英语专业教师专业教学 能力提升的方法和途径

上海立信会计学院高等职业技术学院 常务副院长

陈雪翎

学习语言的目的多半不是为了研究。大部分人是为了用语言工具去跟别人交流。当今的商务活动强调人实际的商务沟通能力达到沟通的理想状态和以“商务”为核心的这样一个语言培训过程，商务英语的教师应该有扎实的英语功底和丰富的商业背景。只有具备语言、商业知识、商务技能的老师，在课堂上才能传授给学生商务英语方面的知识，更能辅之以大量的商务知识和商务技能的讲解。

Good teachers

people who have some sort of connective capacity, who connect themselves to their students, their students to each other, and everyone to the subject being studied

Parker J. Palmer

Requirements to teachers

English knowledge (grammar, lexis, syntax, rhetoric, style, etc.)high level of language competence English teaching methodology a working knowledge of the conceptual framework of the subjectmore roles and responsibilities than a common language teacher or a subject teacher

What do students need to learn in BE?Workplace English English used in international business context The language that is useful for a business career Competence in English, ability to communicate for essential business needs

What does business context affect?

• the vocabulary• the types of texts selected• the situations presented in

the tasks

Business Readings

NoticesMessagesAdvertsLeafletsListsPlansContentsGraphsChartsTablesDirectories

LettersProduct descriptionsReportsMinutesNewspaper articlesMagazinesMemosEmailsBrochuresCatalogues

Graphic information

What kind of English is BE?

English for General PurposeEnglish for Academic PurposeEnglish for Specific Purpose

English for Business PurposeEnglish for Occupational PurposeEnglish for Vocational PurposeEnglish for Professional Purpose

ESP

an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning

a goal-oriented language teaching or a type of ELT in the end

Variable characteristics of ESP

may be related to or designed for a specific discipline may make use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it servesmay use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of general English

Variable characteristics of ESP

generally designed for intermediate or advanced students

designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation

Hazy scope of BE teaching

Contents of BE course books vary Teaching business subjects in English Booming popularity of BE courses and books

BE: language-based or skill-based teaching of English language knowledge and skills for business purposes BSIE: content-based teaching of an independent specialized subject

BE vs. BSIE

Text shorter, easier to understand

not necessarily following a systematic teaching of business knowledge

Text longer, more academic

In a logical order to provide a comprehensive and systematic introduction to business knowledge

Exercises

BEto check whether the learners understand the main ideasto use business-related vocabulary

BSIEto help learners master the Business content only

Case study

BEto enhance the reading comprehension ability

BSIEto solve a problem

Business content

BE belongs to carrier contentthe context for English teaching

BSIE belongs to real contentfocus of instruction

Lack of proper focus in BE teaching

improper emphasis on Business knowledge acquisition, a process of teaching Business knowledge in English with the help of Chinese translation

learners scarcely get enough improvement in language competence to deal with business-related situations

BE focus

the improvement of learners’ language competence in business-related contextthe acquisition of certain business content at the same time

Problems with some BE books

The percentage and level of Business knowledge in the BE textbooks tend to increase.

Many BE teachers have become slaves of the available published textbooks, unable to evaluate their suitability.

Some original English Business books are used in BE in order to keep teaching materials authentic.

Problems with some BE books

BE teachers are unable to perform the necessary analysis of difficult specialist texts to verify their contents.

More Business content definitely needs more time and energy in the practical teaching, and that unavoidably distracts the focus of BE from language teaching.

To Solve the problems

collaboration between language teacher and subject teacher task-based approach, content-based approach and case study methodology

BE: A carrier of culture

readings take on meaning only when they are situated in real contexts of use employees need to have cross-cultural understanding culture awareness especially important in BE communication, and deserves special attention in BET

A lack of knowledge of Business English can lead to problems worse than using the wrong tense and/or the wrong word!Poor communication can lead to mistakes & mistakes cost MONEY.

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Companies sensitiveA good learnerA good observer

Current approaches

Socio-cultural influences, skills and needsDevelopment of communication skillsCommercial correspondenceParticipating in meetings, negotiationsDiscourse analysis and genreInfluence of genre

types of texts – examined in context

Cross/multicultural communication

Contents

Business environmentStarting a new businessManagementManaging employeesMarketingFinancial management

Motives and functions of a businessBusiness ethics and social responsibilityAssessing economic conditionsAssessing global conditionsSelecting a form of business ownershipEntrepreneurship and business planning

Managing effectivelyOrganizational structureImproving productivity and qualityMotivating employeesHiring, training and evaluating employees

Creating and pricing productsDistributing productsPromoting productsAccounting and financial analysis

Be a good observer

Thank you