Language awareness of non‐native speakers in the business field

Abstract

This paper describes the preliminary findings of a case study carried out with five Brazilian business professionals. These informants were individually recorded in audio by means of structured interviews at the job site during working hours in order to find out if these adults were able to talk about their knowledge of the English language as well as their needs of it without previous training on the approach of Language Awareness. The introspective data raised interesting points of view which canbe understood as ‘hints’ for the introduction of ‘explicit knowledge about language’ in the syllabus for adult foreign language students. Individual differences related to language proficiency and language experience also emerged as important issues to be considered when preparing classroom activities. Results show that the more exposed to socio‐cultural aspects of language an EFL speaker is, the more he or she is able to perceive and talk about language as a whole. Informants’ statements also point out to the importance of acquiring learning strategies as a tool for a more critical understanding of a foreign language. Briefly, the data collected in these interviews raised attention to Language Awareness as a helpful source for improving language proficiency, language knowledge, and pupil's attitudes towards the learning process. Finally, this report shows the need for EFL students to be trained on ‘how and what’ to talk about the new language they are learning.