ENGLISH IN THE

WORKPLACE
Brasileno, Berna Marie
Blanco, Jennifer
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Learning Objectives

01 Understand how ESP is

00 02 Understand how ESP is
used in different
used in different working
contexts. working contexts.

03 Write a workplace
conversation and
explain its context.

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 Introduction
Understanding the role and practice of English in the
workplace is a key concern in English for special purposes
(ESP). An increasingly globalized workforce and the
overwhelming use of English as a de facto working
language have created significant demand for work
place-specific courses. If we consider ESP to be the
conduit between academic research and practical
applications (Basturkman 2006; Dudley-Evans and St John
1998), then this growing body of sociolinguistic work
offers an exciting and productive pool of source material.

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 01

Workplace Discourse Research

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Work-place discourse research is interested in identifying how language is
used to achieve both task and people-oriented goals. The discourse-based
research which sits under the workplace banner has grown exponentially in
the past twenty years, contributing to and benefitting from the wider “turn to
discourse “ in the social sciences.

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Workplace discourse researchers typically collect and analyze naturally
occurring talk to gain a greater understanding of the ways in which language
in used on an everyday basis in the workplace context (e.g. Clyne 1994;
Holmes and Stubbed 2003a; Koester 2006).

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A particularly influential step toward this methodology was offered by
Michael Clyne and his colleagues in their research on multicultural factories
in Australia. This researchers aimed to provide date on workplace
communication in English between immigrants to Australia from different
non- English speaking language and cultural backgrounds.

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A principal focus in the analysis was intercultural
communication breakdown, and the researchers
used triangulation in the form of participant
interviews to support their understandings.

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 Building on the research design, the research team directed
by Janet Homes) developed a flexible methodology for working
in white collar workplaces, this time involving New Zealand
English speakers. The goals was a database of high quality,
naturalistic interactional data recorded in every day workplace
contexts obtained using unobtrusive data collection processes.

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 A particularly important art of this philosophy is the
role of the participants in the research. The ethics of
recording in the workplace have always been a key
consideration within the field, recognizing that the
workplace is a high stakes environment with tangible
consequences for the participants.

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 As argued by Cameron (1985) it is important to “break
down the division between the researcher and the
community,” to avoid “researching on” and instead to
“research with” the participants. As a workplace discourse
researches, our responsibility is to those we are working
with, and mutually negotiated goals and benefits have been
central to agreed practice.

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 Despite this rather haphazard development, the
resulting range of published research has much to offer
those interested in accessing authentic language use at
work, providing examples and analysis which can support
both curriculum design and teaching materials.

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 02

Teaching Discourse Analysis: The

Importance of Context

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 Byram (1997) notes that interactions involving learners will not be
the same as native speaker interactions, and we must therefore be
cautious of aiming for an unrealistic goal. A reflexive framework that
draws on discourse analytic techniques facilitates opportunities for
learners to “reflect on their own language experiences and practices and
on the language practices of others in the institutions of which they are
a part and in the wider society in which they live” (Clark and
Ivanic1997 : 217; see also Pennycook 2001).

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 03

An Interdisciplinary Project:
Workplace Communication for
Skilled Migrants

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 By way of a study to illustrate a combined ESP – workplace
discourse approach, it is briefly described an interdisciplinary project
currently underway at Victoria University of Wellington in New
Zealand. With the goal of facilitating the development of
socio-pragmatic competence, researchers from the Language in the
Workplace project have joined with colleagues specializing in English
language teaching to devise a course aimed at empowering skilled
migrants who wish to enter New Zealand workplaces.

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 Employment issues for migrants constitute an important topic for
ESP and workplace researchers alike. As noted by Campbell and
Roberts (2007) in their investigations of migrants engaging in job
interviews in the United Kingdom, a particular issue is the importance
of attending to both task and relational functions, and the challenge of
marrying personal and professional discourse in culturally appropriate
ways in job interviews.

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 To demonstrate the analytic perspective, here are two brief extracts
which indicate the potential for insights offered by the approach.

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 In example 1, Andrei, a workplace intern from Russia, is
talking about his past work history with New Zealand
colleague, Camille. Establishing his credentials as an
experienced and competent professional seems like an obvious
and acceptable topic of conversation. As the extract indicates,
however, the method that Andrei uses does not have the
consequences he necessarily expects.

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Example 1

1. Andrei: yes I er [clears throat] I was involved in

the same
2. similar to the similar work back in Europe
3. Camille: oh right
4. Andrei: er but for international er financial er
institutions like
5. international monetary fund //and the world\
6. Camille: /oh ↑ wow\\
7. Andrei: bank and the European bank for
construction and development
8. Camille: oh ↓
9. Andrei: and for our ( ) of ch-chairman and deputy
chairman
10. Camille: oh wow

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 In a second example, Henry, a Chinese workplace intern,
receives directions from his New Zealand colleague,
Simon. Simon, Henry’s workplace mentor, is describing
the process for setting up new fi les in the company
computer system.

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 1. Simon: set up a new folder and go add new
folder
2. Henry: mm
3. Simon: because that automatically defaults to
what
4. the parent the parent folder
5. under here is the network folder ...
6. Justine: mm
7. Simon: so if I went
8. and go you know file new folder
9. Henry: folder
10. Simon: and I’ve got to you know [types] put it
in ...
11. Justine: that’s right yeah
12. Henry: mm mm mm
Next

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 In each case the interns did not have significant issues
with their English language ability, despite the ongoing
concerns publically expressed by potential employers of
skilled migrants. Instead of focussing on linguistic
proficiency, the course encouraged them to develop
discourse analytic skills to observe the behavior of those
around them.

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 There are obvious benefits to be
found by drawing on the skills or
individuals from different disciplines,
whether sociolinguists and applied
Conclusion linguists as described here, language
specialist and academics from strategies
management (e.g. Jackson et.al. 2006) or
collaborations between researchers and
workplace professionals (as endorsed in
the work of Sarangi 2005, 2007; and
Candlin 2006).

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 A second area in which are likely to see new
developments in the growing attention given to multimodal
features of workplace interaction. Advancement in
technology have allowed us to capture gesture, body
movement, and gaze in interaction. The dynamic lifecycle
of research means that in addressing research questions we
discover as many additional questions as we do answer.

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 Reference:

Paltridge, B and Starfield, S. (Eds.) The Handbook of

English for Specific Purposes. Wiley-Blackwell. 2013.
Researchgate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235736666_Han
dbook_of_English_for_Specific_Purposes

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