TEACHING BUSINESS ENGLISH CORRESPONDENCE – THEN AND NOW
Journal Title: Journal of Languages for Specific Purposes (JLSP) - Year 2019, Vol 1, Issue 6
Abstract
Are letters still important? Are business letters as the classic means of communication needed and important to be taught during language classes these days? Or should the new and modern means of communication prevail over the classic written pieces of paper? This article discusses the findings and implications of an investigation meant to answer these questions about the role of business correspondence in English (i.e. email, letters, memos, faxes) and this is done as a case study addressed to the local door market. The results are based on four sources: 1. a questionnaire that had two versions: an online survey sent by email to 150 alumni of The Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea and to 8 companies and professional associations, and a paper-based version distributed to 80 professionals, who included students undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate programmes; 2. semi-structured interviews with 8 professionals, 3. analyses of 25 email chains comprising 190 separate messages, and a “week-in-the-life” case study. All these cover half a year span of investigation. This research comes with relevant information about the role of email versus letters, memos and faxes in the globalised workplace, the purposes and characteristics of these text types, and the challenges that Romanian professionals experience when writing business correspondence in a second language. The article argues that the irrelevance of the traditional approach of business English courses (letters, memos, faxes) when it comes to the needs of modern-day professionals and need for email and netiquette focus as the core of updated instruction.
Authors and Affiliations
Monica-Ariana Sim, Anamaria-Mirabela Pop
Keywords
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