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Business Language Learning

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As part of International Education Week 2010, APEC has expanded on several themes of the seminar on "Language Education: An Essential for a Global Economy," to provide a guide for students and instructors interested in the critical importance of business language for strengthening business relations in a global context.  These themes include Business in the 21st Century; Cross Cultural Awareness for 21st Century Business; Language for 21st Century Business; Business Language Learning; and Business Language Policy.

In Business Language Instruction, we learn that different economies use different methodologies by which to teach and learn the subject of business.  We find that conflict may arise when these differing methodologies come together in a single classroom.

Another application of advanced communications technologies may be found in the classroom, where traditional textbooks may be supplemented with electronic media such as video clips, as well as live information from Internet newsfeeds, essentially making textbook materials come alive.  Students today may not learn history, geography, and science as it was taught a few years ago.  They may actually view and experience events via the Internet as if they were present during the moment in which they took place.  Video conferencing in the classroom may have other applications, such as providing students access to language teachers in foreign countries and to subject matter experts thousands of miles away, who can appear in the classroom and guest lecture as if they were actually there.  These powerful new communications technologies have enhanced business language instruction in schools and universities, as evidenced from the scenario presented below.

Contents


Key Topics

  • Technology provides web-based content to expand, complement, and supplement textbooks and teacher instruction.
  • Online educational materials blend face-to-face learning with digital teaching and curricula.
  • Technology such as virtual classroom fosters peer-to-peer and instructor-peer relationship building, collaboration, and social networking.
  • When designing lesson plans for international students, educators must consider how cultural values affect the way students respond to specific assignments.
  • Technology contributes to a green environment by saving paper and reducing travel.

Scenario

In the fictional scenario below, teaching and learning methodologies from different economies clash as they are brought together into a single classroom, made possible only by advancements in telecommunications technologies.

Situation

A prestigious university located in collectivist Economy A invited a Marketing professor from a renowned university in individualistic Economy B teach a year-long course on the Fundamentals of Marketing to first-year business students. The professor had recently published a book on McBurger, the hamburger chain, and its success in Economy A. The students in Economy A viewed his book as a premier marketing book in the field of international business. Conducted virtually over Internet video stream, the course was the first [Ed Note: for which economy? Using a mix of traditional and technology-mediated instruction is not that new. It may be a stretch to say it was the first time for such a mix.]  to integrate traditional methods of teaching with new technologies. The professor would present a traditional lecture from the university's video conferencing room in Economy B and the students in Economy A would view the lecture and participate in discussion as if the professor were in their classroom. Students would submit all assignments and exams to the professor through a "digital drop box," and the professor would return graded materials back to students via this medium. Using advanced technology in the classroom allowed students to learn from a renowned professor while enrolling in a "green course," one in which the professor did not need to travel to the economy and no paper would be used for assignments.

To prepare for the course, the professor chose various marketing, advertising, and strategy cases from around the world. On the first day of class, he presented a case study on Boca Rola, and its advent into Economy C. He gave the students 30 minutes to read the case study, and then encouraged the students to share their views about: (1) Boca Rola’s strategy to enter the market in Economy C, (2) the barriers Boca Rola faced in entering the market, (3) perceptions of foreign products previously unavailable in a particular economy, and (4) consumers' reaction to the new product. He found the students reluctant to share their individual views in the class. Thus, he presented his own views from the perspective of an outsider to Economy C, and shared his views about how Boca Rola’s business culture may be different than the culture of Economy C in which it was operating. At the end of class, the professor gave the students a list of questions about the case study. He asked the students to form small groups of 3-4 students and discuss the answers to the questions. After they discussed the questions, he asked each team to submit a 5-6 page summary of the responses in three days. Additionally, he assigned another case study for the students to read – one that focused on a large multinational company’s entry into the beauty care segment in Economy D for future discussion.

When the professor reviewed the students’ responses to the Boca Rola case study, he discovered that the 20 students had submitted 5 separate sets of case study responses, as required. However, each group provided the same responses to the same questions, with no variation. He knew that this could not be a blatant incidence of cheating. When the next class reconvened, he asked the students why they turned in identical sets of answers. The students looked surprised, believing that they had followed his instructions, but had perhaps misinterpreted them. Finally, one student raised his hand and stated that the class had formed groups of 3-4 students, but that each group tackled one question, and then shared the answers with the other groups. The students believed that it was not time efficient to discuss each question. Rather, they decided that each group would respond to just one question, and then share the response with the other groups, who would do the same. The professor smiled in exasperation, and, frustrated by his inability to engage the students in an open discussion, began discussing the beauty company’s entry into Economy D.

Points to Consider

  • How has technology enhanced international educational opportunities for both students and instructors? Other than the examples cited, what other ways can technology facilitate international educational opportunities?
  • To what extent did the professor understand the students’ motivation to learn, the context in which they learn, and their willingness to experiment and use different approaches to demonstrate what they can do and what they know?
  • Why was the strategy of open classroom discussion widely popular in Economy B and a widely used strategy to introduce opposing views, and to encourage critical thinking?
  • To what extent can strategies such as lesson study encourage students in Economy A to demonstrate problem solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity?
  • What could the professor do to model how each group could engage in separate discussions to understand the various perceptions about Boca Rola’s strategy to enter the market in Economy C?


Lessons Learned

  • Individualistic cultures are those cultures in which the opinion of the individual is greatly sought after and deeply valued, even though it may differ from the views of the group. These cultures believe that it is a variety of individual opinions that produce the best solutions to problems and that promote success, whether in social relationships or in the workplace.
  • Collectivist cultures, on the other hand, value group consensus and harmony. These cultures believe that an environment conducive for business and personal success can only be created when members of the group align in sync with one another. Members of groups will first debate the merits of a question among themselves, and then choose the opinion that they deem most valuable before presenting it to a higher authority.
  • The Professor from Economy B was used to receiving individual responses to his case discussion questions, responses that varied greatly from one another. Although not all responses he received were correct, he enjoyed reading the individual opinions present in them before discussing the correct answers with the class during the following lecture. Economy A students were, however, from a collectivist culture and valued sharing their responses with their group first before reaching a consensus on a particular answer choice.
  • The professor noticed that, although he had received only one response per question, it was more or less correct, although there was not a way for him to ascertain which of his students had provided the response, how the learning had occurred, and what the viewpoints of those who disagreed might be.

Resources

See Also

Business in the 21st Century

Cross Cultural Awareness for 21st Century Business

Language for 21st Century Business

Business Language Policy

Back to Business Language for a Global Economy

More content from International Education Week 2010

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