Business English should help cultural interaction

Business English should help cultural interaction

Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta

Everyday it seems that we are reminded that we live in the age
of globalization and there is undeniably much truth to this. If
the economy of the United States of America so much as sneezes,
economies around the world may well go down with the flu and
weaken. It is, then, in this climate of integration and shrinking
of the world that business must be done and it is generally
accepted that the language of business is English.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that professionals
in Indonesia, out of necessity, must be equipped with the
business tool of the English language in order to survive and
hopefully succeed in the business world of the twenty-first
century. It is clear that businesses generally are investing in
their human resources by incorporating Business English programs
into their training roster. Only the most shortsighted would not
be so engaged and considerate of their staffing needs.

But for Business English programs to be really successful
there ought to be a cultural component within them. There ought
to be the opportunity for learners of Business English to gain
understanding and appreciation of cultural subtleties that will
make their ability to succeed communicatively much greater.

Typically Business English programs examine typical business
scenarios and consider appropriate expressions and vocabulary for
each. Consequently learners will look at the likes of -- formal
meetings, answering telephone calls, taking messages, making
appointments, memos and letters. In addition they may consider
dealing with interviews, informal discussions, social
conversations, and teamwork in problem solving.

In scenarios such as these common phrases and expressions are
presented, practiced and hopefully learnt. But there is always a
danger that learning of this kind lacks vitality, lacks reality
and a natural responsiveness in the act of communication that
leaves the learners unnecessarily thoughtless or even misled.

Business English learners are more mature and sophisticated
and they need to be, and should be, led to be more adept at
handling more challenging concepts in the language.

Indeed, the need to rise to the advanced levels of these
challenges is critical if learners are to be effective
communicators in the business world. One of these challenges is
the appreciation of the idiomatic nature of the language that can
create idiosyncrasies that no depth of grammatical knowledge or
practice of typical expressions within typical business scenarios
will ever account for.

Take this example of a successful Indonesian businessman's
experiences. In his late thirties, this entrepreneur had gained
competence in the language and had attended no less than three
English for Business courses but still admitted to being
mystified having attended a meeting with American counterparts.
He noted that "there were times when I could not really
understand them and their expressions were sometimes funny to
me".

What were these "funny expressions"? Well they seemed to
concern the nose and throat and yet were used in the context of
business prospects. First, he reported -- seemingly enjoying
himself, that the speaker told of clients not being able to "turn
their noses up at these proposals", and went on to claim that
more investment would have to be "coughed up to support the plan"
and concluded that the kinds of profits that could be secured
were "not to be sneezed at by anybody".

The Indonesian businessman that found these expressions funny
could clearly figure out their meaning and it is quite likely
that he himself was just having some fun in looking at these
expressions. But it is a common experience for native speakers to
often use the language in an idiomatic way and appreciation of
this can be very helpful.

Similarly, cultural differences and not being aware of them
can undermine the degree to which successful communication and
interaction takes place. Such considerations are, then, useful in
advancing Business English learners. For example -- one
Indonesian businessman found himself almost overwhelmed by the
manner in which subordinates would consistently challenge,
question and even strongly disagree with their bosses. The
strength of their expressions was not something that he had
learnt or expected. His learning, rightly so, had always
emphasized politeness, so for him to sometimes see quite heated
exchanges was something new and even odd.

Alternatively looking at cultural differences that English
speakers notice of Indonesians can be useful for Business English
learners. For example -- personal space -- English-speaking
businesspeople consistently note that they feel that their
personal space is being impinged upon when they talk with
Indonesian people. This may be a peculiarly "English-speaker"
trait but it is still worthy of note for Indonesian
businesspeople.

Similarly worthy of note is the usefulness of developing
skills in interpreting true meaning -- or the ability to "read
between the lines" to determine true intent. The English essayist
Oliver Goldsmith once noted that "it is usually said by
grammarians, that the use of language is to express our wants and
desires; but men who know the world hold, with some show of
reason, that he who knows best how to keep his necessities
private, is the most likely person to have them redressed; and
that the true use of speech is not so much to express our wants
as to conceal them."

These ideas may be particularly true in the hardnosed trading
of the business world and thus learners of English for business
purposes would benefit from learning about interpretation and
filling in the gaps "between the lines" to elicit true meanings.
In this regard there may be little or no substitute for
experience but often English speakers' deference towards
politeness conceals true meaning or intent and learners can learn
of this and recognize it.

Business English courses in Indonesia should not be allowed to
descend into little more than artificial role-playing or games.
By maintaining realism and sophistication in appreciating the
real use of English now and the cultural contexts that shape
English, learners may gain useful experience and important
insights that will allow them to more quickly develop into
proficient and efficient communicators. In our age of swift
changes and developments, proficiency and efficiency in the
communication and use of information will be ever increasingly
critical to business success.

The writer is Executive Principal of the High/Scope Indonesia
School. The opinions expressed above are personal.