Date:　　June 29^th,  2013 (Sat)　15:00 ～17:00  15:00~16:00 Presentation, Q&A

                                                                                    16:10~17:00 Business Meeting

Venue: Tokai University, Takanawa Campus 東海大学高輪キャンパス  Room 4304

東京メトロ南北線・都営地下鉄三田線「白金高輪駅Shiroganetakanawa」下車Exit１から左に進み徒歩約８min

都営地下鉄浅草線「泉岳寺駅(sengakuji)」下車、Exit A２より徒歩約10min　

JR・京浜急行「品川駅(shinagwa)」下車、高輪口より徒歩約18min

Maps:

in Japanese    http://www.u-tokai.ac.jp/info/traffic_map/index.html

in English    http://www.u-tokai.ac.jp/international/campus/takanawa.html

Joint Presentation by:

JACET-EBP Survey and Research Committee,

with IIBC (Institute for International Business Communication)

Business demands on English in today’s Japan:

Investigating difficulties encountered at business meetings

Abstract:

With the rapid expansion of the global economy, many corporate HR managers in Japanese companies are pressed to develop globally competitive human resources. According to a survey conducted by IIBC in January 2013 of Japanese publicly-listed companies, 75% of respondents said that their companies use English in business, and some of them use English as an official language. In fact, English is used in various business situations, and attending business meetings held in English is one of the challenges for many Japanese business people. Research has shown that a number of Japanese businesspersons feel that they are not good at refuting or persuading others at English business meetings and express the desire to gain the confidence to participate in flexible decision making. In this two-part presentation sessions, firstly, current business demands on English in Japan will be  illustrated. Then, in the second half of the session, we will describe the results of a questionnaire given to  businesspersons working for large public companies in Japan. The participants are asked about English business meetings to elicit difficult situations and problems caused by inadequate English skills. The survey items included English proficiency levels required for meetings based on the CEFR (The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) scale, meeting frequency, the number of and language background of attendees, meeting style (face-to-face or using e-communication), and difficulties that attendees encountered in meetings. The following aspects of English business meetings were examined: 1) meeting purpose (forward-, backward- or present-oriented); 2) the attendees of a meeting (inter- or intra-organizational); 3) the business cycle of a meeting (planning, task-oriented, reporting, problem-solving, and others); 4) English proficiency (speaking, listening, vocabulary, comprehension, and others); 5) other factors including mental and psychological factors, and emotional intelligence. This presentation will describe the purpose and background of the questionnaire including Japan’s educational and business demands on English. The questionnaire design and results will be discussed.

<JACET-EBP Survey and Research Committee Members>

Dr. Hajime Terauchi: Professor of English Language in the Department of Commerce, Faculty of Commerce, Takachiho University, Tokyo. He has a BA in Civil Law (Keio University, Japan), MA in English Language Teaching (University of Warwick, UK) and PhD in English Language Teaching (University of Warwick, UK).

Tamao Araki: Assistant Professor at Miyazaki Prefectural Nursing University. He earned his M.A. in Linguistics before beginning to teach English at university level and currently focuses his research on second language learning processes in the context of his own teaching practices. Additional interests include Network-Based Language Learning/Teaching, Complexity Theory, and English for Specific Purposes.

Hisashi Naito: Professor of English in the Faculty of Business Administration, Hokkai-Gakuen University. He is the president of the ESP Hokkaido chapter. His research interests include business communication, genre analysis and computer-assisted language learning. He has publications in the area of ESP and EMP.

Masako Terui: Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Kinki University. She is the president of the ESP Kansai chapter. Her research interests include English for engineers/engineering students, genre-based approach to research paper articles and computer-assisted language learning.

Reiko Fujita: Associate Professor in the Foreign Language Center at Tokai University. Her research interest is in the field of ESP, particularly English for tourism. She is an English Program coordinator for the Faculty of Tourism. She served as the chair of the ESP Kanto chapter during the years 2010-12.

Masuyo Ando: General Manager, IP (Institutional Program) Division, the Institute for International Business Communication, joined the organization in 2010. She started her career in finance and marketing, and she has 17 years’ experience in consulting for Japanese educational institutions in the field of international education and school management.  Currently she is in charge of the sales and marketing of TOEIC programs for corporations, universities and individuals in Japan.

Kosuke Miki: Corporate Market Team, R&D Team, IP Planning & Operation Unit, IP Division, The Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC).

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