Business English Curricula: In-service Students' Needs, Learning Difficulties, and Solutions

商務英語課程：在職生需求分析，困境和解決之道

唐玉珍(Yu-Chen Tang)

《大漢學報》 25期 (2011/12) Pp. 19-41

https://doi.org/10.29704/JDIT.201112.0002

摘要

本文旨在探討在職生在技術學院學習的專業英文─商用英語課程與學生實際職場需求是否相符合，學習困境及老師們在技術學院教授商用英文課程所面臨的困難及解決之道；進而幫助在職生提供可能解決學習困境之方法以提昇學習成效。本文研究方法使用問卷實施於東部某技術學院的管理學院在職學生，以立意抽樣方式選取快修完商務英文課程140位在職生為研究對象，以探討學生職場英文的需求與學生學習商用英文課程所面臨問題的反應及以百分比作紀錄，開放性問題的反應以內容分析步驟給予分析與分類。並與東部10位及北部20位在技專院校教授商用英文課程教師電話訪談紀錄，探討教師教授在職學生─商用英語課程所面臨的困難及其因應之道，期以提供專業英語老師商務英文教學實務上的建議。調查結果顯示由於商業知識、語言能力、與學習動機不足，在職生若要理解商務英文文章有困難。本文作者以教授商用英語課程的經驗，和30位在技專院校教授商用英文課程教師電話訪談，提出可能解決方案；本文建議教師應選擇學生可以理解的商務英文教材，來複習基礎句型、文法、音位認知、和商用術語，並以簡單句為主的聽、說、讀、寫練習到教授專業領域的商用英語術語。英文學習以適宜的活動進行，老師們鼓勵學生們合作學習，以提升在職學生們的上課參與度與學習效果，進而設計較符合在職學生們職場需求的商務英語課程。

關鍵字

商務英語 ； 專業英語 ； 在職生

並列摘要

The purpose of this study is to explore workplace English language needs for college students who currently have full-time employment. This paper investigates the difficulties teachers and students encounter in business English (BE) courses at an institute of technology in Taiwan. The paper tests whether a learning gap exists between what in-service students learn in the classroom and the real life English language encounters they will experience on the job. In turn, the paper presents analysis of difficulties in in-service ESP provision and proposes solutions to these problems in order to enhance learning proficiency. The paper is based on a survey of 140 BE students studying at the same institute and 30 BE teachers. The participants all have fulltime jobs and attend either night-school or weekend classes. The experience of these participants and teachers should be highly relevant to BE instruction as they should have great awareness of workplace needs, being presently employed.Results indicate that in-service students lack business knowledge, English proficiency and learner motivation as well as the ability to comprehend English textbooks. Teacher interviews by-and-large agree with student perceptions and provide potential solutions to these problems. The author also suggests some solutions based on BE classroom experience and 30 teacher interviews. Suggestions include: materials selection based on a comprehensible input criteria, a focus on improving elementary learners relevant vocabulary and phonics skills as well as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, improved contextualization of language for the introduction of difficult terminology such as task based situational role plays, classroom management practices such as grouping and peer teaching to increase student participation and feedback, and finally more relevant materials selection and design that reflects student workplace needs more accurately.

並列關鍵字

business English(BE) ； ESP(English for Specific Purposes) ； in-service students