论文总字数：38742字

摘 要

在国内，对于商务英语教学相关的探索可以说是较为深入了，但客观存在的是，往往学生学习商务英语时存在并不相同的情境, 部分同学在研习过程中存在着迥异的学习框架, 因此导致的情况便是，会出现并不类似的学习需求和目的。本篇重点基于淮阴师范学院的英语专业同学作出的实际问卷调查活动, 针对他们的基本情况和需要来研究, 在不同同学所面对的不同需求时，务必对此适应性地从事教学活动,进而能够使教学优势凸显, 进一步分析出适合实情、解决问题的该专业的教案。促进学校、学院加大对该专业的重视、提高英语专业学生对该专业的满意认可度，培养出更多了解西方企业文化、擅长商务交流的学生，更好地为国际商务管理、会展英语、国际贸易实务等企业部门输送大批人才。

关键词：学生需求；商务英语教学；教学改良；人才培养

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………1
2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………2

2.1 Research on needs and needs analysis…………………………………...2

2.2 Research on ESP Theory and Business English teaching………………....3

1. Questionnaire Investigation about the Needs of English Majors………...6

3.1 Survey design……………………………………………………………….6

3.2 Result and analysis ……………………………………………………........7

3.3 Summary………………………………………………………………...10

1. Improvement of Business English Teaching…………………………….11

4.1 Reconstructing the curriculum system according to the students’ needs…11

4.2 Changing Business English teachers’ ideas and improving their professional competence…………………………..……………………………………........12

4.3 Strengthening the reform of Business English teaching model and instruction...........................................………………………………………....13

4.4 Establishing a practical teaching system compatible with the professional training objectives....................................................................................14

5. Conclusion………………………………………………………………..14

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………...16

1. Introduction

Business English is one of the most energetic majors in the College of Foreign Languages. With the economic globalization, the acceleration of the integration process and the application and popularization of modern business technologies such as China"s e-commerce, new economic and trade theories and practical problems are emerging. Business English majors have been widely adjusted and innovated in various colleges and universities at home and abroad. Although the degree and direction of adjustment are different, the overall development trend is to highlight their own professional characteristics. For the sake of adapting to this trend, realizing the sustainable development of Business English major and building it into a more unusual major, we are supposed to look at the reform of Business English teaching from the needs of Business English learners. It is necessary to educate Business English majors with the "student-oriented, market-oriented" philosophy, so it is urgent to reestablish education objectives, reconstruct the curriculum system, integrate curriculum content and reform. The reform teaching method should enable students to grasp the main theories, policies, laws, practices and modern Business operation skills of international trade comprehensively and systematically within four years of undergraduate education, laying a good foundation for students to successfully embark on foreign trade posts and shortening their career adaptation period.

Due to economic globalization and China"s accession to the WTO, Sino-foreign joint ventures, foreign-owned enterprises and other export-oriented economic enterprises are constantly emerging. The demand for Business English talents with strong foreign language communication skills, mastering general Business foreign trade operation knowledge, and familiarity with modern office equipment such as computers is particularly high. Urgently, at the same time, with the deepening of China"s foreign trade system reform, the export operation qualification has been registered and approved, which will enable more enterprises to have autonomy. According to the news (xinhuanet, 2018), from the current export volume of China"s foreign trade, the company with foreign trade export rights in the next five years will increase by 360,000 on the existing basis. At that time, China will have 720,000 companies with import and export rights, and even more. According to the average proportion of gifts owned by firms with import and export rights in China, at least 2.6 million foreign trade talents are needed to serve enterprises, and the demand for Business English talents accounts for a considerable proportion. In this society, business English is the most fashionable subject, ranking in the top ten.

In short, the graduates of this major have a very broad career prospects. The aim is to develop specialized talents with comprehensive Business basic knowledge and practical English language proficiency in English, economics and trade, and the ability to use a variety of modern office equipment.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Research on needs and needs analysis

2.1.1 Research on needs

“Demand” is a requirement arising from need. For demand, experts and scholars have defined it from the perspectives of individual students, employers and school management departments. This paper mainly thinks about the requests of learners themselves, and the requests of learners are further divided into objective needs and subjective needs (Brindley, 1989; Robinson, 1991). The objective needs include learner’ objective situations (such as learners’ current foreign language proficiency, difficulties in language learning), while the subjective needs refer to learners’ cognitive and emotional needs (confidence, attitude, etc.) in language learning.

The requests of learners can be summed up as target commands and learning commands. Target commands refer to learners’ commands to use language in future target situations, which can be divided into three kinds: commands: learners’ commands for future language use; gaps: This gap is reflected in the existing language level and target level; desires: learners’ content they want to learn. Because the current learning goals are high, students must have a good learning process that is accompanied by learners from start to finish. Learning is what they should do, which is also called the “process positioning” command; secondly, commands are defined as the purpose that employers expect students to get during language training programs (Mountford, 1981:27); thirdly, commands are described as prescribed needs (Berwick, 1989; Brookfield, 1988). The prescribed needs refer to the needs set by educators on the basis of other people’s learning experience, that is, the goals that learners must achieve.

2.1.2 Research on needs analysis

Needs analysis is generally used in ESP. In the process of learning, learners should be assigned a complete command analysis by the school, so that they can solve various problems in ESP English teaching. Therefore, needs analysis involves investigating learners’ original language proficiency and their expectations for the next stage of learning, including learners" current foreign language proficiency, professional knowledge, learning motivation, previous learning methods, as well as learners’ requirements for future working environment and learners’ attitudes towards such needs. The school looks forward its students to achieving their goals through language training programs. In the above analysis, we must explain the following questions: (1) What classification decisions will students make in their future work? What are the different needs of different learners? To what extent do you learn a foreign language? Has the foreign language course at this stage reached the level it should have? (2) What type of foreign language does the society need today as the second mother tongue? (3) What are the training objectives of the school? What are the needs of foreign language teachers?

Generally speaking, needs analysis is to collect relevant information from “needs”, measure the distance between students" realistic level and target level, between students and teachers, students and schools, and between students and society, and to offer a series of teaching activities (curriculum design and implementation, textbook compilation and use, teaching effectiveness evaluation, etc.) objective basis.

2.2 Research on ESP Theory and Business English teaching

2.2.1 ESP Theory

ESP has always been a branch of ELT’s English teaching. It is a relatively new subject in the field of applied linguistics. It originated in around 1960, but in the future development process, it has been widely concerned because of its particularity. The definition of “specialized English” is more typical of Hutchinson amp; Waters: “ESP must be seen as a way not as a product ... it is a measure to language learning, which is based on learner command.” (93) ESP is not a product in the group’s cognition, but a new way. It is a new method for learners in the language they need. Because of this, it will be widely concerned. The crux is to address “Why do learners learn English?”

It can be seen that “demand analysis” is the foundation and core of ESP teaching, the premise of curriculum design and teaching implementation, and the prerequisite for ensuring the teaching effect. Needs Analysis (NA) refers to the techniques and methods for researching requirements through introspection, interviews, observations, and questionnaires. This situation can be divided into two categories: current and target situation analysis. The current situational analysis is aimed at foreign language learners’ analysis of existing foreign language knowledge and professional level, motivation, previous learning styles and learning strategies, and requirements and expectations for the next phase of learning, and studies the strengths and weaknesses of language learners. A “student-centered” needs analysis; goal scenario analysis refers to the learner’s target environment’s requirements for learners and the learner’s attitude towards such needs, and finds the gap, that is, the demand analysis based on the target scenario.

2.2.2 Research on Business English

2.2.2.1 Definition of Business English

Regarding Business English, many people have questions about whether it is “English in business” or “business plus English”. What is the relationship between “business” and “English”? Really entangled! The majority of people use this language tool to have a conversation with others. This method is often used in Business English training, and the essence of this method is communication training. Today’s business activities emphasize people’s practical business communication skills. Whether you can communicate and communicate with your boss and customers in the most accurate and clearest business language will largely determine your success. Of course, to achieve the ideal state of communication and such a language training process centered on “business”, Business English teachers should have a solid English foundation and a rich business background. Only teachers with business language, knowledge and skills are able to teach students the knowledge of Business English in the classroom. The knowledge involves management, trade, law, and accounting. Excellent Business English teachers are the core of teaching.

Business English should be based on proficient English and then emphasize business. Business English is a combination of business and English. “Business” and “English” are both significant in teaching. Here, English accounts for about 50%. The English language level is the basic requirement. Therefore, at this stage our task is to improve the learner’s foreign language level. It helps the students to improve their English. The Business English course is based on the improvement of the students’ level, and carries out business training, including different scenarios that will be encountered in their future work, the means of working with foreigners, and their living habits.

2.2.2.2 Business English learners

It is understood that Business English learners can be roughly divided into two kinds: one occurs in a present commercial work environment, and the other is in future. Specifically, a Business English learner should have good English skills when starting to learn, and be able to effectively and purposefully master and digest new things. Business English is a form of professional English. When comparing with other ones, such as travel English, legal English and medical English, they all have one thing in common and have strong professionalism. But the most common thing is that you must have a good language foundation in one aspect so that you can become a good business English talent. In addition to imparting professional English knowledge, a good Business English training course is also essential for the management of western business. The Business English Test is introduced to China through the cooperation between China and Britain. The certificate is highly authoritative and is the preferred one of English proficiency test in the Commonwealth countries and European countries.

2.2.3 Relationship between ESP Theory and Business English teaching

Business English is a professional English application in its positioning, and it is often used in business environments. Like other ESPs, it also undergoes five stages, that is, register analysis, rhetorical or discourse analysis, target situation analysis, skills and strategies approach and the learning-centered approach. In the previous four steps, we must standardize the use of language. In the corresponding language surface structure and the use of English, learning is always the development aspect of ESP. This stage is mainly for language research and application of such research. At present, Business English has developed into an independent interdisciplinary subject involving both language and business, including linguistics, education, management, economics, trade, finance and many other disciplines. Therefore, Business English cannot exist in isolation from the development background of ESP, and its research must also follow the theoretical framework of ESP, and the importance of needs analysis for Business English teaching cannot be ignored.

1. Questionnaire Investigation about the Needs of English Majors

As a matter of fact, the majority of the students studying Business English in colleges and universities can be divided into the following sorts:

1. International Business majors;

2. English majors;

3. Non-English and non-business majors.

In recent years, domestic demand surveys on Business English majors mainly focus on the market demand for Business English professionals. These surveys do not fully comply with the concept that “demand should include the needs of both learners and employers”. The researches of Business English teaching mode or curriculum setting are also a summary of the experience and cognition of Business English teaching, and less on the training needs of professional talents. ESP teaching is not considered in the first place.

3.1 Survey design

In view of the fact that the domestic Business English professional talents’ surveys have a realistic problem of not closely combining the training model, this study is based on the data collected from the questionnaire survey. The questionnaire includes multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions. Through sampling the Business English learners of freshmen, sophomores and juniors of Huaiyin Normal University, 60 questionnaires were distributed, with a recovery rate of 95%. They have been studying Business English courses from the second semester of their first year in the university. In addition, some students were interviewed by phone, email, etc.. The survey uses ESP’s current scenario analysis as a theoretical framework to collect data through empirical research, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the gap between current Business English teaching and learners’ learning needs.

The questionnaire is divided into 3 parts. The first part is to understand the basic information of the respondents, using the fill-in question or the multiple-choice question type. The second part is to design problems, which mainly involve several aspects:

1. Current knowledge structure;

2. Purpose of learning International Business English;

3. Difficulties in learning International Business English;

4. Views on the textbooks currently used;

5. Evaluation of teaching methods and effects of teachers.

The last part is an open-ended question that collects general recommendations from English majors on Business English teaching in our university.

The entire survey was launched in April 2019. The investigation of English majors was carried out in a unified manner, and the students should independently answer the questions in 10 minutes.

The data obtained from the survey are divided into three categories: filling in data, selecting data, and evaluating data. For the first category to fill in the data, the researcher describes it. For the second type of selection data, if it is a multiple-choice question, truthfully

report the selection result or proportion; if it is a multiple choice question, the cumulative option, and then do a specific analysis for the selection of each respondent . For the third type of evaluation data, the classification is summarized.

Through the questionnaire survey of these students, the author hopes to understand the current status of the Business English major curriculum setting, the development of students’ knowledge ability and other students’ learning needs. Obtaining effective data helps to reveal the current adaptation of the Business English professional training model to learners’ individual needs and market needs, so as to adjust and guide Business English teaching in a targeted manner.

3.2 Result and analysis

Students hope to improve their Business English by participating in Business English training:

Thus, in Business English, college students want to acquire more business knowledge and information, which can help them carry out business negotiations smoothly in their future work.

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