1

CHAPTER – 1

Introduction

1.0 Introduction

There is a lot of intricacies that we still do not know about the systematic process of

language acquisition as it occurs in the brain. Also there is a lot that we do not know about the

brain activity. What we do know is that language acquisition is a process which occurs in stages.

Some of the stages are more critical than the others but each is very important.

There is no simple answer which explains where words come from. So, as parents and

teachers help children to talk, they should understand that there is no clear theory that explains

how children learn the language they need to become skillful in reading and communication.

However, there are some key theories that have been developed to explain language learning:

behavioral, linguistic and interactional. Looking at the theories and the history of language

development helps us to think about language development from different points of view. The

shortcomings of these theories illustrate that language is not easily explained.

Since we lack a complete map of the process, we use other methods to extract as much

information as we can to determine possible ways in which the process takes place. Behavioral

theories, such as those proposed by B.F. Skinner are based on environmental input. The notion is

that we have the innate capability to communicate but what is really important is how it develops

and how we adopt language to our needs. In behavioral theory, less weight is given to the nature

of language. Rather, development is everything, our motivation to speak and communicate

comes more from the input of the environment than from the internal process. According to
 2

behavioral theories, behavior plays a major role than nature in the process of communication and

language development.

1.1 Objectives

The main aim of the research is to identify various sub-skills of business English and

thereby suggest appropriate skills to enhance the business English of the undergraduate students

of business administration.

To enhance the skills through tasks. This helps them to learn the language practically and

easily.

To make them serious about their career.

To make them understand that skill-based knowledge is important for the career.

1.2 Background of the Study

Business English is one of the forms of English language used for various specific

purposes such as Maritime English, Aviation English and Scientific English. In the case of

Business English, it is largely used in the international trade primarily in spoken or written form.

In a largely connected world, Business English is important and the Multi-National Companies

recruit the employees who are multi-lingual. The primary goal of teaching and learning business

English is to allow its user to effectively communicate with others in a Business Environment.

In the contemporary context, English language classrooms suffer by lack of connection

with the job market. There is always a dichotomy between what is taught and what is required to

make the students employable. It is necessary that the syllabus is framed in such a way that it

meets the career needs of the students. Using English for specific or occupational purposes helps
 3

in connecting the job market and the classroom. Learners of professional courses require specific

skills to hone their business English competency. Therefore, it is pertinent and essential to teach

Business English to the students of business administration.

1.3 Approach

In recent years, a debate has developed over the essential approaches to

structuring, planning and implementing lessons. This article presents an overview of a task-based

learning approach (TBL) and highlights its advantages against the more traditional Present,

Practice, and Produce (PPP) approach.

During an initial teacher training course, most teachers become familiar with the PPP

paradigm. A PPP lesson would proceed in the following manner. First, the teacher presents an

item of language in a clear context to get its meaning. This could be done in various ways:

through a text, a situation building a dialogue etc.

Students are then asked to complete a controlled practice stage where they may have to

repeat target items through choral and individual drilling, fill gaps or match halves of sentences.

All of these aspects demand the student to use the language correctly and help them to become

more comfortable with it.

Finally, they move on to the production stage, sometimes called the 'free practice' stage.

Students are given a communication task such as role play and are expected to produce the target

language and use any other language that has already been learnt and is suitable for completing

it. It all sound quite logical but teachers who use this method will soon identify problems with it.
 4

The most common misconception every student gets is that everything seems fine in the

first try. Students get the impression that they are comfortable with the new language as they are

producing it accurately in the class. Only a few lessons later, students will understand that they

are neither able to produce the language correctly nor produce it as a whole. Students will often

produce the language but they will overuse the target structure in a way that sounds completely

unnatural.

Students may not produce the target language during the free practice stage because they

find they are able to use existing language resources to complete the task.

Task -based learning offers an alternative for language teachers. In a task-based lesson,

the teacher doesn't pre-determine what language will be studied, the lesson is based on the

completion of a central task and the language studied is determined by what happens as the

students complete it.(rephrase the sentence.) The lesson follows certain stages.

1.3.1 Pre-task

The teacher introduces the topic and gives the students clear instructions on what they

will have to do at the task stage and might help the students to recall some languages that may be

useful for the task. The pre-task stage can also often include playing the recordings of tasks done

by people. This gives the students a clear model of what will be expected of them. The students

can take notes and spend time preparing for the task.

1.3.2 Task

The students complete a task in pairs or groups using the language resources that they

have as the teacher monitors and offers encouragement.

1.3.3 Planning

Students prepare a short oral or written report to tell the class what happened during their

tasks. Then, they practice what they are going to say to their groups. Meanwhile the teacher is

available for the students to ask for advice to clear up any language questions they may have.

1.3.4 Report

Students then report back to the class orally or read the written report. The teacher

chooses the order when students will present their reports and may give the students some quick

feedback on the content. At this stage the teacher may also play a recording of others doing the

same task for the students to compare.

1.3.5 Analysis

The teacher then highlights relevant parts from the text of the recording for the students

to analyze. They may ask students to notice interesting features within this text. The teacher can

also highlight the language that the students used during the report phase for analysis.

1.3.6 Practice

Finally, the teacher selects language areas to practise based upon the needs of the

students and what emerged from the task and report phases. The students then do practice

activities to increase their confidence and make a note of useful language???.

To add on to the gained knowledge and cues on developing one's skill in speaking,

Students can be given random topics to speak on which would not just trigger their minds, but
 6

also build up their confidence when it begins from their class, the well accustomed area of

practice.

1.4 Hypotheses

The study begins with the following hypotheses on mind

1. Language Development approach helps the students to widen their knowledge on

business English.

2. Students use business English for regular activities for the betterment of career.

1.5 Research Question

1. What are Business language and its purpose?

2. Can Language Development approach be effective in learning business English?

1.6 Research Design

The subjects for the present study are 30 randomly chosen students from business administration

discipline of the American College. The researcher proposes to conduct several sessions on

facilitating various sub skills of career skills by TBLT, by which the learner leads to develop the

ideas on the usage of English in Business. Students who have basic knowledge on business
 7

language are identified with higher knowledge on sub skills learned. The screening test will help

and allow the researcher to identify what are the skills acquired for learning business English

easily. The methods used for teaching purpose are Task Based Learning and Testing, Group

Discussions and Power Point Presentation.

1.7 Review of Literature

Business English is a part of English for specific purposes and can be considered a

specialisation within English language learning and teaching, or a variant of international

English. Many non-native English speakers study the subject with the goal of doing business

with English-speaking countries, or with companies located outside the English-speaking world

but which nonetheless use English as a shared language or lingua franca. Much of the English

communication that takes place within business circles all over the world occur between non-

native speakers. In cases such as these, the object of the exercise is efficient and effective

communication.

Language Development is one of the approaches that help to precede the ordinary

processes of learning by which the learner acquires the forms, meanings, and uses of words and

utterances from the linguistic input given by the speaker. Generally children begin reproducing

the words that they are repetitively exposed to. In the same way, if we begin to give regular

practice to the learners on teaching Business English, it will help them to acquire the basic

knowledge on language.

Common challenges for globally mobile students include learning technologies, academic

vocabulary, the rate of native speech in lectures and discussions, amounts of reading and written
 8

work, academic conventions, and expectations for critical thinking and active participation

(Andrade, 2006, 2008; Ashton-Hay, Wignell, & Evans, 2015;Evans & Andrade, 2015; Ritz,

2010; Russell, Rosenthal, & Thomson,2009). In the social realm, students have difficulty

making friends with domestic students and want more opportunities to interact and use English

(Andrade, 2006, 2008; Ashton-Hay et al., 2015; Ritz, 2010; Russell et al., 2009).

Unethical practices such as admitting international students below academic standards

and pressuring faculty members to pass them have resulted in the need for re-examination

(Douglas, 2017; Nyland, Forbes-Hewitt, & Härtel, 2013; Watty, 2007).Schools of business, in

particular, have been criticized for not adjusting their educational approaches to accommodate

diverse students (Darlington, 2008; Ukpokodu,2010; Sawir, 2011; Xia, Fan, & Zhu, 2016),

and faculty members feel that institutions need to implement more rigorous screening

mechanisms to ensure that globally mobile students have adequate English proficiency

(Andrade, Evans, & Hartshorn, in press).Unexamined practices for admitting and supporting

international students include using a single measure of English proficiency for admission, not

testing productive skills and optional support services (Andrade et al., 2014, 2015, 2016).

Business department heads are aware of the challenges that international students have in

navigating academic content but expect them to be fluent, comprehend class discussions, write

accurately, and interact effectively (Andrade et al., in press).Interviews focused on goals,

English proficiency and development .Interviews were transcribed and analyzed to come to a

deep understanding of what participants said rather than simply describing their experiences

(Larkin, Watts, &Clifton, 2006). This method entailed a careful analysis of each line of a

transcript to determine how the ideas differed from the text that preceded and followed it as well
 9

as comparing and contrasting ideas across participant transcripts to identify commonalities and

information that may be distinct (Glazer & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

Behaviorists believe language is something that can be observed and measured. The need

to use language is stimulated and language is uttered in response to stimuli. To the behaviorist,

competence in the rules of language is not as important as the ability to speak it; speaking is what

makes language real. Knowledge is a mental state and the structure of a language doesn’t make it

a language; it is the function of speaking words that makes a language a language.

B.F. Skinner is perhaps the best known behaviorist who posited that children are

conditioned by their environment to respond to certain stimuli with language. When children

speak the language of their parents they are rewarded and become more skillful. They grow in

their ability to respond in a manner that responds to the environmental stimuli given by her/his

parents. This shapes a child’s language more than knowledge of rules.

While most would agree that a language-rich environment helps children achieve success

in communication, experts haven’t been able to prove this with experiments outside the lab. The

behaviorists approach has been criticized for not taking into account the many and varied

influences on a child’s language learning.

1.8 Chapterization

Chapter 1: Introduction: includes objectives of the study, background of the study, hypothesis,

theories related to teaching business English and research design.

Chapter 2: The presentation and explanation of data collected and the methodologies used.
 10

Chapter 3: Summation of the research and presents the findings of the study, limitation of the

approach and conclusion.

1.9 Conclusion

In this chapter, researcher has conveyed the background of the research proposed and

also explained the objectives of the study. The research tool, language development theory is

used. Business English knowledge of the students is developed in the process of scaffolding.

Researcher has read many articles about the business English development through language

development approach and made several observations which are employed in the research

design. The presentation and the analysis of the research have been conveyed in chapter two

descriptively with data collection tool administered.