ERIC Number: EJ995777
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Apr
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0889-4906
EISSN: N/A
(Critical) Language Awareness in Business Communication
Weninger, Csilla; Kan, Katy Hoi-Yi
English for Specific Purposes, v32 n2 p59-71 Apr 2013
In the last 20 years, critical approaches to language and literacy education have established themselves as an academic field, with an abundance of empirical studies applying Critical Literacy principles in classes and curricula at schools and universities. Noticeably absent from the contexts of implementation are courses in Business English and business communication. This article describes and evaluates a small-scale attempt to infuse Critical Language Awareness (CLA) principles into the teaching of a 4-week business communication module at a Singapore polytechnic. The overall framework and activities are discussed, and students' work is evaluated. The analysis traces changes in students' metalinguistic awareness; specifically, their ability to view language as constitutive of social relations, which is argued to be an important component of CLA. The authors emphasize that the disciplinary and institutional contexts, as well as students' disposition toward language, and experience with critical-reflexive dialogues need to be considered before a particular critical approach is implemented. While maintaining that the introduction of CLA in business education may need to be more incremental than in liberal arts settings, the article offers further support for the infusion of critical language awareness in the business domain. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Business Education, Interpersonal Relationship, Teaching Methods, Foreign Countries, Business Communication, Business English, Metalinguistics, English for Special Purposes, Language Role
Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2131
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Singapore
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A