 Journal of the
Slovene Association of LSP TeachersISSN: 1854-2042 |
 |
|
Home | Call
for Papers | Submissions | Journal Info | Links | |
Scripta Manent: The
Language of Business
Volume 1/1
Contents
| :: Š. Godnič Vičič |
Editorial HTML | PDF |
| :: G. Crosling |
Language
Development in a Business Faculty in Higher Education: A Concurrent
Approach ABSTRACT: This article draws on the principle that language development programs are most effective when contextualized to the setting for which the language is required. It considers written language development in higher education for international students, whose first language is not English. In the context of a business faculty, the program explored in this article discusses the findings from a study of the expectations of teachers in the faculty, in terms of their students’ writing. The ‘indicators’ that emerge from the study are interpreted in terms of values of the business faculty in general, and the disciplines that make up the faculty. These provide a focus at the discourse and sentence level for language instruction, as well as assisting students to better appreciate the values that structure their studies and shape their learning. HTML | PDF |
| :: J. C. Gimenez |
The
Language of Business E-Mail: An Opportunity to Bridge Theory and
Practice ABSTRACT: The language of business email has attracted a great deal of attention in the last decade. Research studies on the language, style and register of business email have been published in many journals, books and other publications. However, many of these discussions have been theoretical in nature, failing to make a connection between theory and practice. It is then the task of the ESP teacher to make such a connection. This article argues that business communication lends itself well to bringing theory and practice closer together. To this end, the article first identifies relevant features which have started to emerge from main studies in the language of business email, a vital component in business communication. It then explores different possible pedagogical applications of these findings in the BE class. The article discusses the SAE (Selecting, Applying and Evaluating) model which can be used to design and evaluate classroom activities. The article finally presents four activities which have been created following the main findings emerging from the research reviewed. HTML | PDF |
| :: S. Laviosa |
Wordplay
in Advertising: Form, Meaning and Function ABSTRACT: Generally speaking, wordplay (or pun) is a witticism that relies for its effect on playing with different levels of language, i.e. phonological, graphological, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and textual. Puns are frequently used in commercial advertising as a rhetorical device to promote a given product or service by creating humour, attracting the reader’s attention and adding persuasive force to the message. They also reflect the cultural preferences and traditions of a country, therefore they can be fruitfully used for pedagogic purposes to raise awareness of the specific linguistic and cultural features of the foreign language. In this paper I examine the form, meaning and function of puns that rely on the different meanings of polysemic words, the literal and non-literal senses of idioms or on bringing two homonyms together in the same utterance to produce witty remarks. After introducing the notions of homonymy, polysemy and idiom I analyse the play on words contained in a sample of advertisements selected at random from two broadsheet newspapers, The Guardian Weekend (1997) and The Independent (1997), two quality weekly magazines, Cosmopolitan (1997) and The Telegraph Magazine (1997), as well as a promotional brochure by Alliance & Leicester plc (2003) and promotional leaflets published in 2000 respectively by Royal Mail, British Telecommunications plc and Johnson & Johnson. Finally, I propose some activities that can be carried out in the LSP classroom either individually or in groups to raise awareness of some of the linguistic and cultural features characterizing the rhetoric of marketing and promotion in business language. HTML | PDF |
| :: M. L. Pérez Cañado in A.
Almagro Esteban |
Authenticity
in the teaching of ESP: An Evaluation Proposal ABSTRACT: Although authentic materials are a very rich source for the selection of teaching materials in the field of ESP (English for Specific Purposes) in general and of Business English in particular, the ultimate purpose should be authentic communication between the text (oral or written) and its recipient as a result of the interpretation brought to the text by the latter. To speak of authenticity implies therefore a dual focus: that of “authentic material” and that of “authenticity”. The literature in the field is vast and deserves an in-depth analysis, as in many cases the previous terms are treated as synonyms. Thus, an original proposal for the evaluation of authenticity is called for, an aspect rarely considered in the evaluation of teaching materials. This proposal will build upon a review of the literature on authenticity, as well as on the most important proposals for the evaluation of teaching materials. The proposal set forth in this paper is completed with a checklist which integrates the consideration of the inherent characteristics in the material being evaluated, together with the teacher’s view on this score. HTML | PDF |
| :: S. Čepon |
Business
English in Practical Terms ABSTRACT: The article is an attempt to look at the reality of teaching English for Business Purposes (EBP)/ Business English (BE) from a practical point of view. It approaches the term BE as if through a funnel with English as an International Language (EIL) at the top, English Language Teaching/General English (ELT/GE) as its sloping sides, English as a Foreign Language (EFL)/English as a Second Language (ESL) at the top of the funnel's narrow tube, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at the very bottom, just above where BE, one of its main arms is placed. Special emphasis is laid on key distinctions between BE and ELT/GE, the function of BE teachers and the variety of roles that they assume in BE, on BE teachers as connoisseurs of specialist business expertise, and the importance of carrying out needs analysis as it brings to light some very important information about learners of BE. HTML | PDF |
Other Volumes