Premium
Putting Language Before Business: The Business Case Study in the Foreign Language Classroom
Author(s) -
Ulrich Jutta Morris
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.2000.tb00916.x
Subject(s) - comprehension approach , language industry , foreign language , language assessment , praise , business english , language education , business communication , linguistics , communicative language teaching , international business , language pedagogy , second language attrition , pedagogy , psychology , computer science , political science , communication , philosophy , law , psychotherapist
Practitioners in both English as a Second Language (ESL) and Foreign Language instruction praise business case studies for their real‐world application and their ability to stimulate discussion and meaningful writing assignments. However, language teachers face a major challenge in guiding the unpredictable nature of such discussions, while students struggle with the foreign language as well as the business concepts of the case. This article explains how language activities can become the key objectives of the foreign language or ESL lesson based on the case study. By developing a lesson plan focused on language functions and speech events, the language instructor directs learning away from business concepts toward business communication skills. Such a language‐based framework also provides the structure required to establish and achieve specific learning objectives.