Presents study results of how children reason about international trade. Explains that open ended questions were posed to students in grades 1-11 asking why nations trade, the benefits of trade, and their understanding of barriers to trade. Concludes that teaching fundamentals of international trade can be introduced as early as grade six. (DK)

Analyzes the interpreter's role in international business ventures. Presents descriptive models of the role, highlights major implications executives should consider before hiring an interpreter, and poses research questions based on these implications. (SR)

Outlines a nine-step structure for debriefing an international business culture simulation. Stresses the need to address three stages in the experiential learning cycle: reflection, processing, and transfer. Appendices include the specific simulation used and a debriefing note. (DB)

Describes a seminar on multiculturalism in an international logistics class at a Brazilian university and its effects on students' perceptions about the importance of multiculturalism in managing business interests. Suggests ways to develop an intercultural approach toward international logistics. (EV)

Examined the role of e-mail and faxing in Finland's international business communication. Surveys investigated business professionals' opinions about how the technology affected their writing practices and linguistic choices. Results indicated that the technology made their work faster, easier, and more efficient, and the amount of written…

The on going debate about the (World Trade Organisation) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) framework brings out conflicting views about cross-border education the world over. Between the enthusiastic views of trade promoters, at one end, and the sceptical reflections of academics with a traditional outlook, at the other, there are many…

This article discusses the export of post-secondary education, together with the educational models and methodologies, by Canada to meet considerable international demands. In addition, their post-secondary institutions actively market their services overseas to attract international students to Canadian campuses. In the developed and developing…

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…

In general, language for business courses do not include the study of literary texts, despite significant research that demonstrates the value of literature as a way to gain competence in a foreign culture. Carefully selected, adapted, and programmed as a culture complement to the main textbook, literary texts can be a valuable resource in the…

This study presents the results of an electronic survey of 2,500 randomly selected alumni from the graduating classes of 1970 through 2002 of Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management. Of the 2,500 alumni, 581 responded. Thunderbird required a minimum of 4 semesters of foreign language for graduation. The survey…

The culturally diverse classroom would seem to be the ideal resource that educators can tap to develop their students' cross-cultural competence and bridge different cultures. However, evidence from the education literature suggests that students typically do not benefit from classroom diversity and that, in general, there is a lack of…

A skilled and flexible workforce is increasingly identified by governments as key to economic development. With the emergence of a global market in both educational services and labour, agreements on mutual recognition and transparency of skills and qualifications have become important elements of international co-operation. They are often…

This curriculum unit of the Muncie (Indiana) Southside High School is to simulate the dynamics of foreign currency exchange rates from the perspectives of: (1) a major U.S. corporation, ABB Power T & D Company, Inc., of Muncie, Indiana, a manufacturer of large power transformers for the domestic and foreign markets; and (2) individual…

The labels "East and West," suggest two distinct cultural wholes. "East and West" is understood as a binary of two separate preexisting entities, which can be bridged or brought together to conjoin in an "and." This image has dominated Western modernist thought in the works of historians, anthropologists, and others. Educators, like tourists or…

This paper examines the possible impact of MERCOSUR on Paraguay's economic and educational systems. MERCOSUR is a trade agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, under which terms all import tariffs among the countries will be eliminated by 1994. The countries will enter into a common economic market. The worst-case scenario…