Discourse Build-up on Business English Crossroads

Amalia Babayan

Amalia Babayan teaches at the YSU, Armenia.
E-mail: a_babayan1@yahoo.co.uk

Menu

Introduction
Background
Theoretical framework
Implications
Conclusion

The article introduces a technique of enhancing business communication skills at the intermediate level in a non-English-speaking environment, through a specially designed sequence of exercises, employing the interplay of L2 and L1.
Drawn on classroom observations and experiments on language perception and error analyses, as well as current theoretical approaches, the elaborated technique proves to work successfully, and can be of practical use for teachers and material designers.

The sequence of exercises that we bring to your attention aims at enhancing the communicative language (negotiating, ordering, telephoning, etc.) competence of Business English students. It forms the basis of the book "Talking Business?" published in the year 2000 by a group of YSU teachers and has been effectively used in class since. While authoring the book we proceeded from the strong belief that the mother tongue is the womb from where the second language is born (M. Rinvolucri; 2002)

It is a truism that when facing a communicative task, be it a business talk simulation or a role-play, irrespective of the relatively good knowledge of English, students of lower and intermediate level mostly resort to a word-for-word translation from the mother tongue into English. The strain of communicating in a foreign language makes emotions run high, and the long accumulated knowledge of the language somehow slips away. We had been trying to work out a certain teaching approach which would make it possible to beat down the natural upsurge of the literal translation-making. Our search has resulted in the proposed sequence of exercises that create in the learner's mind a deeper impression of the appropriate L1-L2 matches, set in certain contextual frames and fostered both on cognitive and emotional levels. Owing to this, in further occurrences, whenever the need to use this or that L1 pattern arises (an urge for 'translation-help-loan'), in most cases, the corresponding L2 pattern appropriate for a similar context emerges from memory, thus facilitating the genuine communication.

The compulsion to turn to L1, mapping its features on to the L2 mind-gaps, is quite natural. The concepts of transfer and interference formulated by Weinrich (Languages in Contact 1953), and later widely elaborated in SLA literature, explain the presence of L1 in the second language acquisition, briefly worded as 'the transfer of phonological, syntactical, morphological and lexical and discourse elements and aspects from the learner's L1 to the target language' (Towell and Hawkins 1994). In outlining the four fundamental issues that have driven the SLA research agenda since late 70s, Mitchell and Myles have rated the role of mother tongue as second, stating that 'an important aspect of today's research agenda is still to understand better the phenomenon of transfer' (Mitchell and Myles 1998).

The use or the extent of use of L1 in classroom has long been a matter of debates. If Atkinson insists on using L1 sparingly and selectively as 'every second spent using the L1 is a second not spent using English!' (Atkinson 1993), Kramsch (Context and Culture in Language Teaching 1993), as well as Prodromou hold a different view stating that 'the mother tongue is an important part of a learner's psychological and cultural make-up and to that extent must be taken into account in any educational practice, of which ELT is just one small part' (Prodromou, 2002). Happily and luckily we now have the 'Using the Mother Tongue' by Sheelagh Deller and Mario Rinvolucri which seems to have eventually legalized the acknowledgement of the L1 use in language teaching, calling to be purposeful and intelligent about using the mother tongue and acknowledge it to be important resource it obviously is (Deller and Rinvolucri 2002).

The standpoint for the L1 use in the suggested set of exercises is not that of providing translations to the learner. On the contrary, its ultimate aim is

to make the learner recognize the peculiarities of the other, foreign language thinking, the features of the new language, as different from L1, their corresponding and appropriate use in speech.

The provided language material which is understood and acquired logically, from the very start, often arouses pleasant surprise, estimation, joy of recognition and, why not, sometimes humour when a comparison of L1 and L2 goes on. Throughout the process of comparative parallelism students experience positive emotions, which are favourable for a smooth transition of the language material from short-term memory to long-term memory, and later - its successful facilitated retrieval (Plutchik & Kellerman 1980). Stronger bonds of associative acquisition of L2 with L1 make the chances of productive communication greater.

Provoking positive emotions in business communication teaching is caused by the necessity to fight down the factor of stress, which often occurs in educational situations, in the events when the person is in the focus of attention or there is a need for self-assertion or fear of negative assessment (Argyle, Furnham, Graham 1981:450). But if, subconsciously, the required language has the backing of the mother tongue with clear, already paved tracks for L2, the base for confidence building is ensured, due to which communication proceeds easily and without strain.

Another plus of this technique is that the structure of the units makes it possible to bring the teacher's involvement to a minimum. This adds to the sense of freedom among the students: in the presence of the teacher they still can feel quite relaxed and add up their knowledge. The peer-pairing work, that the exercises pre-suppose, simulates the real feel of a short role-play.

Each set of consecutive exercises, six in number, derive from the master dialogue, and they together make a unit. The language material used in the exercises is taken exclusively from the target English dialogue and not a word more. The unit starts with Exercise 1.

Exercise 1 comprises two columns of words, expressions and structures which present special interest from the point of view of language correlation: the left column is in L1, the right one - in L2. Matching proceeds from L1 to L2. This is essential, as it makes the learner focus on and realize certain differences in connotation that exist between the two languages. To many students this exercise brings about unexpected findings and surprises, along with positive emotions. It is advisable to go through the exercise again for a better fixation of the differences between L1 and L2.

This is a pivotal stage of intake. As a starter, it allocates the information in short-term memory, which is noted for its limited capacity and short duration. It is experimentally proved that short-term memory capacity tends to range from 5 to 9 items (McGee & Wilson 1984). This fact already determines the size of Exercise 1. It cannot be long or overburdened, otherwise it would not work, as a constant displacement of information would proceed, because once the capacity is reached, adding a new item will result in losing the old one. Having this in view, to avoid information overlapping, it is essential to be selective in choosing the material for Exercise 1.

The next step proceeds from the assumption that 'if we do not consciously attend to the information in short-term memory, that information will be forgotten within 15-20 seconds' (ibid). It implies that the newly acquired language introduced in single units and chunks, needs to be fostered in Exercise 2.

Exercise 2 aims at activating the material of Exercise 1 by fitting it in relatively short utterances taken and abridged from the master dialogue. The concentration is on building up further language awareness of core structures and sequences. The language information is organized into larger chunks. Actually, it is a fill-in exercise at the end of which the language bits to be filled in are provided. However, the pieces taken from the original dialogue are still moderate both in size and number, to ease the process of relating the newly acquired language units to what is already known. Called 'distributed practice' in the learning process, the principle implies short sessions of information 'injection' rather than long ones.

Still, to secure the transition from short-term memory to long-term memory a gradual creative build-up of the language material is required. It calls for repetition and rehearsal of the elaborated language, cued in a positive emotional key. Exercise 3 is designed to facilitate this transition.

Exercise 3 proceeds from the experience of bilingual thinking and communication which we frequently come across with people speaking two or more languages. Without any interruption of the flow of their thoughts or speech, bilingual people make up utterances out of the mix of two languages. The sequence of the parts of sentences, inflexions and links, by some magic of subconscious tools, the roots of which are presumably hidden in the Universal Grammar, perfectly fit each other in most cases. Such utterances are easily grasped and understood and replied accordingly.

Based on this principle of bilingual communication, Exercise 3 comprises a set of unabridged sentences from the original dialogue, each of which presents a mix of L2 and L1. Within one sentence the two languages are evenly balanced, making a logically and grammatically uniform flow of meaning. The L1 insets laced into the gaps of L2 fabric present the trickiest parts of the target dialogue, which the learner might have otherwise translated word for word, with a ridiculous outcome.

Students are offered to reconstruct to completion the L2 sentences, having as a launch-pad the new language-bits picked up from Exercises 1 and 2, combined with their general knowledge of the language. In this way full sentences are perceived as 'old friends', welcomed with pleasure and a smile of how-simple-it-is.

Such an unexpected, uncommon and sometimes funny wording and sounding of the language flow, the keen interplay of L1 and L2, give rise to positive emotions of fun, free play and easy achievement due to the previous input. This calls forth the desire to advance, to try the next sentence and the next. Students experience a sort of 'linguistic lift'.

Though one might argue that compiling L1-L2-mix type exercises is practically impossible, or that such exercises are lame and faulty, the classroom experience and results speak the contrary.

Exercise 4 is the logical continuation of Exercise 3. In this exercise, too, L2 and L1 co-exist, but not within one sentence. Exercise 4 invites the learner to conduct several mini-dialogues, each of which contains two sentences only: one - in L2, the other - in L1. The sentences are taken from the target dialogue, though abridged, to include focal points, especially in respect of the new language. The previously tackled words, phrases and structures are given priority. After the input of the first three exercises, at this stage already, Exercise 4 is dealt with ease and confidence.

This succession of four exercises ensures the build-up of the selected material as newly acquired knowledge and prepares the learner for its 'trial performance' designed in the next exercise.

Exercise 5, actually, presents the full literary translation of the original dialogue, though the task never specifies it. Students are offered to fulfil creative work. They are offered to make a close translation of the complete identical variant of the target dialogue. Nevertheless, no equivalence to the original dialogue is required. It is a creative, language-provoking task allowing freedom of different interpretations. It is up to the choice of the students either to use the input from the previous exercises or to propose their own variants. Such a task ensures freedom of learning, when no musts confine the language use. Yet, in the experimental groups the newly acquired language has been more often worded. Thus, the input is materialized in the free output, acquiring creative modifications. Students perform this task enthusiastically, as it does not pose difficulties any longer. On the contrary, its completion stirs up a feeling of confidence and satisfaction, as the factual incorporation of the L2 material not only enriches their active vocabulary, but also effectively promotes business communication skills.

Eventually, as a rewarding part of the learning process, comes the feedback itself.

In Exercise 6 students encounter the original dialogue - printed on the next page to turn. They are invited to compare their interpretations with the master dialogue. The acquaintance with the authentic text leads to the completion of the work on the dialogue-unit. It is a stage of final correction and fixation. Now students are ready to perform the dialogue, at the same time making modifications at their choice. They are now ready for the 'free flight'. The innate human motive of self-actualization, the need to strive for success and excellence (Byrne Kelley 1998) work their magic. The L1 backing subsides giving way to the contextually and emotionally fostered new knowledge.

Teaching and learning one dialogue per lesson might leave the impression of spontaneous business language strokes on the canvas. But within a period of time the language taught acquires shape and flows into an independent current, free from the restrictions of the dialogue it has been learned with, forming a part of new utterances students use in communication.

Hence we conclude that the incorporation of L1 into the purpose-built set of exercises for teaching business communication skills in a non-English-speaking environment is acceptable and appropriate from practical, methodological as well as theoretical points of view.

References

Argyle, M., A. Furnham and J. Graham (1981). Social Situations, Cambridge University Press, 450.
Atkinson, D. (1993). Teaching Monolingual Classes, Longman, 12.
Byrne D. and K. Kelley (1998). An introduction to personality, Prentice Hall, 234.
Deller, Sh. and M. Rinvolucri (2002). Using the Mother Tongue, Delta Publishing, 3-10.
Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and Culture in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press.
McGee, M. and D. Wilson (1984). Psychology: Science and Application, West Publishing Co., 168-170.
Mitchell, R. and R. Myles (2002). Second Language Learning Theories, Arnold, 14.
Plutchik, R. and H.Kellerman (1980). Emotion: Theory, Research & Experience Vol. 1. 'Theories of Emotion', Academic Press, 324.
Prodromou, L. (2002). 'The Role of the Mother Tongue in the Classroom' IATEFL Issues, No. 166: 6-8.
Towell, R. and R. Hawkins (1994). Approaches to Second Language Acquisition, Multilingual Matters, 7.

Please check the Certificate in Teaching English to Business People course at Pilgrims website.