Using professional English in an international career

1
Using professional English in an international
career

• Ian Badger
• Bristol University, 1.8.11
• www.bmes.co.uk
• ian_at_bmes.co.uk

2
Content

• Introductions
• A country quiz
• Why do we need to be highly proficient in
  English?
• The challenges ahead
• Questions

3
Why do we need to be highly proficient in
English??

• English increasingly the official language for
  professional communication in business and
  academic life
• Growing use of web conferencing e.g. using
  Sametime, Genesys, LiveMeeting tools
• Use of global IT systems training,
  instructions, IT support, collaboration often
  only in English
• Global recession (closures, threat of redundancy)
• Reorganisation, centralising
• Relocation of jobs (offshoring / nearshoring)

4
Communication channels in English

• Face-to-face meetings/presentations
• One-to-one telephone calls
• Three/four-way teleconferences
• Web conferencing / Webinars
• Everyday emailing (and faxing?)
• Instant messaging
• Texting
• Blogging? Tweeting???

5
Your English areas for potential
misunderstandings?

• Grammar use of tenses, prepositions?
• Pronunciation?
• Intonation?
• Vocabulary?
• Cultural issues (Levels of directness, use of
  humour, etc.)?
• Speed of delivery?

6
Which speakers are most difficult to communicate
with a quick survey from my home company

• Scottish 32
• Chinese 28
• French 27
• N American 11
• English 8
• Austrian 5
• German 3
• Finnish 1
• (Respondents 80 Finns, 10 German/Austrian, 6
  UK/US 4 Other)
• Speakers mentioned in top 4 responses note
• Scottish and Chinese nearly always 1 or 2

7

• Contents

8

• Catriona voicemail
• Jindee voicemail
• Nick voicemail

9
Clear usage a conference call Note the
colloquial phrases used by native English
speakers in track 7s extract from a conference
call Hi, guys Hello Hi Hi, Nigel. How
are you? (informal greetings at the beginning of
the call) Good weekend? (Shortened colloquial
greeting alternative to Did you have a good
weekend? or How was your weekend?) Is Nigel
on? (Has Nigel joined the call?) OK, then.
Edmund, do you want to take us through your
highlight report, please? (The speaker could
also say Could you take us through? / Please
take us through? / So, Edmund, take us through?
)
10
Frequently-used native-speaker/advanced grammar

• We are going to be looking at.
• We have been given a target to finish the work
  by
• Our intention is to wrap the project up by the
  end of the year.
• We will be tracking implementation for two years.
• Its currently being implemented
• I would have finished this today if I hadnt had
  to go to China at short notice
• Had we known about this earlier, we..

11
Frequently used incorrect grammar

• I live at the centre of town
• He dont have a good job
• As I told earlier
• We dont need no consult
• They will decide what is the reason
• How you can do that?
• Did you check the equipments?

12
Understanding advanced English

• We were very chuffed
• We hope to reduce headcount through natural
  wastage
• If I can digress for a moment..
• The group has gelled
• Its an intractable problem
• You cant accuse them of dithering

13
And finally

• In increasing cases No English no job/no
  contract/no audience
• Any questions??

14
References

• Badger, I, Listening in the Collins Business
  Skills series, Harper Collins/Collins ELT
• Badger I and P Menzies, English for Business
  Life (Intermediate and Upper Intermediate Self
  Study Guides), Cengage/Heinle ELT
• Badger I and S. Pedley, Everyday Business
  Writing, Pearson Longman
• Badger I, Everyday Business English, Pearson
  Longman
• Badger I, Business English Phrases Pearson
  Longman
• Lambert V and E Murray, Everyday Technical
  English, Pearson Longman
• www.bmes.co.uk (Business and Medical
  English Services)