Designing Email Tasks for the Business English Classroom: Implications from a Study of Hong Kong's Key Industries

Autor/in	Evans, Stephen
Titel	Designing Email Tasks for the Business English Classroom: Implications from a Study of Hong Kong's Key Industries
Quelle	In: English for Specific Purposes, 31 (2012) 3, S.202-212 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0889-4906
DOI	10.1016/j.esp.2012.03.001
Schlagwörter	Textbooks; Foreign Countries; English for Special Purposes; English (Second Language); Business English; Electronic Mail; Business Communication; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Interviews; Asians; Language Usage; Case Studies; Simulation; Teaching Methods; Reading Skills; Listening Skills; Writing Skills; Oral Language; Industry; Hong Kong + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Textbook; Text book; Schulbuch; Lehrbuch; Ausland; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Business; English language; Wirtschaft; Englisch; Wirtschaftsenglisch; Elektronischer Briefkasten; Unternehmenskommunikation; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Asian; Asiat; Asiatin; Asiaten; Asiate; Sprachgebrauch; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Simulation program; Simulationsprogramm; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Reading skill; Lesefertigkeit; Writing skill; Schreibfertigkeit; Oral interpretation; Mündlicher Sprachgebrauch; Industrie; Hongkong
Abstract	Email has revolutionised the way in which professionals work and companies operate, and yet has received surprisingly little scholarly attention in English for Specific Purposes and has an unexpectedly muted presence in many Business English textbooks. The dearth of research into email use in globalised business settings may be one of the factors behind the unnecessarily wide gulf that separates the office and the classroom. This article seeks to narrow this gap by making practical suggestions about the design of email tasks for use in Business English courses. These ideas are based on three complementary sets of qualitative data derived from Hong Kong's service sector: over 30 h of interviews with English-using Chinese professionals, four "week-in-the-life" case studies and 50 email chains comprising 406 separate messages. These data provide pedagogically relevant information about the function of email in internal and external communication, its intimate relationship with spoken communication, the importance of intertextuality in email chains and the length, language and structure of email messages. The study recommends the adoption of a simulation-based approach in which email communication is embedded in a series of interdependent activities that integrate speaking, listening, reading and writing. (Contains 2 figures.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10