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Item Teacher perspectives on the development of business English programmes in the Thai tertiary context : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Amatayakul, PanithiBusiness English has emerged as an important aspect of English for Specific Purposes in Thailand and is currently provided as an undergraduate programme in about one third of all universities. However, to date we know relatively little about how the Business English programme has been developed in the Thai tertiary context. The current study aimed to explore the development of Business English programmes in the past, present, and future, through the perspectives of Thai tertiary teachers. Firstly, the development of Business English programmes in two university contexts was explored, based on retrospective interviews with five experienced teachers. In addition, a survey which included open-ended scenarios was completed by Business English teachers (N=84) from throughout Thailand (North, Northeast, Central, and South), regarding their contemporary perspectives on Business English in the Thai tertiary context and future prospects for the field. Finally, in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 Business English teachers, focusing particularly on their contemporary perspectives on Business English and the trajectory of Business English as a tertiary subject. Overall, the findings revealed that the contemporary tertiary Business English programmes emerged from both bottom-up and top-down initiatives, and were shaped by local factors such as ongoing changes to curriculum and teaching practices. The development of the programmes was also influenced by a combination of external factors, including the government policy, English as a Lingua Franca in the Asia region and global pressures. The teachers who participated in this study thought that the future changes would be in line with these contemporary changes. It was also evident that future programmes might continue to face both internal and external challenges. The thesis concluded by reflecting on future challenges which needed to be addressed and the resulting implications for research, professional development, and practice.Item Tradespeak : an interdisciplinary study of business communication in international trade deals : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Business Studies at Massey University(Massey University, 1997) Stoeckl, Birgit DanielaIn the course of history, English has become the dominant lingua franca of intercultural interaction. About 600 million people world wide are either English native speakers or have at least some speaking ability in the English language.¹ Naoki Kameda, Jeremiah Sullivan, "English as the lingua franca of the Far East", in: Multinational Business Review, 4 (1) Spring 1996, pp. 52 - 62 [ABI-Database copy], p. 5. With its basic inflection system, English has proved to be particularly accommodating to second language learners. It is a well adaptable language. English has been also called a "hybrid language² Kameda, Sullivan, p. 10. giving its speakers the freedom and flexibility in use for their special purposes, especially business purposes. Business English is regarded as a key advantage and necessary condition for export oriented development and upward mobility in Asia.³ Anonymous, "Britannia rules Asia's soundwaves", in: Corporate Location (ABI-Database copy), p.1. It is important to stress that these modified versions of English are "(...) by no means [to be classified as] a pidgin speech. A pidgin English is a ludimentary impoverished use of English arising in situations when parties do not share a common language and when accurate grammatical English is not important."⁴ Kameda, Sullivan, p. 10. Opinions diverge as to whether the feature 'accurate grammatical English' distinguishes Business English from pidgin English.. On the one hand, the view is held that only a balanced bilingualism enables successful and effective communication. English language assessment tests ( TOEFL, TOEIC), for example, aim at determining a profile of the English proficiency required for educational purposes (TOEFL) or different job positions in a company (TOEIC)⁵ Matthew Sindlinger, "An international business language", in Business Mexico, 4 (1,2), 1994 [ABI-Database copy, p. 1].. On the other hand, there is the 'insider opinion' of regarding problem solving skills and flexibility in language use as more relevant than abiding by rigid grammar rules and conventions. [From Introduction]Item Learning business English in virtual worlds : effectiveness and acceptance in a Malaysian context : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management Information Systems at Massey University, Palmerston North(Massey University, 2013) Baharum, Harmi Izzuan BinMotivated by the need to provide better opportunities for Malays in Malaysia to improve their oral business English communication skills, the research focused on the use of multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) for learning English and pursued the following research questions: (1) Is MUVE based learning effective in facilitating situated scenario-based learning of oral business English communication skills by Malay learners? (2) Which factors influence the acceptance of MUVE based learning of oral business English communication skills by Malay learners? To address the first research question, a controlled experiment was conducted to compare the learning gains in traditional classroom and in MUVE environment. To address the second research question, an acceptance model based on the social cognitive theory and the technology acceptance model was tested by fitting it to the data obtained by using a questionnaire. The experiment involved 152 Malay tertiary learners, who also filled in the questionnaire. Findings indicated that MUVE was effective in facilitating scenario-based learning of business English by Malay learners. Learners‘ oral skills showed statistically significant improvement following learning in MUVE. However, the difference between the improvement in the classroom environment and in MUVE was not statistically significant. As for MUVE acceptance, Video Games Affect, English Class Anxiety, and Perceived Usefulness affected the learners' Intention to Use MUVE for e-Learning, although the effect size for Video Games Affect and English Class Anxiety was small. The results of the study suggest that MUVE based learning is an effective environment for learning oral business English communication skills. MUVE is particularly suitable for distance learning, when traditional classroom learning is not available. The study confirmed the claims in the literature that MUVE is particularly suitable for anxious learners and for learners who like to play video games. The study involved Malay university students as participants, and the results are not necessarily generalizable to other types of learners.