Business English and Rubrics Testing in ELT, Dr. R. Ramesh [popular ebook readers TXT] 📗

the demand for English Education in India.
Importance of Learning Business English:
In this age of global communication, many business and professionals are being let down by the simplest of tools – the language they speak English has become the Universal language of business and as a result, many companies, like the large multinational corporations, are now fully aware of the need for their employers to have a good command of English. The specific needs of Business students for their future career are:
- Dealing with providers and customers
- Negotiation of deals
- Holding discussions
- Answering the telephone
- Writing messages and
- Reading tests from different sources
All these needs which are provided to them can be performed only by means of learning Business English. It is most important for students to learn Business English during their academic studies.
Students have acquired specific content based knowledge. From their school and college level they take compulsory general English. But this Business English course, serves as the bridge between their professional knowledge and their English proficiency, further to develop their English competency in the real business context. While pointing out the significance of learning Business English, Guffey states:
Communication problems in business results in deals being lost, unsuccessful meetings and negotiations … These disadvantages can easily be over come by having the confidence and ability to perform these tasks in Business English. (231)
On a personal level, having competent in English language skills is a definite way of giving a hope at an interview, opening up more interesting career prospects and increasing learning potential. Another important point relates to the fact is that the English language learning is essential to business world and particularly business education. Mastering specific terminology, therefore, becomes important in order to make easy understanding and makes sense of the mass of English business information including company reports, research papers and economic journals – presented in English language. Ellies and Johnson in his work Teaching Business English states:
This special English focus is a direct result of professional needing the English language to meet the function of their daily work tasks. Thus the ideal BE learning environment has a balanced aim of combining language and business skill. (117)
People from different language background work together in corporate office and use English as their common means of communication. Most of the companies and organizations around the world spend a great deal of money and time to help their employees to learn Business English. The importance of learning Business English is to raise the English proficiency in business settings of learners as well as to prepare them for successful communication in their future profession.

Use of Practionary Authentic Materials in Business English:
Ellis in his Teaching Business English defines authentic material as “It is any kind of material taken from the real world and not specifically created for the purpose of language teaching” (157). The authentic material can be a text, visuals, or audio materials. It can be realia such as tickets, menus, maps and time tables or it can be objects such as products, equipment, components or models. By Cutting, selecting, simplifying or transferring from one medium of communication to another, it immediately ceases to be authentic.
The different types and sources of authentic material that for teaching Business English are (i) Books, (ii) The media, (iii) The company-specific materials and public information materials. Compiling these materials, the authentic materials are classified into two broad categories, respectively
• Text materials
• Audio and video materials
Text materials consist of model of authentic written language. But the audio and video materials provide a model of spoken language.
Text materials are used for language activities, which focus on vocabulary, structures or functions it contains. The use of text materials and their exploitation, therefore, needs to be analyzed with regard to the needs of learners. A large proportion of Business English learners need speaking and listening skills and also they require providing such kind of practice.
Audio and video recording can be used simply as background information for the future learners or for listening practice, for language work, or as a stimulus for the variety of oral activities. Videos of a manufacturing process can be played without sound for learners to create their own commentary, and opportunity to guess the next. Information-transfer activities can be devised, role plays are set up, learners can be asked to summarize, to write reports, to act out scenes using their own words and so on. Audio and video materials are Television and Radio news, documentaries, company videos, and public information videos, etc.
The uses of authentic material by the learners in Business English have several remarkable reasons. First, the authentic text will have a number of features that are often lacked in text and dialogues created for learning English. Secondly, it provides information about real-life situations or events. The conveyed information is more accurate, high credibility and more up-to-date. It provides the core of the specialized course, if the course objective is to develop skills for reading manuals, instructions, contracts or report writing skills etc. Usage of authentic materials other than reading and testing exercise are provide realistic context for a role play, stimulate debate, practice the skill of describing, explaining, instructing and changing information, etc.
Utility of Business English Course:
The students of Business Administration need specific practical language knowledge and written knowledge in order to complete their performance in the Business world. In spoken English courses, teaching takes place in ordinary level using skills and students could understand only about the language in general and its basic structures. But for MBA students, they must have specific language knowledge, so they have to learn English in a specific channelization called Business English. This specific Business English course will provide business students with
- More confidence in their ability to conduct business in English.
- Greater verbal fluency for face to face business situations.
- More professional approach and interaction with clients.
- Greater confidence to effectively represent their organization.
- Improved communication with colleges and clients
- Enhanced comprehension skills and clear pronunciation.
According to Crowther, “Business English is an indispensable tool to complete in both local and international markets. This can only add to the students’ sense of confidence and self-esteem as business professionals” (102).
This is the course that enables the student to become competitive and competent enough in their future career. It also offers a chance to the business people to visit far-flung places and experience new culture and ways of life of 21st century globalised world.

Entry Behaviour of the Students:
There are 30 students in the class room and most of them are above the age of 21. They are all adult learners. The adult has a wide range of knowledge and experience. They are better language learners than other category. They had learned English for last ten years at school level and probably two years in their U.G courses. Students for MBA are from variety of disciplines. More over half of them are in need to improve their communicative skill because they are new to business settings. Most of them lack confidence in the ability to deal with the business subject matter at the beginning of their academic year.
Necessity to Introduce Specific English Course for MBA Students:
In our curriculum design, the post graduate courses haven’t any English program in their syllabus. The requirement of English language is less for other P.G. students when compared to management students, because, students for PG courses such as, Physics, Chemistry, Bio-Technology, Maths, etc. come from same discipline, which they studied in their UG programme. But for management students it is necessary to introduce specific course during their academic year for bright future in their career, because the eligibility requirement for MBA degree is Bachelor Degree with a minimum of 60% of marks in any disciplines. So, the students of MBA course have a background of different qualification, different majors and from different kinds of learning situations. In order to complete their business sector, the students must have adequate language skills such as fluency enhancement, speaking skill through telephones, listening skills while at meetings, negotiations, written skill and specific vocabulary usage skill. These language skills are needed for their success in the fast moving globe economy.
Introducing English curriculum for MBA students through the medium speech, language, reading offers an insight into a world far beyond the physical boundaries of student’s perceptions current trends in business field required more proficiency in English language because of advancement of information technology. So, it is high time to introduce a Specific English course for MBA students.
CHAPTER II
Teacher’s role and Methods in ELT
A Brief History of Language Teaching:
English is considered as the worlds most widely studied foreign language. But Latin occupied that place five hundred years ago. It was the dominant language of Education, commerce, religion and government in the western world. In the absence of grammar and other modern European languages, early languages based mainly on texts, chiefly literacy and the dialogue form used in the teaching of Latin in Middle Ages. When political changes took place in Europe during sixteenth century, French, Italian and English gained a major role in the society and Latin gradually derange as a language of spoken and written communication.
In seventeenth century, Latin was diminished from school curriculum and the study of Latin also took on different function. The advanced study of grammar and rhetoric were introduced to the student in this century. Several multilingual and bilingual dictionaries were published during the political change situations. They became a popular device for acquiring survival knowledge of language like English, French and Italian. Thus Richards and Rodgers, in his book Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching agree that by saying:
There were occasional attempts to promote alternative approaches to education; Rogers Ascham and Montaign in the sixteenth century and Comenius and John Locke in the seventeen century, for example, had made specific proposals for curriculum reform and for changes in the way Latin was taught .(2)
In the history of English language teaching, late 16th and 17th century had two trends in the role and function of language studies and thinking on language education. The new languages was entered the curriculam of European schools during 18th centuries. About the renaissance in this century, Krishnaswamy and Sriraman comments:
The eighteenth century is quite eventful. The development of trade and communication, new colonies, social ambition and such other factors brought in focus the way in which languages was used with propriety and the demand for fixing usage. (76)
The Grammar – Translation Method:
In the mid-nineteenth century, several school grammar and dictionaries like Websters (1928) were published with organized grammar points. In each works grammar point was listed, rules were explained and illustrated by sample sentences. Such a development in the grammar schools contributed to the evolution and establishment of the new method of language teaching known as Grammar – Translation Method.
Franz Ahn (1796 – 65) and H.G. Ollendorff were the two successful practitioners of Grammar translation method. It was first known in the United States as, the Prussian method. The Grammar Translation method is widely recognized as one of the most popular and favorite models of teaching. The French Philosopher Brown, attempts to explain why the methods is still employed by pointing out:
It requires few specialized skills on the part of teachers. Tests of Grammar rules and of translations are easy to construct and can be objectively scored. Many standardized test of foreign languages still to not attempt to tap into communicative abilities, so students have little motivation to go beyond grammar analogies, translations and rote exercises. (17)
The principal characteristics of the Grammar Translation method were:
1. The goal of