curricular content. Determining what to teach seemed a big question for every

teacher. All of the teachers agreed that Business English courses included business

knowledge and English language. Teacher 1 stated:

Perhaps we could separate this question into two layers. One is the concept

layer,and the other is the practice layer.The concept layer refers to the

construction of basic background knowledge and the practice layer refers to the

projects or business letters one has to accomplish in the workplace. Both of the

two layers are essential for students because one cannot write a formal business

letter well without any business background knowledge. On the other hand, it is

hard for a person to understand a Business English document well even though

his or her business knowledge is perfect (Interview, March 24, 2010).

Teachers 1, 3, and 7 proposed that studentsEnglish proficiency is the key point

for them to study Business English. Studentspoor English ability would be the barrier

in studying professional English (Huang, 2007; Lai, 2005). Teacher 7 explained:

If we talk about undergraduate students (learning Business English), I think what

they need is general English, not Business English. Because if they want to learn

the vocabulary used in the field or if they want to understand formal and informal

speech, they have to have a fairly advanced level of English ability. If they don t

have the basis, teaching Business English is not going to work (Interview, May

12, 2010).


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Regarding the role of the four language skills in teaching Business English,

Teachers 1, 4, 6, and 7 believed that all of the four language skills were important

for Business English learners. A previous study by Hsieh (2001) who examined how

and what to teach in Business English suggested that both oral and written skills

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 29

should be emphasized in Business English courses. Teachers 3 and 5 believed that

communicative skills were more useful than reading and writing skills. Therefore,

listening and speaking skills were their primary concern when they taught Business

English courses (Firth, 1995). Teacher 5 further indicated that students who graduated

from the English Department preferred to use more difficult words and complex

sentences when writing a business letter; however, her work experience told her that

most supervisors only expected key points in a letter, written in simple language.

On the other hand, Teacher 2 believed that reading and writing skills were more

important. This result was supported by Changs study (2000) that reading and writing

were important language skills because learners needed to write business letters.

Making sentences more polite and culturally appropriate was one of his teaching

purposes when teaching Business English courses for Applied English major students.

Teachers 1, 2, and 3 indicated that English major students usually had better

English ability than business major students. Teachers 4, 5, and 6 also pointed out

that business major students had better business background knowledge than English

major students. This finding was consistent with a previous study, Chen and Wu (2010).


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Chen and Wu found that students from English departments indicated their main need

as enhancing business knowledge, while students from business departments wanted

to improve their English conversation ability. Therefore, in course design, Teachers

1, 2, 4, and 6 would develop Applied English major studentsbasic business concepts

and awareness. As Teacher 1 explained, Basic background knowledge often plays an

important role when learners communicate with their co-workers in the workplace

(Interview, March 24, 2010). For Business College students who enrolled in Business

English courses, Teacher 1 suggested that they should read more business documents

written in English. Teacher 1 said:

I believe that most business major students know what Letter of Credit, L/Cis.

However, they are possibly familiar with the Chinese version. We may have an

English version as our material. At this time, we only need to focus on English

instruction because the background knowledge of Letter of Credit could not bring

us big problems (Interview, March 24, 2010).


In addition, Teachers 5 and 7 suggested that Business English instructors should

investigate studentsneeds at the beginning of the semester so that instructors have the

opportunity to design more appropriate curriculum for their students.

Instructional goals. Business English teachers had their own requirements for

their students. Teachers 2 and 3 believed that students should have basic reading

and writing ability after taking the Business English course. Teacher 5 separated her


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students into two groups. One was an English major students group; the other was a

business major students group. English major students should have the ability to write

a formal English business letter. Business major students should have the ability to

use English to accomplish a task such as introducing a business company. Teacher 4

focused on learning achievement and learning direction. She stated:

Around 8 years ago, my teaching requirement was simple; that is, I would judge

whether the student can be accepted by a business company. If he or she met

the requirement, I would let the student pass. Recently, this standard needs to be

changed because many of my students who enroll on my Business English courses

are not senior students but sophomore and junior students. Therefore, I expect that

my students find the right way of learning. I will not fail my students if they are on

the right direction and they are willing to learn (Interview, April 28, 2010).

Teacher 1 indicated that he used to have a high expectation for his students,

but he lowered the standard recently because many students enrolled on the course

with varied proficiency levels. English major students could pass the course with

basic business knowledge, and business major students as long as they have basic

communication ability. On the other hand, Teachers 6 and 7 hoped that their students

enjoyed the learning process. They did not ask their students to achieve any specific

goals but to attend every class.

To help students achieve the goals, all seven teachers suggested various ways

for students to learn more effectively. All of the teachers agreed that students needed


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to pay attention during the class. Teachers 1, 4, and 6 suggested that English major

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 31

students should read more business related articles, business magazines, and financial

news in order to develop their business awareness. Teachers 1, 3, 5, and 7 expected

students to work on their English ability by themselves outside class. Teachers 2 and

4 indicated that efficiency is important in the job market. They expected their students

to finish the assignments on time.

Teaching materials. Teachers were encouraged to express their thoughts on

the Business English textbooks to see if they meet the needs of university students.

Teachers 3 and 6 were satisfied with the current Business English textbooks. They

indicated that there were many choices on the market. On the other hand, Teachers 1,

2, 4, 5, and 7 were dissatisfied with the current Business English textbooks. Teacher

1 indicated that it was no easy task for the authors of Business English textbooks to

meet various studentsneeds and it was hard to blame those authors and publishers

because the fields of Business English were wide and complex. Teacher 2 pointed out

that the quality of Business English textbooks on the market needed to be improved

because the writing styles of many textbooks sometimes seemed strange. Teacher

4 showed a Business English textbook to the researcher that contained various

surprising mistakes. She stated:

There are various situations in different job markets. The context in Taiwan is

actually different from that in other foreign countries. We have our own strategies


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when we face different situations. Some textbooks are from England. I dont

say they are incorrect. However, they are inappropriate for students who learn

Business English in Taiwan because the situations in England and in Taiwan are

very different (Interview, April 28, 2010).

Teacher 5 expressed the same opinion as Teacher 4 that there were few textbooks

which were appropriate for students in Taiwan. There are many choices on the

market, but it is hard for a teacher to choose a good one,she said (Interview, May

5, 2010). These teachers were concerned with providing good teaching materials

for students. This finding was supported by previous researchers: Dudley-Evans &


St. John (1998) and Tsao (2011) both noted that effective ESP teachers should be

providers of authentic teaching materials. Those teachers who were dissatisfied with

the textbooks suggested that teachers needed to design supplementary handouts by

themselves to compensate for the lack of appropriate textbooks. Otherwise, the gap

between the job market and studentslearning would be large.

4.2 Teachersviewpoints of needs of the job market

There is a wide range of jobs available on the market. What knowledge and

competence should students have in order to meet the needs of the job market?

Overall, Teachers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 believed that studentsEnglish ability was important

when they hunted for jobs. Teachers 1 and 4 also suggested that every student should

supplement his or her own existing abilities. For English major students, enhancing


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basic business background knowledge would be a plus. For business major students,

improving English ability would make him or her more competitive.

On the other hand, Teachers 5 and 7 believed that English is only a tool for

communication or dealing with documents. Attitude and independent thinking ability

were much more important than English ability. Instructor 5 stated:

I believe deeply that an active attitude is very important. Nowadays, many

students and employees are too passive. This is not a good phenomenon. A

competent employee should demonstrate his or her active attitude to his or her

job. In addition, independent thinking ability is important, too. Your supervisor

will not tell you everything. You often need to figure it out by yourself (Interview,

May 5, 2010).

Teachers 3 and 7 indicated that communication skills, social skills and flexibility

were important, too. Students needed to understand the skills of talking and getting

along with people. I imagine that the future job market in Taiwan is going to involve

many changes and these changes will be rapid. If you are not flexible, you are going

to miss out,Teacher 7 said (Interview, May 12, 2010).

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 33

4.3 Ways of developing studentscompetence and skills

Reading business articles, group discussion, conversation practice, and writing

exercises were the main activities adopted by teachers to develop students English

ability and business knowledge, as observed in the Business English classes. For


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example, Teacher 1 developed studentsability to read the formal language used in

business agreements and contracts. At the beginning of the class, he drew a flowchart

on the blackboard to explain the business or financial concept, and then he guided

students to read the articles. He explained the meanings of words used in business

contracts as well as some sophisticated sentence patterns in business documents.

According to him, reading those articles without paying attention to the sentence

patterns would not improve studentsability to read business agreements and

contracts. He often checked studentsunderstanding by asking questions. If students

failed to give the correct answer, he would explain again and make it clear by giving

more examples (Observational field notes, March 30, 2010).

Teacher 4 introduced the international trade process and business communication

styles to students. She tried to discuss the current issues in the business world with

students in English. She encouraged students to describe what they thought in

simple English during the class. When students had difficulty expressing themselves

without translation, she offered some sentences to help these students or encouraged

them to explain in another way. At the end of the class, she assigned homework to

students because she expected her students to review what they learned in the class

(Observational field notes, April 29, 2010).

Teacher 6 taught students the strategies used to manage conversations in business

contexts. She divided students into groups to work on business tasks such as opening

a meeting, agreeing and disagreeing with others, giving and explaining reasons,


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and closing a meeting (Observational field notes, May 6, 2010). On the other hand,

Teacher 2 developed studentsknowledge and skills in writing business letters. After

his lecture, he asked students to do in-class exercises. He gave students a model of a

formal business letter and asked students to write a similar one in class. Students had

to finish the task within the time limit since efficiency is important in the workplace,

according to him (Observational field notes, April 14, 2010).


4.4 Teachersopinions of curriculum arrangement

The field of Business English includes a mass of knowledge and English skills for

students to learn. However, students only had two to three hours of Business English

a week. We wondered if it was appropriate for the course to be separated into several

courses so that various teachers might provide more professional training programs

for students. When teachers were asked to express their opinions on this question, all

of them deeply thought for a while. Teachers 1, 2, 5, and 6 agreed that one Business

English course should be separated into several courses so that students have the

opportunity to receive various Business English training programs. Teacher 1 stated:

Separating the Business English course into several training courses is an

excellent suggestion. Actually, only one or two of the courses cannot provide

a complete framework to the field. If we have more time to teach our students,

we could offer more information about the job market to our students. The

gap between school education and the needs of job market could be narrowed


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(Interview, March 24, 2010).

All of the teachers who agreed with the suggestion indicated that the teaching

hours of the course were so limited that they were unable to offer enough information

for their students. Teachers 3 and 5 also pointed out that it was very difficult for

instructors to improve studentsBusiness English ability in a course which only has 2

to 3 hours per week. If the teaching hours could be increased, students would have the

opportunity to receive more complete training (Shen, 2009).

However, there were some instructors who disagreed or partly disagreed with the

suggestion. Teacher 4 suggested that business major students should not necessarily

have to attend many courses to develop their business awareness. They needed to

improve their English ability. Teacher 7 also disagreed with the suggestion. He stated:

Not necessary. Its always a question that there are only two hours a week. Its

not really what happened in class which is important. What is important is how

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 35

much students learn when hey leave the class. What do they do in their leisure

time? I think two hours a week is enough (Interview, May 12, 2010).

Teachers who disagreed with the suggestion tended to believe that students

needed to make more efforts on their own.

4.5 Teachersprofessional knowledge development

All of the teachers admitted that they encountered difficulties in teaching

Business English because this course included broad business knowledge and English


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skills. Teacher 1, who had taught Business English courses for more than 9 years and

worked in business for more than 4 years, explained:

For general English teachers, they may encounter professional knowledge

problems. On the other hand, teachers from the Business College also face

language and teaching problems. Actually, we are facing the dilemma of choosing

appropriate teachers (Interview, March 24, 2010).

When these teachers had any problems on professional knowledge, they often

tried to figure them out by themselves at first. Teachers 2, 4, and 5 would prefer

to solve their problems by consulting reference books. Teachers 1, 3, 6, and 7

often surfed the Internet to collect the resources they needed in order to solve their

problems. All of the teachers would ask their friends or teachers who were involved in

business fields to solve their problems when self-learning and Internet resources could

not help them figure out their problems.

It seemed that instructors with business background knowledge had fewer

problems with professional knowledge. However, Teachers 2 and 5, who have

masters degrees in marketing and economics, indicated that the field of business

knowledge was so wide that they sometimes had problems understanding new

concepts. Business knowledge includes economics, accounting, marketing, etc. It was

very difficult for a teacher to master every business field.


Therefore, both English background and business background teachers had


27/37

problems understanding business knowledge. Teachers need to keep learning and

reading relevant news or magazines so as to absorb new business concepts.Teacher

1 said (Interview, March 24, 2010).

Teachers 1, 3, 5, and 6 indicated that professional business knowledge is not a

leading role in the Business English course. In this course, we only offer very basic

concepts for our students to understand the business article,Teacher 3 said (Interview,

March 31, 2010).

Teachers 2 and 6 believed that English was not a huge barrier for Business

English teachers because undergraduate students would not enter high-level Business

English courses. They also indicated that instructors who were willing to teach the

course should have good English ability. Perhaps the problems of lack of business

knowledge are tougher than English language problems,both Teachers 2 and 6 said

(Interview, May 5, 2010).

Teachers 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 suggested that Business English instructors should read

magazines such as Business Weekly and the Economist so as to develop their business

knowledge. In addition, they are advised to read financial and international news as

frequently as possible. These strategies would help teachers to enhance their business

knowledge (Huang, 2007). Teacher 2 suggested that attending some business seminars

or enrolling on short-term business programs was helpful for Business English

teachers to improve their teaching ability. Teacher 4 suggested that case study and

business textbooks are good resources for Business English teachersself-learning.


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4.6 Suggestions for improvements to Business English in Taiwan

Teachers 1 and 2 suggested that the education of Business English in Taiwan

should be more systematically organized in order to make studentslearning more

effective. Teacher 1 stated:

When instructors teach the course, they should consider the teaching goals and

purposes. Nowadays, we only worry that our students cannot find a job after they

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 37

graduate from the university. However, the real problems are what students can do

when they get the job. We should consider these problems (Interview, March 24, 2010).

Teacher 2 also agreed that the course should be more systematically organized.

Otherwise, students would feel disoriented, which might waste a lot of learning

resources and time. Teachers 3 and 6 indicated that there were too many students

in a class. There should not be more than 30 students in one class,Teacher 3

said. Teacher 5 suggested that instructors from industry could be hired as part-time

Business English teachers to offer some practical skills so that the gap between theory

and practice could be narrowed.

Teachers 3 and 5 believed that instructors who had relevant work experience

were more qualified to teach Business English because they were more competent to

provide useful information for their students. Teacher 1 also indicated that instructors

with work experience in business might share their work experience with students.

These practical experiences are precious lessons for their students. Teachers 2 and 4


29/37

also believed that instructors with business experience were more confident to teach

the course.

All of the teachers agreed that studentsEnglish proficiency should be improved

as a matter of urgency. If studentsEnglish proficiency was low, it would be very

hard for them to learn Business English well. Generally speaking, Year 3 and Year 4

studentsEnglish proficiency was better than that of Year 1 or Year 2. Therefore, it

was believed that the senior year would be the best time for students to take Business

English courses (Hsu, 2006).

5. Implications of the Findings

This study investigated teachersperceptions of Business English courses,

including teacherscurricular planning, ways of developing studentscompetence

and skills to meet the needs of the job market, and teachersprofessional knowledge

development. Based on the findings of this study, some suggestions are proposed for

improving Business English teaching and learning.


First, it is suggested that students need to improve their English ability in order

to study Business English well. The administrators of the school programs are

encouraged to arrange Business English courses for senior students because senior

students usually have better English ability. Sophomore and junior students whose

English proficiency level is above intermediate are eligible to take this course. As Hsu

(2006) indicated, the second semester of the senior year is the best period for students


30/37

to learn Business English. Senior students enter the job market after they graduate

from universities and are expected to apply what they have learned in Business

English classes in employment.

Second, teachers with business experience were dissatisfied with the current

Business English textbooks, and they suggested that instructors from industry could

be hired as part-time Business English teachers to share practical work experience

with students. Collaborative teaching (Shen, 2009; Wang, 2004) would be a strategy

to help students integrate business knowledge with practical skills, and thus narrow

the gap between classroom learning and the real world.

Third, it is suggested that the teaching hours of Business English should be

increased so that teachers can provide more professional training programs for

students. Case studies, role play and simulation (Huang, 2007; Jones, 1995; McGarry,

1998; Yang, 2001), and collaborative task-based instruction (Chen, 2005) are good

strategies to provide practical training for students. Case studies help students to

understand current business trends. Role play and simulation help students to practice

the language used in business situations. Collaborative task-based instruction enhances

studentscreativity and cooperation through simulation businesses established by

learners.

6. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

Since the participants in this study were English teachers at the same university, a

greater variety of teachers who teach in other universities could be taken into account


31/37

in future studies. However, this study has provided useful information concerning

Business English teacherscourse planning, teaching strategies, and their professional

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 39

growth. It is suggested that the qualitative findings of this study could be used to

develop the content of a questionnaire for a broader survey on teachersbeliefs and

perceptions of Business English courses.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express appreciation to the seven teacher participants

in this study. Their willingness to participate through interviews and observations

made this study possible.

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Appendix A

Interview Guide

1.

? (Could you tell me how

you enter the field of Business English? How do you come to teach Business


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English?)

2., ,

? (As an English language teacher, you might lack

professional business knowledge when you teach Business English courses. How

do you overcome these problems?)

3., ,

? (As a teacher in the international business

department, you may face some problems related to language instruction. How

do you overcome these problems?)

4.,?(According to your

understanding, why do you think your students attend Business English courses?)

5.,

?(What kind of knowledge or skills do you think the instructors should offer

to students in Business English courses?)

6.,? (What knowledge

and competence should students have in order to meet the needs of job markets?)

7.,,

,? (Business

English courses are not only offered in the Department of Applied English

TIESPJ, Vol. 5:1, 2013 43

but also in the Business College. How do you adjust your instructional style


37/37

according to studentsdifferent backgrounds?)

8.,,

,,

,. (Business English course includes lots of

knowledge, for example, language skills and business knowledge, but they only

have two hours a week. Should the course be divided into several courses so that

teachers could offer more information for students?)

9.

? (How do you prepare the materials for the course? According to your

understanding and observation, do the Business English materials or textbooks

on the market meet the needs of university students?)

10.?

? (Is relevant working experience important

for a Business English teacher? How do Business English teachers improve their

own ability?)

11.?

(Finally, do you have any further suggestions for improvements to Business

English in Taiwan?

Documents

ESP Teachers