In this paper, we discuss the multi-faced role of English writing in the international workplace. Drawing upon previous research, we point out that English, as the main lingua franca, supports a variety of writing practices in the workplace, and so it presents both significant value and challenges for internationally operating individuals and…

Although it has existed for many decades in the national curriculum of U.S. higher education, the study of languages for business purposes has lacked a more serviceable and academically communal name--a more rigorous toponymic identity--by which to identify itself as a theory-based field of scholarship. The intention here is to propose for…

Describes the author's research that explores the role of language, particularly texts, in the engineering design process. Notes that results of this case study support a new "mediated" model of engineering design as an inventional activity in which designers use talk, written language, and other symbolic representations as tools to think about…

Each discourse community teaches and uses a particular version of reality. In the field of accounting, the interpretation of reality is an objective one. Such an interpretation is a constraint on writing, as are accounting's reliance on exclusionary language, its need to meet legal and professional requirements, its adherence to stylistic and…

Presents a rationale for teaching communication to graduate business students as a process--a means through which students communicate their knowledge of management, marketing, finance, accounting, etc., rather than strictly a subject matter or product. Argues that communication skills can be maintained only if reinforced through the curriculum.…

Global English is under contestation. Although some consider lingua franca English (LFE) as a neutral medium or code that does not belong to any specific culture or nationality, others see the deceptive nature of this linguistic globalization. Along with Spring (2007/this issue), they see global English as embodying partisan interests and values.…

Literature in the little-known field of the economics of multilingualism is reviewed, focusing on five major issues: defining language; language and earnings; language of work, consumption, and business; language dynamics (acquisition, maintenance, and shift); and language policies. An analytical framework integrating economic and language factors…

A cultural profile of the French-Canadian business community of Quebec is presented, focusing on seven aspects of business communication: language; environment and technology; social organization; degree of contextual understanding; authority conception; nonverbal behavior; and temporal conception. The history of French and English language use in…

It is argued that while college courses in French business communication aim to introduce business concepts, syllabuses and textbooks for this purpose do not integrate business skill training with business language training. Texts may contain extensive business-related vocabulary, readings, correspondence exercises, and definition of new concepts,…

This set of materials is designed to help incorporate business and technical French into the secondary school second language curriculum. It consists of a list of goals for introduction of such content, vocabulary lists and related exercises, and a variety of instructional materials and visual aids. Topics addressed include: postal services;…

The structure and administration of the Paris Chamber of Commerce Examination of French language proficiency is described, and methods of classroom preparation for the examination are presented. The exam certifies French proficiency at two levels: certificat (language skills necessary to conduct business effectively in the francophone world) and…

The decade of the 1980s saw a shift in paradigm in American trade and commerce, the serious beginning of a movement away from anachronistic and unwise ethnocentrism and nationalism and toward a more practical globalization of American business consciousness. The notion of business conducted in English and according to American norms began to yield…

An alternative approach used in a third semester French course at the University of Colorado at Denver is described. The approach was adopted to improve student motivation. The course focuses on the learning of practical French for everyday situations, while traveling abroad for business or pleasure. Emphasis is on conversational, communicative…

The use of case studies as a means for teaching business French is discussed. The approach is advocated because of the realism of case studies, which are based on actual occurrences. Characteristics of a good case are noted: it tells a story, focuses on interest-arousing issues, is set in the past 10 years, permits empathy with the main…

This paper describes the first phase of a project that applies multimedia and hypermedia technology to the study of modern languages. The approach differs from taditional ones in that language is not viewed from a conversational or grammatical perspective but through scenarios imitating the contexts of natural language use. In this phase, the…