Title:
Business English Speakers Can Still Be Divided by a
Common Language
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
Business is the most popular subject for
international students in the United States. At last
count, twenty-one percent of foreign students at
American colleges and universities were studying
business and management. The Institute of
International Education in New York says engineering
is the second most popular field, in case you were
wondering.Thomas Cosse is a professor of marketing
and business at the University of Richmond in
Virginia. He says international students who want to
study business need to have good English skills --
and not just to study at his school.But the world
has more non-native speakers of English than native
speakers. As a result, Americans working with
foreign companies may need to learn some new English
skills themselves. At the University of Richmond,
teams of graduate students work with companies
seeking to enter the American market. The students
learn about writing market entry studies. The
reports are written in English. But Professor Cosse
tells his students to consider who will read them.He
said his students have to write the report so that
it can be understood by someone who is an English
speaker but not a native English speaker. For
example, he tells his students to avoid jargon and
other specialized terms that people might not know
in their own language. This can be good advice even
when writing for other native speakers. But
effective communication involves more than just
words. Kay Westerfield is director of the
international business communication program at the
University of Oregon. She says you must have the
language skills as well as cultural intelligence.
Cultural intelligence means the need to consider
local behaviors in everything from simple handshakes
to speaking to large groups. Still, Kay Westerfield
says the ability of foreign workers to speak English
is becoming more important to companies looking to
move operations to other countries. Or, as she puts
it, to "off-source." Also, she says English skills
often provide a competitive edge for business
students when they seek jobs. She said: "As one
business student in West Africa put it, 'English is
a lifeline.'"For VOA Special English I'm Alex
Villarreal. You can read and listen to our programs
and find activities for English learners at
voaspecialenglish.com. We're also on Facebook and
Twitter at VOA Learning English.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
