Research findings in ELF communication and the theory and practice of teaching Business English
Abstract
Our students in their working life will face at least two types of unpredictability. First of all, the fact that English is today the global lingua franca in business entails that they are more likely to use English when communicating with other non-native speakers (NNS) in their professional life than with native speakers (NS) of the language. Secondly, they might end up in professions and doing tasks they cannot possibly be prepared for. These two types of uncertainties have
important implications regarding the conceptualization of the subject Business English (BE) and its teaching methodology. The paper discusses some of the most widely held theoretical and methodological assumptions in Business English teaching and contrasts them with the latest findings in ELF /BELF methodology research. The article aims to initiate a discussion about how BE teaching and learning might be reconceptualised in the context of Hungarian higher
education in order to prepare our students to be able to communicate in lingua franca situations and to better adapt to unpredictable communicative situations.
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