A Study Of The Problems In Business English Teaching In Institutes Of Higher Vocational Education

The study aims to investigate the needs analysis of Business English learners in institutes of higher vocational education, the teaching conditions of Business English teachers and the qualified personnel needed by employers, and to analyze the major problems in Business English teaching, so as to provide useful information and constructive suggestions for language teachers and course designers.The participants to be surveyed in the dissertation are classified into four categories: 76 pre-experienced learners, 14 teachers teaching Business English, 68 job-experienced employees and 10 companies employing the pre-experienced learners. Results show that learners have distinctive needs for Business English learning. Most students held positive attitudes towards Business English learning for good job prospects. They preferred game and role-play for better interaction and liked to take internships to apply what they have learned. They expected teachers to have operational business experience for learning more about the business world. Besides, results indicate that teachers had not enough business experience and were expected to be able to have flexible teaching methods and teach practice. To vocational institutes, practical training is very important, but in China at present it is hard to set up a workshops in which the students can practice. So learners and companies thought the best way was to teach by multi-media and invite experts with relevant experience to present reports.From the analysis, we can see that more operational courses of business skills and courses offered to meet learners' practical needs are needed. Business English teachers should have a good personality, knowledge and first-hand experience of business. Teaching materials were not satisfactory and the teaching methods should be improved. Most institutes have offered major courses like document-making and foreign business sponsorship, but nothing for secretaries. Both the learners and the companies were interested in this major direction.