Action learning is often used as an element of leadership development programmes. The intention is to support classroom learning with an experiential thread which runs throughout the life of the programme. Action Learning Associates (ALA) has been working with an international organisation for three years to deliver the global "First Line…

Despite a growing trend and early successes, program development for business language courses is still in its early stages. Curriculum developers have much work to do, many decisions to make, and a variety of problems to solve, most important of which are content, approaches, learning systems, and instructional strategies. First, the program type…

Foreign language departments at U.S. colleges have traditionally tended to limit their language for business offerings to one course per language. Attempts to expand the business foreign language curriculum may meet with resistance from traditional foreign language departments over the issue of academic priorities. Careful prior planning, specific…

The development of a marketing strategy for business Spanish courses by means of situational analysis is described. The planner of marketing strategy must consider demand for a course, institutional acceptance, and financial support. A survey of 508 universities revealed a low level of demand for business Spanish which could potentially be…

The development of commercial foreign language courses by colleges and universities would help to satisfy the need for language enrollments and the expressed need of the international business community for foreign language skills in American business employees. Three major problems inhibit commercial language course development: limited…

The program, curriculum, and materials needed to provide business Spanish training are described, and the available instructional materials are reviewed and listed. In developing a business Spanish program, decisions must be made regarding goals, content, structure, instructional format, evaluation procedures, and target population. The content of…

An overview of business education in four European countries (Italy, Great Britain, France, and West Germany) is presented and the development of business language instruction in Europe is surveyed, with emphasis on the experiences in Great Britain and Denmark. Suggestions are given for future cooperation in business language between the United…

Experiences in developing "Business Japanese" courses for the undergraduate major in Language and International Trade at Eastern Michigan University are described. In 1987, six new courses in Japanese were proposed so that Japanese could be offered as a language specialty in the program. Issues considered in defining business Japanese…

Eleven papers cover the Language and International Trade Program at Clemson University, similar foreign language programs at other universities, and the role of government funding in the development of such programs. The papers include the following: (1) "The Language and International Trade Program at Clemson University: Remarks on Program…

Eastern Michigan University's (EMU) bachelor's (B.A.) and master's (M.A.) programs in Language and International Trade began in 1978, and have awarded 181 B.A. and 249 M.A. degrees in their first 10 years. Two surveys of program graduates revealed that most are employed in jobs with international concerns. Alumni observations strongly reflected…

Failures and successes in teaching commercial foreign languages will speak for themselves. However, the profession must not foster exaggerated expectations of mastery in such a broad field, but must state honestly and realistically, with clear limits, what the commercial language course's goals are. In a college course enrolling somewhat…

A cooperative effort of the School of Business and the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Toledo (Ohio) developed a program to provide an opportunity for business students to develop (1) foreign language skills for effective communication and performance in international trade and (2) an awareness of the importance of culture and its…

An internship program in France, through which a group of French and business students from an American university spent 4 weeks in a medium-sized business, is described. The program's origins, development, and structure are reviewed, and the obstacles to implementation and their resolutions are discussed. Choices made and lessons learned from…

As a result of increasing interest in merging business and the humanities in the college curriculum and the efforts of many German and American organizations working together, a test was developed to measure the German language competence of American students planning to work for American companies trading with or located in West Germany or for…

The Japanese specialization of the University of South Carolina's (USC) Master of International Business Studies (MIBS) program includes a 6-month internship at a foreign or Japanese company in Japan. While foreign companies in Japan are receptive to the assistance American student interns provide, promoting such internships to Japanese companies…