An Analysis Of The Workplace English Language Needs Of International Trade Personnel

Since China joined the World Trade Organization, its international trade has developed dramatically. The fast development of international trade has given rise to an increasing demand for interdisciplinary talents with both good English and international trade operation skills. Since international trade English should be categorized under the title of English for specific purposes (ESP), the research on it should follow the general theoretical framework of ESP. The foundation and the most important part of ESP course design is needs analysis (NA). A thorough NA can also provide teachers with some information of target needs and lead to favorable teaching effects. So it is necessary to conduct a needs analysis to identify graduates'language needs at the workplace to see whether the type of material and skills being taught to undergraduates suit their language needs at the workplace.This thesis focuses on an exploratory investigation into the workplace language needs of graduates working in international trade field. More specifically, the following research questions are addressed in this thesis:(1)What are the workplace English language needs perceived by graduates working in international trade field?(2)What are the employers'perceptions of graduates'English workplace language needs?(3)How are the workplace English language needs perceived by the graduates and employers matched?(4)What are the implications for college English teaching?Based on Hutchinson & Waters'target situation analysis framework, the questionnaires were designed and sent through E-mail to 110 graduates working in international trade field. Totally 100 were returned and 95 were valid. An interview with 10 employers was carried out too.By analyzing the statistics, the findings are as follows:(1) Most graduates realized the necessity and importance of English in international trade field. The language skill used most often at the workplace was reading, followed by writing, listening and speaking. The top three communicative activities for graduates were:sending, receiving and translating e-mails, giving descriptions and explanations of the products, reading business articles. The results also showed that a "vantage" or higher level of proficiency in the four English language skills was needed at the workplace. Graduates thought their oral skills could not meet workplace language needs. They wanted to improve their speaking skill most.(2) Employers were basically satisfied with graduates'English competence. They claimed that written communication taught in university could meet the workplace language needs while most graduates'oral communication skill was lower that their expectations. Besides English language skills, employers also set other high demands on graduates.(3) In terms of the language needs at the workplace, there was no significant difference between the judgments of employers and the graduates. However, it seemed that employers'expectations placed on graduates were higher.(4) Over half of the graduates were dissatisfied with English teaching at university. This indicated that there was a gap between what were taught to undergraduates in English teaching and graduates' actual needs at the workplace.This thesis is far from being perfect. However, it is hoped that the results of the present thesis can provide course designers with some reliable information about graduates'target needs and enable them to develop teaching and learning materials that match the specific workplace needs.