ANALYSIS OF ASSIGNMENTS IN INTENSIVE BUSINESS ENGLISH VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

Abstract

English for specific purposes (ESP), designed to meet specific needs of the
learner, differs from General English (GE) not only in the existence of the need, but
an awareness of the need, the target situation (Hutchinson and Waters). This paper
argues that emphasizing the target situation can help learners activate their “intrinsic”
motivation (Brown) and perceive the two types of motivation, which Gardener and
Lambert called “instrumental” and “integrative,” as organically related. This “sense
of purpose” is especially important for Business English, where performance
objectives take priority over educational objectives (Ellis and Johnson). A particularly
challenging aspect of Business English is vocabulary, since a considerable percentage
of economics and finance terms have a different general meaning. A useful strategy
for overcoming this is Thornbury’s concept of building vocabulary networks of
association, a strategy applied in an exercise in testing intensive Business English
vocabulary acquisition with students of an in-house course. Preparing for a target
situation in context, and perceiving language as a means to an end, proved more
efficient than preparing for a written test and taking language as a goal in itself.