Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An Interdisciplinary and Contextual Approach to Teaching Adults English in the Workplace

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Second Handbook of English Language Teaching

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

  • 445 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter explores the positive contribution that ideas and constructs from both the business and management training and the adult education literature can make to the theory and practice of workplace ELT curriculum design. It also explores how the context for training is of critical importance. Specifically, this chapter looks at how workplace stakeholders can provide a business voice to the English language teaching (ELT) curriculum processes, how business training planning and evaluation frameworks can assist English for specific purposes (ESP) workplace practitioners in reconceptualizing the curriculum process, and how a review of adult learning research can help ESP workplace practitioners better understand the English language needs of professionals in the workplace. Unfortunately, the applied linguistic literature is, for the most part, school-based, leaving workplace ELT programs poorly researched and documented in terms of curriculum theory and practice. The chapter will report on studies of workplace English carried out in Hong Kong and the Philippines. The first Hong Kong study (Lockwood, Language programme training design and evaluation processes in Hong Kong workplaces. Unpublished PhD. dissertation, The University of Hong Kong, 2002) investigated the way in which frameworks from business management and training can be used in ESP workplace training to ensure workplace stakeholders and thus the organization as a whole are better represented in the process. The second Hong Kong study (Hamp-Lyons et al. A new approach to competency based language assessment in professional contexts – Hong Kong Institute of Company Secretaries (Research Report). Hong Kong Research Council, Hong Kong, 2002) provides insights into how different stages in a professional career (in this case accountants) impact the kind of written language expectations of that professional. Other studies conducted in the Philippines in the business processing outsourcing (BPO) industry further illuminate the language demands of the increasingly globalized workplace.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alderson C (2011) The politics of aviation English testing. Lang Assess Q 8:386–403

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argyris C, Schon D (1974) Theory in practice: increasing professional effectiveness. Jossey Bass, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbara L, Celani MAA, Collins H, Scott M (1996) A survey of communication patterns in the Brazilian business context. Engl Specif Purp 15(1):57–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhatia V (1993) Analysing genre: language use in professional settings. Longman, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Boswood T (1992) English for professional communication: responding to Hong Kong employers’ needs for English graduates. Research Report No. 20. City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Boswood T (1997). New ways of using computers in language teaching (New Ways in Te sol Series II), California: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

    Google Scholar 

  • Boswood T, Marriott A (1994) Ethnography for special purposes: teaching and training in parallel. Engl Specif Purp 13(1):47–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bramley P, Pahl J (1996) The evaluation of training in the social services. National Institute for Social Work, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Brindley G (1984) Needs analysis and objective setting in the adult migrant education program. Adult Migrant Education Services, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Brinkerhoff RO (1998) Clarifying and directing impact evaluation. In: Brown S, Schneider C (eds) Evaluating corporate training: models and issues. Kluwer Academic Press, Norwell, pp 141–166

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Calderhead J (1988) The development of knowledge structures in learning to teach. In: Calderhead J (ed) Teachers’ professional training. Falmer Press, London, pp 51–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Candlin CN (1984) Applying a systems approach to curriculum innovation in the public sector. In: Read J (ed) Trends in language syllabus design. SEAMO Regional Language Centre, Singapore, pp 151–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper A (1992) Technical institute graduates: English in the workplace. Hong Kong Language Development Fund/Institute of Language Education, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummings O (1998) What stakeholders want to know. In: Brown S, Seider C (eds) Evaluating corporate training: models and issues. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, pp 102–123

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreyfus HL, Dreyfus SE (1986) Mind over machine. The Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudley-Evans N, St. John MJ (1998) Developments in English for special purposes: a multidisciplinary approach. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterby-Smith M (1994) Evaluating management development training and education. Gower Publishing, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Elder C, Pill J, Woodward-Kron R, McNamara T, Manis E, Webb G, McColl G (2012) Health professionals views of communication: implications for assessing performance on a health-specific English language test. TESOL Q 46(2):409–419

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eraut M (1994) Developing professional knowledge and competence. The Falmer Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Flowerdew L, Wan A (2006) Genre analysis of tax computation letters: How and why tax accountants write the way they do. ESPJ 25 133–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forey G, Lam M (2013) Applying systemic functional linguistics; Understanding the choices of quality in the workplace. J Appl Linguis Prof Prac 9(2):61–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Forey G, Lockwood J (2004) Yes Maam: call centre conversations. International Systemic Functional Congress, Kyoto

    Google Scholar 

  • Forey G, Lockwood J (2007) I’d love to put someone in jail for this: An initial investigation of the English needs in the business processing outsourcing (BPO) industry. Engl Specif Purp 26(3):308–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forey G, Lockwood J (Eds) (2010) Globalisation, communication and the workplace. Continuum, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Friginal E (2008) Linguistic variation in the discourse of outsourced call centres. Discourse Stud 10:715–736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller F (1970) Personalised education for teachers: one application of the teacher concerns model. University of Texas, Austin/Houston

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamblin A (1974) Evaluation and control of training. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamp-Lyons L, Hamilton J, Lockwood J, Lumley T (2000) A context-led English language assessment system. (Research Report). Hong Kong Research Council, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamp-Lyons L, Hamilton J, Lockwood J, Lumley T (2001) A new approach to competency based language assessment in professional contexts – Hong Kong Institute of Company Secretaries (Research Report). Hong Kong Research Council, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood S (2010) Interpersonal meaning in call centres

    Google Scholar 

  • Hood S, Forey G (2008) The interpersonal dynamics of call centre interactions: constructing the rise and fall of emotion. Discourse Commun 2:389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson T, Walters A (1987) English for specific purposes: a learning-centred approach. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick D (1994) Evaluating training programs: the four levels. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Knoch U (2014) Using subject specialists to validate an ESP rating scale: the case of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rating scale. Engl Specif Purp 33:77–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood J (2002) Language programme training design and evaluation processes in Hong Kong workplaces. Unpublished PhD dissertation, The University of Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood J (2010) What causes communication breakdown in call centres? The discrepancies in BPO workplace training and academic research. In: Globalization, communication and the workplace, Continuum, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood J (2012) Developing an English for specific purpose curriculum for asian call centres: how theory can inform practice. Engl Specif Pur J 31:14–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood J (2014) Language for Specific Purpose (LSP) performance assessment in Asian call centres: strong and weak definitions. Lang Test Asia 4(9):1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood J, Raquel (forthcoming) Can subject matter experts rate the English language communication skills of customer services representative (CSRs) working in Indian contact centres? Lang Assess Q

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood J, Forey G, Elias N (2009) Call centre measurement processes in non-English speaking contexts. In: Belcher D (ed) English for specific purposes in theory and practice. University of Michigan Press, Michigan, pp 143–165

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch BK (1996) Language program evaluation: theory and practice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Markee N (1997) Managing curriculum innovation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • McNamara T (1997) Interaction in second language performance assessment; whose performance? Appl Linguis 18(4):446–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munby J (1978) Communicative syllabus design. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Nation, P and McCalister (2010) Curriculum Design. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickerson C (2005) English as a lingua franca in international contexts. Engl Specif Purp 24:367–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nunan D (1988) The learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nunan D, Forey G (1996) Communication in the professional workplace: a study of the writing needs of junior accountants in Hong Kong. (Research Report No. E/012/96). Education and Manpower Bureau, Hong Kong. Retrieved 13 June 2006 from http://cdl.emb.hkedcity.net/cd/scolar/html/projects/eng/e01296/report.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Poon W (1992) An analysis of the language needs of accountants and company administrators in Hong Kong (Research Report No. 21). City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Richterich R (1983) Case studies in identifying language needs. Pergamon, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • St. John MJ (1996) Business is booming: Business English in the 1990s. Engl Specif Purp 15(1):3–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swales JM, Rogers PS (1995) Discourse and the projection of corporate culture: the mission statement. Discourse Soc 6(2):223–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins DA (1976) Notional syllabuses. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Willing K (1988) Learning styles in adult migrant education. National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Jane Lockwood

Authors
  1. Jane Lockwood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane Lockwood .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong SAR, Hong Kong

    Xuesong Gao

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Lockwood, J. (2019). An Interdisciplinary and Contextual Approach to Teaching Adults English in the Workplace. In: Gao, X. (eds) Second Handbook of English Language Teaching. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58542-0_20-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58542-0_20-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-58542-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-58542-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation