ENG516 Midterm Short Notes 2nd Batch by Mudassar Ahmad

These are notes for those students who are unable to go through video lectures & handouts. These are not prepared for grand quiz but you can comprehend topics of grand quiz or basic concepts.

Lecture: 01

Business Communication - The communication which takes place at the workplace, in the educational setting, corporate office, or in a government job. Business English - an umbrella term for a mixture of general everyday English, general Business English, and ESP.

Two components of a Business English course

Language knowledge - reflect the formal aspects of grammar, vocabulary and sound system Communication skills - in which we activate this knowledge to transmit messages through different channels

General and Business English

Objectives of both are the same Context is different In general English, one learns the basics, the mechanics of grammar, composition and vocabulary. In business English you build upon what you learned in general English

Impact of Revolution in Linguistics

This led to the awareness of the following:

The differences between written and spoken language. The difference between the language of commerce and the language of engineering. The language needs of different groups are different. Also that if language varies from one situation of use to another, it should be possible to determine the features of specific situations and then make these the basis of learner's courses.

Areas of management

1. Planning
2. Leading
3. Organizing
4. Controlling

Communication has been influenced by a variety of disciplines

Linguistics General language E - Learning Teaching and management training

ESP Phases of development

1. The Concept of Special Language: Register Analysis. In 1960s and early 1970s, the basic principle was that each field has its own particular register.
2. Rhetorical or Discourse Analysis. In this phase, attention was given to language above the sentence level, how sentences were combined in discourse to produce meaning.
3. Target Situation Analysis/Needs Analysis. In this phase the aim was to take existing knowledge by analyzing the target situation and then identifying the linguistic features of that target situation.
4. Skills and Strategies. In this phase, the attempt was to look below the surface to consider the thinking process that underlies the language use.
5. Learner-centered Approaches: emphasized the leaner and his needs at the center of a course design.

ESP Tree

The tree represents some of the common divisions made in ELT. The top most branches show the level at which individual ESP courses lie. So, we have:

English for Medical Studies English for Psychology English for Technicians English for Economics English for teaching

The lower level shows the two common branches of ELT

Whether the learner wants English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Or for Vocational Purposes (EVP) also called EOP or VESL

The next level down shows the three common branches of ELT

EST (English for Science and Technology) EBE (English for Business and Economics) ESS (English for Social Sciences)

As we go down the tree, we see that ESP is just one branch of ESL and EFL, which are themselves the two main branches of English Teaching in general.

Distinguishing between Business Communication and other forms of language teaching

The analogy of the tree has helped to show us what BC teaching is not:

1. Business communication teaching is not a matter of teaching a ‘specialized variety’ of language.
2. Business communication is not just a matter of business words for business students.
3. BC teaching is not different in kind from any other form of language teaching.

BC; An approach or product

BC has to be seen as an approach not a product since business communication is not the teaching of a particular language nor does it consist of a particular type of methodology or material. It should be taken as an approach to language learning which is based on the learner's need.

Lecture: 02

People interact and communicate with each other all over the world for various purposes. Despite these differences, it is possible to group together learners according to the following categories:

1) According to Experience

A Pre-experienced learner

Learning to follow business career No experience of the business world Need teacher to understand business world

Job experienced Experience of the business world No need teacher to understand business world Have precise ideas about what they need from a Business English course

General business-experienced Falls between the two categories Certain amount of job experience Learning English to move into a new job

2. Level in the Organization's Hierarchy: Learners at different levels in a company often have different approaches to business English learning.
3. According to National Culture: Different cultures have different traditions and values regarding learning and education i.e. he National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, might arrange separate classes for its Arab or Chinese students, so that different styles of communication do not interfere with the learning process.
4. According to Need: Some learners have very specific needs for which they want help from the teacher. They may be about to join a multinational project or they may need help in answering a company telephone hotline
5. According to Language Level: Sometimes learners might be grouped together because they have the same language proficiency, “beginners’, ‘advanced’, or ‘level three’.

1-to-1: 1-to-l (private lessons with one teacher and one student) is quite a common arrangement in business English teaching. It can involve preparing a learner for a specific project, coaching over a longer period, checking or helping with presentations, correspondence, reports, and so on.

The Business English Teacher

In most other fields of teaching, the teacher knows more about the subject than the learner, but in Business English, the relationship can be more symbiotic - the teacher knows about language and communication, but the learner often knows more about the job and its content.

Teacher as a Trainer: A Business English teacher works in the world of business, where trainers are common. A trainer is someone who is required to change a person’s behavior or ability so that they can do a specific job. Training is job-oriented, while teaching is person-oriented.

Teacher as a Coach: It involves helping the learner to better understand his or her own strengths and weaknesses, and plan accordingly. This is related to the concept of learner autonomy, where the learner takes full responsibility for his or her learning.

Teacher as a Consultant: A consultant is an expert who is brought in because his or her skills or know-how are not available in the organization. In Business English, this expertise can include the ability to analyze communication and communication needs or to recommend a training supplier.