scholarly journals Business English in the Eyes of Economics and Management Students at the University of Białystok

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Dzięcioł-Pędich

Abstract According to the regulations of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, university graduates should have to know a foreign language at B2 level, as described in The Common European Framework of Reference, and they should know its specialized variety. These are the only recommendations concerning general language courses and their specialized varieties. It is up to schools of foreign languages or other institutions providing language courses for institutions of higher education to determine requirements concerning language for specific purposes. However, students are rarely asked to contribute to the development of curricula and syllabi. This article presents the results of a survey conducted among students of Economics and Management at the University of Białystok. The survey was devoted to students’ perceptions of Business English in English courses conducted by the School of Foreign Languages at the University of Białystok. The aim of the survey was to answer the following questions: - what do students of Economics and Management at the University of Białystok believe to be the appropriate proportion of general English to Business English? - when would they like to start learning Business English? - what Business English topics do students find interesting? - how do Economics and Management students use the knowledge and skills gained in Business English classes? The article also presents possible implications of the survey for ESP course designers, and stresses the importance of needs analysis for developing ESP syllabi in the context of Polish tertiary education

2020 ◽  
Vol 13(62) (2) ◽  
pp. 191-198
Author(s):  
Maria Anca Maican

"The present paper aims at providing an insight into the benefits that content and language integrated learning (CLIL) can bring to the teaching of business English in higher education, given the place of the English language in the European Union and the competitive advantages it offers on the international labour market. The first part of the paper puts emphasis on some historical facts related to CLIL, presents the EU position with respect to this teaching approach and introduces its characteristics. The second part shows how, in the absence of the dual-focus CLIL, this methodology can be adapted and successfully integrated in business English classes, by applying the four elements of the CLIL conceptual framework: content, communication, culture and cognition "


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-214
Author(s):  
M. Isabel Sanchez-Hernandez ◽  
Dolores Gallardo-Vazquez ◽  
Beatriz Corchuelo Martinez-Azua

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the students’ opinion on their proficiency in one or more foreign languages, and the importance they attribute to their foreign language competence because the adaptation to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) implies the promotion of the mobility of teachers and students. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative and quantitative approach conducted at the University of Extremadura in Spain. The method used was to triangulate the data resulting from three quite different procedures: promoting the participating students’ awareness of the issue through a seminar on the importance of mastering other languages and their relevance for graduate employability; inquiring into the students’ impressions when receiving an English class with a focus group; and a questionnaire on their opinions about the importance of proficiency in foreign languages. Findings – The findings highlight how teaching in English in European universities could bring real opportunities for the development of the EHEA. Furthermore, the development of foreign languages competences have to be a priority line of innovation in higher education in order to build a more meaningful relationship between education institutions and the European project. Research limitations/implications – The study is a first attempt to analyse the need to teach in English in European higher education institutions. Results are not completely generalizable because the study has been conducted in one university, in the field of social sciences in the branch of Economics and Business, and it has been examined only the views of students. Originality/value – The paper draws attention to the need for, and suggestions on how higher education institutions can be more aware to the needs of developing studentś English competences when designing programmes in the EHEA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3570
Author(s):  
Seongyoun Hong ◽  
Taejung Park ◽  
Jaewon Choi

This study aims to identify research trends in student experience in higher education through analyzing the topics around which research on university students’ experiences has been conducted. Using the topic modeling technique, the Scopus database for studies published up to 2017 containing the terms “student experience” and either “higher education” or “tertiary education” in their titles, keywords, and abstracts was searched. After excluding overlapping studies, a total of 1211 studies were extracted. The articles were then classified into a total of 21 topics on university student experience, including “Learning with online technologies”, “Practice at the university”, and “Diversity in college”. The results of the current study indicate that it will be possible to offer various programs to support more valuable and better student experience at the university level. Thus, this study elucidates the ways in which research fields regarding student experience have been constructed and the ways in which the main research trends have changed.


Author(s):  
Е.Ю. Гирфанова

Актуальность статьи обусловлена тем, что в современных условиях конкурентной среды работодатели становятся центром потребления выпускников высших учебных заведений. Однако на протяжении последних десятилетий система высшего образования не соответствует запросам своей целевой аудитории – социума и рынка труда. Рынок труда на сегодняшний день невозможно прогнозировать, наше общество все еще находится на этапе реформирования и часто социально-экономическая сфера страдает от несистемных трансформаций. Из-за увеличения информационного потока, глобализации и цифровизации происходят качественные изменения на рынке труда, перевес специалистов одних направлений подготовки при колоссальном дефиците других. Выпускники остаются невостребованными после получения диплома. Безусловно, те специалисты, которые уже имеют высшее образование, встают на траекторию постоянного обучения, но имеющиеся проблемы формируют гигантский провал между сторонами одной системы – вузом, работодателями и самими выпускниками. Часто работодатели проявляют излишне высокие требования к выпускникам. Компетенции будущих финансовых менеджеров формируются иногда без учета потребности в реальном секторе. Потребители системы высшего образования остаются не удовлетворены качеством выпускников, производители не имеют связи со сферой рынка труда для обеспечения нужными компетенциями. Кадровая политика большинства российских организаций ориентирована в основном на достижение текущих результатов, а не на перспективное развитие; вузы же должны строить свой учебный процесс на перспективу, готовя специалистов с ориентацией на опережающий спрос на рабочую силу. Возникает разрыв между двумя системами, которые должны работать в прочной связке. Отсутствует государственное регулирование прямой и обратной связи между рынком образовательных услуг и запросами работодателей. Поэтому данные виды коллаборации необходимо продумывать самим вузам либо работодателям. Автором проведено исследование работодателей, выявившее основные формы и показатели коллаборации вузовской системы и работодателей. Определены уровень потенциальной вовлеченности в систему сотрудничества с работодателями, возможные варианты и направления совместной деятельности в области набора студентов, организации практики и формирования компетенций для повышения эффективности. Статья предназначена для руководителей образовательных организаций, преподавателей, работодателей. Today employers are the center of consumption for university graduates. But over the past decades, the higher education system has discrepancy for its target audience - society and the labor market. It is impossible to predict the progress of labor market, our society is still at the stage of reforming. The socio-economic sphere suffers from non-systemic transformations. Qualitative changes are taking place in the labor market, the preponderance of specialists in some areas of training, while there is a colossal shortage of other specialists. Graduates remain unclaimed after graduation. Graduates are embarking on a continuous learning trajectory, but problems create a gap between the parties of the same system - the university, employers and graduates. Often employers show excessively high demands on graduates. The competencies of future financial managers are building up without taking into account the need for the real sector. Consumers of the higher education system remain dissatisfied with the quality of graduates, manufacturers have no connection with the labor market to provide the necessary competencies. The personnel policy of most Russian organizations is focused mainly on achieving current results without long-term development. Universities should build their educational process for the future based on labor`s demands. There is a gap between the two systems, which must work in a strong bond. There is no government regulation of direct and feedback between the educational services market and employers' requests. Therefore, universities should make collaborations with employers by themselves. The author conducted a study of employers, which revealed the main forms and indicators of collaboration between the university system and employers. The level of potential involvement in the system of cooperation with employers, possible options and directions of joint activities in the field of student recruitment, organization of practice and the formation of competencies to improve efficiency have been determined. The article is intended for heads of educational organizations, teachers, employers.


Author(s):  
Inese Barbare

In the current competitive working environment time has become the key resource therefore universities must be able to satisfy higher education needs by enabling students to obtain as many professional skills and knowledge as possible. One of the solutions is to develop online studies by organising the language courses on the internet and by supplementing in-class courses with online study materials. The goal of this work is to research the opportunities a foreign languages’ competence for professional project management in Latvia. Research materials on foreign language teaching methods and applicable IC technological aspects were gathered, and a survey was completed and its results analysed to find out the opinions and attitude towards learning online from second foreign language students and people studying independently. During the work it was discovered that applying the new technologies positively influences the students’ willingness to study the foreign language independently. Focusing on students’ motivation on autonomous study style, online studies have a potential and opportunity to be applied and developed for higher education study program expansions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-64
Author(s):  
Jingyi Dong

This research focuses its inquiry on the economic aspect of rural university students' life in China, but the discussion goes beyond the economic field. Massification in the Chinese higher education system has increased the chance for rural youths to receive tertiary education. However, there is rarely sufficient data to record their status quo on the campus. This research intends to fill up the gap by making a comparison between the rural students who are located at different levels in the higher education system. This comparative analysis eventually leads to such findings: Those at the higher extreme of the hierarchy, who have more subsidies, tend to experience more frustration under financial pressure than those at the lower extreme, who are insufficiently funded. Presumably, the former are more directly exposed to rural-urban disparity. While the latter experience less frustration, they are less prepared to impacts from the unfamiliar urban society. The research, eventually going beyond the economic problems, has exposed a process in which the rural youths are victimized by the system that discriminates against the Chinese peasants, in which the higher education system plays a critical role. Key words: higher education, inequality, poverty, rural students.


Author(s):  
Renata Botwina ◽  
Oksana Borys

The growth of international market, business and travel around the world has resulted in English being an integral part of university curricula. Teaching English in the way that is not only motivating but also corresponding to the needs of the global market university graduates are about to face has become mandatory for higher education institutions. This paper aims at presenting a modern approach to teaching foreign languages to students studying at the Department of the Ukrainian Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland. The specifics of the didactic work of lecturers teaching English and Ukrainian languages are presented with a view to a cultural diversity in groups. The Department offers students a rich program that gives them a thorough education both in Ukrainian and English languages. The authors show how they deal with various problems resulting from language interference, heterogeneous groups and cultural differences in their teaching practice. Motivating students to learn English with a view to a cultural context is of special importance since it results not only in interesting lessons, but also in students willing to deepen their knowledge of the English-speaking countries. A special attention is given to the Communicative Approach which has proved to be beneficial both for teachers and students. Moreover, the authors give practical solutions how to motivate students to learn foreign languages effectively.


Author(s):  
Mariusz Jakosz

The article presents the impact of emotions on teaching children foreign languages. To this end, the results of a research project carried out under the auspices of the Institute of German Philology at the University of Silesia in Katowice are discussed. The project consisted in providing language courses at three kindergartens and one primary school. During those courses, German was taught as a foreign language using the storytelling approach. The project results led to the conclusion that, unlike traditional teaching methods, which are based on very limited input and intensive imitation, the teaching method used creates much more favourable conditions for the activation of innate language acquiring processes and takes the level of the children’s cognitive development into account to a larger degree. The objectives of the evaluation were – among other things – to determine how the storytelling approach affects children’s attitudes to a foreign language, whether it arouses their internal motivation for acquiring a foreign language, whether it contributes to building their confidence, and whether it stimulates their imagination and creativity.


2020 ◽  
pp. 198-211
Author(s):  
Sheldon Rothblatt

This chapter looks at two works by accomplished and informed scholars. The first book, Universities and Colleges: A Very Short Introduction (2017), is by David Palfreyman and Paul Temple. The second, The Origins of Higher Learning, Knowledge Networks and the Early Development of Universities (2017), is by Roy Lowe and Yoshihito Yasuhara. The Origins of Higher Learning is an account of what may be termed a run-up to the institutionalization of higher learning that occurred in what Charles Homer Haskins called The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century (1927), the century in which the university as yet inchoate, is to be found. Meanwhile, Palfreyman and Temple essentially concentrate on the transformation in mission, organisation, and ‘stakeholders’ in the nineteenth century to the present, with particular attention to the provision for ‘higher education’ or ‘tertiary education’ in the United Kingdom (mainly England) and the United States.


1960 ◽  
Vol os-11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
William P. Fenn ◽  
Clara E. Orr

Dr. William P. Fenn is General Secretary of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (formerly United Board for Christian Colleges in China). Ha was an educational missionary of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. and Head of the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Nanking from 1925 to 1942. From 1942 to 1949 he served as Director of the China Office of the United Board for Christian Colleges in China, and then returned to the U. S. A. He has travelled widely over Asia in the interests of Christian higher education. Ed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document