Analyzing the Effects of CLIL Method in Teaching Business English Writing in China

The use of CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) teaching method in English writing proved to be efficient in enhancing students’ language and content knowledge. This study aims to explore the effects of utilizing CLIL method in teaching Business English Writing among Chinese college students. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. The experiment lasted for a total of eight weeks. The Experimental Group was taught Business English Writing using CLIL method while the Control Group was instructed with the conventional method. The sample of the study consists of 80 third year Business English college students from Shaoyang University in Hunan Province, China. Two classes of students were chosen as intact group sampling (40 students in each group). A pre-test and post-test were used as instruments. The data was analyzed using Independent samples t-test. Prior to the actual study a pilot test was carried out to obtain the reliability and validity of the instrument (writing test). The findings from quantitative data showed that students of the Experimental Group using CLIL teaching method performed significantly higher in their overall Business English Writing, report writing, memo writing, letter writing than students in the Control Group using conventional method. Therefore, it can be concluded that the CLIL principle should be employed as an alternative method in future writing classes. These findings have significant pedagogical implications because the CLIL method facilitated students to improve in their Business English writing skills.

aCHAT-WF: Generating conversational agents for teaching business process models

This paper proposes a general approach for using conversational interfaces such as chatbots to offer adaptive learning of business processes in an environment involving different actors. Adaptivity concerns both the content being proposed, the sequence of learning items, and the way the conversation is conducted. The original approach allows the development of sustainable chatbots and empowers various non-technical actors (authors, teachers, publishers, and learners) to control the chatbot features directly. The aCHAT-WF framework (adaptive CHATbot for WorkFlows), proposed in this paper for managing conversational interfaces, conceptually represents all the aspects related to a conversation about business processes, with different facets for the user, the conversation flow, and the conversation contents, combining them to obtain a flexible interaction with the user. The paper focuses on the different preparation phases for instructional material based on Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) models, separating the different roles involved in the construction of a chatbot for teaching business processes and with the possibility of defining different styles for the interaction with the users. The proposed method is configuration-driven, to facilitate the separation of the different aspects of the control of the interaction and the delivery of contents.

Teaching oral and written business communication skills in a foreign language to graduate students

Covered are number of issues linked with teaching business foreign language to MA students in the context of the requirement of the Russian federal state educational standard 3++. Considered are competences shaped in the first-year graduate students as part of solving the problems and reaching the goals envisaged by the syllabus in Business Foreign Language. Based on his personal experience, the author names the problems faced by graduate students learning business communication in the foreign language, and provides probable solutions. Special attention is drawn to the stages shaping business letter writing skills. Written correspondence remains of great importance in the English-speaking business world despite rapidly developing IT. The paper proves vitality of combining traditional and interactive methods of teaching business communication to shape a well-rounded language personality.

Use of Project-based Training in Teaching Business Translation

The present study reports on the use of project-based learning in teaching business translation at the undergraduate level at two Yemeni universities; namely, Al-Saeed University and Taiz University. Two groups of students, one control and the other experimental, were selected. Both groups took a pre-test in business translation in which they were asked to translate several texts from Arabic into English, and vice versa. After the pre-test, the two groups completed a 3-month business translation course. Project-based translation training was used with the experimental group. The control group covered the content of the course in a traditional manner. Both groups were asked to take a post-test in business translation after completion of the course. The study concluded that the experimental group that completed the project-based training showed more progress than the control group. The difference between the mean of the two groups was found to be significant, at p < 0.05. Members of the experimental group were also interviewed about the project-based approach adopted in the programme to gain insights into its pros and cons.

How Entrepreneurship Education at Universities Influences Entrepreneurial Intention: Mediating Effect Based on Entrepreneurial Competence

Research shows that entrepreneurial activities significantly promote economic development, which enhances the importance of the innovative entrepreneurial potential of college students. This study analyzes the effect of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention from the perspective of planned behavior theory. By examining the significant role of entrepreneurship education at colleges and universities on economic and social development, we established a conceptual model. To understand the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention, the hypotheses propose the intermediary role of entrepreneurial ability, and the study provides evidence from China the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. Improving entrepreneurial intention and encouraging college students to establish businesses through entrepreneurship education in universities is crucial. This study proposes a hypothetical model of the relationship between entrepreneurial competence and entrepreneurial intention in entrepreneurship education at universities. Using a questionnaire survey of college students with practical experience in the Yangtze River Delta of China, the bootstrap method in the SPSS macro program process software verifies the hypotheses. The results show that entrepreneurial teaching, business plan competition, and entrepreneurial practice support positively affect entrepreneurial competence. In addition, entrepreneurial competence plays an intermediary role in the relationship between entrepreneurial teaching, business plan competition, entrepreneurship practice support, and entrepreneurial intention. Entrepreneurship education improves the ability to establish a business in the present and in entrepreneurial activities in the future. Entrepreneurial competence obtained through entrepreneurship education continuously affects entrepreneurial intention.