The purpose of this research is to identify and interpret statistically significant lexicogrammatical items that are used in on-site spoken communication in the international construction industry, initially through comparisons with reference corpora of everyday spoken and business language. Several data sources, including audio and video…

With the increasing number of business professionals operating globally, knowledge of successful English lingua franca in business contexts (BELF) has become an important element in overall business know-how. Here, we report on a research project focusing on everyday BELF communication at work. It consists of an extensive survey, and related…

The international business community relies heavily on English Lingua Franca (ELF) as a shared means of communication, and English business language programmes thus feature prominently within the field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Business ESP programmes, however, have little focus on active listening, which previous research has…

This paper reports on an analysis of meetings data which forms part of a broader study investigating the use of English as a lingua franca in international business meetings. This discourse analytic stage of research builds on an initial survey which explored the use of English for International Business (EIB) in a particular European…

With the continuing globalisation of markets and internationalisation of trade, professionals from a wide range of organisations, from large multinational corporations to small to medium size enterprises, are increasingly coming together to do business in the international workplace, particularly in meetings. Such international events usually…

This article presents selective findings from a study that investigated how facework is used to achieve interpersonal goals in intercultural sales negotiations. The article reports on linguistic analyses of what Spencer-Oatey has termed ''rapport management'' which, in a negotiation context, is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at building a…

The last decade has witnessed increasing interest in email communication. Research in this area has focused on stylistic conventions, the role of email in the communication patterns of a company and the link between emails and corporate culture. Most of the studies so far published have concentrated on simple, one-way emails. However, evidence…

Using computational analysis, describes and analyzes selected lexical, discourse, and stylistic elements of English in international management that are essential for public identification of management and the manager. (Author/VWL)

This article will provide an overview of current research focussing on the use of English as a "lingua franca" in international business contexts. It selectively reviews research investigating the role of written and spoken communication in English and the work that has been done on specific text genres used by the international business…

Reports on an investigation into the workplace English needs of textile and clothing merchandisers who communicate in the international marketplace. Through questionnaire surveys, telephone interviews, analysis of authentic correspondence, and visits to the workplace, a detailed understanding has been obtained of the communication demands placed…

Reports on an observation study of the discourse activities for one day of a Finnish business manager who works in a multinational corporation. His discourse activities were tape recorded and copies were taken of written materials. Examined salient features that characterize discourse activities in a multinational corporation and tested the…

The objective of this paper is to show how some drawbacks inherent in the use of the Case Method in teaching Business English can be surmounted, especially when students are non-native speakers of English and the teacher of ESP is not experienced in this method. The first part of the paper presents a brief account of the general features,…

A study investigated communication patterns in written English and the prevalent corporate culture, the relationship between a British corporate office and its subsidiary in the Netherlands. Survey respondents were senior-level employees at 107 companies. Results indicate corporate culture plays an important role in the level of English skills…