Brigitte Planken

Age and Ultimate Attainment in the Pronunciation of a Foreign Language.

This paper reports on two studies that addressed the issue of ultimate attainment by late second language learners. The aim of the studies, which included a carefully screened group of highly successful Dutch learners of English in their designs, was to determine whether or not late second language learners who had achieved a nativelike performance in the pronunciation of a second language could be identified. Speech samples provided by two groups of learners, one of which consisted of highly successful learners only, and a native speaker control group were rated for accent by native speakers of English. The ratings obtained by some learners were within the range of the ratings assigned to the native speaker controls. Such results suggest that it is not impossible to achieve an authentic, nativelike pronunciation of a second language after a specified biological period of time. Examination of the learning histories of the highly successful learners lead the authors to argue that certain learner characteristics and learning contexts may work together to override the disadvantages of a late start.

BELF competence as business knowledge of internationally operating business professionals

Business English as a lingua franca (BELF) has come to dominate as the shared code used to “get work done” in international business. In this article, the authors explore internationally operating business professionals’ perceptions of BELF communication and its “success” at work, based on selected data from an online survey (N = 987) and in-depth interviews (N = 27) conducted in European multinational companies. The findings show that BELF can be characterized as a simplified, hybridized, and highly dynamic communication code. BELF competence calls for clarity and accuracy of content (rather than linguistic correctness) and knowledge of business-specific vocabulary and genre conventions (rather than only “general” English). In addition, because BELF interactions take place with nonnative speakers (NNSs) from a variety of cultural backgrounds, the relational orientation is perceived as integral for BELF competence. In sum, BELF competence can be considered an essential component of business knowledge required in today’s global business environment.

International Advertising in Western Europe: Should Differences in Uncertainty Avoidance Be Considered When Advertising in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain?

There is an ongoing debate as to whether cultural differences necessi tate adaptation of advertisements to local circumstances in interna tional business communication. In particular, value appeals are thought to be culturally sensitive because cultures differ with respect to which values are considered important, and it is thought that appealing to important values is more persuasive than appealing to ones less impor tant. This article reports on an experiment in which the persuasiveness of an appeal to security was compared to that of an appeal to adven ture. The relative persuasiveness of these appeals was studied in coun tries (i.e., Belgium, France and Spain) that are characterized as high uncertainty avoidance cultures, and a country characterized as a low uncertainty avoidance culture: The Netherlands. Results showed that the two value appeals proved equally persuasive for all countries.

Promoting intercultural communicative competence through foreign language courses

LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE is important in intercultural business communication (IBC) studies. But equally important is developing intercultural communicative competence, that is, a recognition of the cultural factors influencing behavior in business encounters around the globe (Beamer, 1992; Bennett, 1986; Varner, 2001). This article suggests how tertiary-level foreign language (FL) courses can be contextualized to promote intercultural learning geared to “achieving an awareness of cultural diversity and an understanding of different modes of living and behaviour” (Krück, 1992, p. 299). It describes the learning projects and tasks incorporated into the 1st-year IBC program at Nijmegen University in the Netherlands, where an integrative approach to course programming was introduced in 2001-2002.

CSR Communication in the Indian Context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate corporate social responsibility (CSR) platforms and the communication surrounding those platforms in India. It seeks to establish the CSR platforms that are typically used, together with stakeholder attitudes to both the form and content of those platforms.Design/methodology/approach – The paper refers to both primary and secondary sources of data, i.e. a survey of internet sources and a questionnaire survey.Findings – The paper shows that the Indian corporations surveyed pursue a primarily philanthropic platform with a focus on community development projects, as predicted by previous studies. It also indicates, however, that Indian consumers may not value philanthropic CSR as highly as other CSR initiatives and that this may in turn influence their attitudes to different marketing communication strategies.Practical implications – The paper suggests ways in which Indian corporations may formulate the form and content of their CSR policies in the future...

Introducing Business English

Introducing Business English provides a comprehensive overview of this topic, situating the concepts of Business English and English for Specific Business Purposes within the wider field of English for Special Purposes. This book draws on contemporary teaching and research contexts to demonstrate the growing importance of English within international business communication. Covering both spoken and written aspects of Business English, this book features: - key topics within Business English, including teaching Business English as a lingua franca, intercultural business interactions, blended learning and web-based communication; - the latest research on each topic, and possible future directions; - tasks and practical examples, a section on course design, and further resources. Written by two leading researchers and teachers, Introducing Business English is a must-read for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Business English, Business English as a Lingua Franca, and English for Specific Business Purposes.

Content elements in product recall notices in the UK — guidelines and practice

According to (2003: 10), organizations are in crisis whenever they are faced with an acute problem that threatens to disrupt the day-to-day business process or, in the worst case scenario, an acute problem that endangers the organization’s continued existence. When a company discovers that it has marketed a defective product, for example, this can be said to constitute a crisis, particularly if the product in question poses a danger or health risk to one of the company’s main target groups, the consumers. In order to contain the crisis and minimize the risk to consumers, a company can put into action a corrective action strategy (or product recall) aimed at withdrawing affected products and informing consumers of the corrective action being undertaken. Product recalls not only allow an organization to resolve the problem at hand, but also to minimize (further) financial damage and damage to its image and reputation (Intertek 2004: 11). Thus, a product recall can be regarded as essentially a form of crisis communication (Groenendijk/ Boulogne 1994).

Research and Client-Based Projects

This chapter will: Show how to develop a needs analysis based on sound research principles; Examine a number of different client-based projects that have taken a business discourse approach to teaching; Discuss different ways in which business discourse research can be used in the classroom; Present a case study that illustrates how business discourse projects can be incorporated into teaching practices together with a set of tasks related to the use of business discourse research in the classroom and a set of further readings.

Consultancy-Based Projects

This chapter will: Show how consultancy work can inform business discourse teaching; Discuss how needs analysis and communication audits can be used to generate recommendations for teaching and training; Profile a number of consultancy-based business discourse projects and show how they have informed training and course development; Provide a case study, together with a set of tasks appropriate for the business discourse classroom, and a set of further readings.

Interviews with Business Discourse Teachers

This chapter will: Present practical insights into business discourse teaching on the basis of interviews with a number of prominent business discourse teachers who have also been active as researchers and consultants; Consider some of the ways in which they have used business discourse research in their teaching and incorporated new media and digital technologies; Highlight their views on what they expect to be important areas and themes in the field of business discourse in the future; Provide a set of further readings.