Intercultural communication in general business English textbooks
(2012) 11th European Conference of the Association of Business Communication (ABC Europe) — Location: Nijmegen, Netherland (30.May.2012)
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- In a world where international business is done in many parts of the world on a daily basis training in intercultural communication is key to students of business and business communication. A number of textbooks such as Carté and Fox (2008) and Reynolds and Valentine (2004) are specifically devoted to the teaching of intercultural communication. In addition, elements of intercultural communication have increasingly been making their way into some general textbooks that aim to help students develop their language skills (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, speaking, writing) in connection with the world of business. The aim of this paper is to investigate the intercultural communication content of a series of general business language textbooks. The focus is on textbooks of business English as English is still one of the most frequently used languages in international business communication today. The textbooks under scrutiny target intermediate to advanced learners of English and include, among others, Intelligent Business (Pearson Longman), The Business (Macmillan), In Company (Macmillan) and ProFile (Oxford University Press). The analysis is both quantitative and qualitative as it examines not only the amount of information included but also the type of information displayed (e.g. high vs low context cultures), where and the way in which it is presented and discussed (e.g. in a special section/unit devoted to intercultural communication) and any references to the literature in the field (e.g. Hofstede 1991). The paper also offers an evaluation of the relevance and usefulness of the intercultural content under study in the light of reference books in the field such as Beamer and Varner (2008) and Guidham (2005).
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De Cock, S. (2012). Intercultural communication in general business English textbooks. 11th European Conference of the Association of Business Communication (ABC Europe), Nijmegen, Netherland. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/158261