Workplace needs and uses of business English: Taiwanese vocational college perspectives

The problem. There are a large number of published studies related to General English, yet a relatively limited number of studies relate to Business English (BE) specifically (Chen, 2005; Crosling & Ward, 2002; Kuiper, 2007). Furthermore, to the author's knowledge, no research has investigated vocational college BE students' learning needs for workplaces, especially in Taiwanese EFL settings.;Purpose. The key purpose of this study was to triangulate the perceptions of three different participant groups regarding BE education, particularly in Taiwanese vocational colleges: BE students, BE Professors, and local business executives to explore the possible gap among BE learning, teaching, and application in students' careers.;Method. This study used a qualitative-quantitative mixed-method research design. A structured Likert-scale survey served as the main data collection instrument for all three participating groups. Survey scores from participating BE students', their Professors', and local business executives' represented the main analysis of this study. Qualitative semi-structured interviews served as the supportive extension. Participants in this study included 166 BE students and their four BE professors from two Taiwanese vocational colleges, as well as two business executives.;Results. The results of surveys and interviews showed several gaps between current BE education in Taiwanese vocational colleges and the needs of real-world businesses. First, after learning BE in an EFL environment, vocational college students lacked awareness of BE learning purposes, proficient BE skills, and confidence in using what they learned from BE classrooms. Second, vocational college BE professors generally had little or no actual business work experience as well as no connections with real business, and stated that they understood the BE needs of businesses and their students. Third, in terms of the BE needs of companies and workplaces, business executives reported needing to train new employees with sufficient BE skills for daily operations. Results suggest that Taiwanese vocational college students are certainly not sufficiently prepared for using Business English in their careers after graduation. Moreover, results show a lack of communication between college BE professors and real-world businesses in terms of BE preparation of students. In order to lessen these gaps, vocational colleges and BE professors need to overcome two key problems: (1) Identifying the actual needs of companies and comparing these business needs to new employees' actual BE abilities, (2) Identifying how to prepare students with the necessary BE abilities fitting for their future careers.