Using English as Economic Capital in a Chinese–Australian Workplace: Implications for Teaching Business English in China

ABSTRACT

With China’s economic growth over the past 30 years, a large number of Chinese enterprises are facing the challenge of developing their businesses internationally. Thus, it has become necessary to improve the effectiveness of transnational and intercultural business communication for these enterprises. In this article, through narrating the first author’s ethnographic observations in a Chinese–Australian company, the researchers explore the challenges of transnational and intercultural business in terms of English communication and services. They suggest how these challenges can be met from the perspective of future employees in globalizing enterprises and practitioners of Business English education in Chinese universities. This study contributes to developing effective practices for transnational and intercultural communication and services in globalizing enterprises and the pedagogy of Business English in Chinese universities, with the aim of enabling future university graduates to develop language as economic capital in a globalized business context.

KEYWORDS:

• Business English
• Economic capital
• Globalizing enterprises
• In-between space
• Transnational and intercultural business communication

Acknowledgments

All of the names used were changed to protect privacy, and informed consent was secured from the participants involved before undertaking this project. The researchers thank all of these participants and the anonymous reviewers for their contributions and constructive suggestions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (grant number 2016J0801) and The National Research Fund for Social Sciences (grant number 16BYY178).

Notes on contributors

Bin Ai

Bin Ai, PhD, is Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Languages, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China. He obtained his PhD degree from School of Education, Deakin University, Australia, in April 2014. His recent research interests focus on intercultural business communication, TESOL, and ESP.

Lifei Wang

Lifei Wang, PhD, is Professor in the School of International Studies, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China. He has published around 80 research articles in the areas of applied linguistics, business, and communication, and his recent research focuses on language service.

Jie Zhang

Jie Zhang, PhD, is Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Languages, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China. She obtained her PhD degree from the Department of linguistics, Macquarie University, Australia, in 2011. Her research interests focus on English language, identity, and intercultural communication.