Sunday, August 5, 2007

Business English

Business English is English especially related to international trade. It is a specialism within English language learning and teaching; for example, IATEFL has a special interest group called BESIG. Many non-native English speakers study the subject with the goal of doing business with English-speaking countries, or with companies located outside the Anglosphere but which nonetheless use English as a shared language or lingua franca. (See linguist Braj Kachru's "expanding circle".)

Business English means different things to different people. For some, it focuses on vocabulary and topics used in the worlds of business, trade, finance, and international relations. For others it refers to the communication skills used in the workplace, and focuses on the language and skills needed for typical business communication such as presentations, negotiations, meetings, small talk, socializing, correspondence, report writing, and so on. In both of these cases it can be taught to native speakers of English, for example, high school students preparing to enter the job market.

It can also be a form of international English.

It is possible to study this subject to degree level; many universities and colleges around the world have on offer courses and degrees in Business English.[citation needed]

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