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The benefits of sharing news in business English class
Nasiba VALIEVA
1
Graduate school of business and entrepreneurship
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received February 2021
Received in revised form
28 February 2022
Accepted 20 March 2022
Available online
15 April 2022
In our contemporary world to live without upgrading ones
’
knowledge seems unacceptable for human society. Business
world use business English as a means of communication. In our
educational institution where Business English is a compulsory
subject there are a lot of adult learners from all regions of the
country, whose English level is poor. Basing on some
peculiarities of adult learning, the author suggests the way of
cultivating a new habit in learners that positively results in
improving learners
’
speaking proficiency. Findings presented in
this paper indicate that a new method of sharing news at the
beginning of the Business English lessons is beneficial for both
the learners and the employers of organizations where our
learners work.
2181-
1415/©
2022 in Science LLC.
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-1415-vol3-iss3/S-pp222-230
This is an open access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru)
Keywords:
adult education,
a new method,
sharing the news,
speaking skills,
business English.
Biznes ingliz tili darsida yangiliklar bilan almashinish
afzalliklari
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit
so‘zlar
:
katta yoshdagilar ta
’
limi,
yangi usul,
yangiliklar bilan
almashinish,
nutq qobiliyati,
biznes ingliz tili.
Bizning zamonamizda
o‘
z bilimini oshirmasdan yashash
jamiyatimiz uchun nomaqbuldir. Biznes olami biznes ingliz
tilidan aloqa vositasi sifatida foydalanadi. Bizning ta
’
lim muas-
sasamizga mamlakatimizning barcha hududlaridan ingliz tilisi
boshlan
g‘
ich darajada b
o‘
lgan k
o‘
plab katta yoshli tinglovchilar
keladi. Biznes ingliz tili esa majburiy fan sifatida
o‘
qitiladi.
Muallif katta yoshdagilar ta
’
limining ayrim
o‘
ziga xos
xususiyatlaridan kelib chiqqan holda,
o‘
quvchilarda nutq
mahoratini oshirishga ijobiy ta
’
sir k
o‘
rsatadigan yangi odatni
rivojlantirish y
o‘
lini taklif qiladi. Ushbu maqolada keltirilgan
xulosalar shuni k
o‘
rsatadiki, biznes ingliz tili darslarning
boshida yangiliklar bilan almashinish bitiruvchilarimiz va ularni
1
senior teacher, Graduate school of business and entrepreneurship, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
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yuborgan tashkilot ish beruvchilari uchun birdek foydalidir.
Преимущества метода обмена новостями в классе
бизнес
-
английского языка
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
обучение взрослых,
новый метод,
обмен новостями,
навыки разговорной речи,
деловой английский.
В нашем современном мире жить, не совершенствуя
свои знания, кажется неприемлемым для человеческого
общества. Деловой мир использует деловой английский
как средство общения. В нашем учебном заведении, где
деловой английский является обязательным предметом,
много взрослых слушателей со всех регионов страны, чей
уровень владения английским языком оставляет желать
лучшего. Основываясь на некоторых особенностях
обучения взрослых, автор предлагает новый метод
формирования
у
слушателей
новой
привычки,
положительно влияющей на улучшение их разговорной
речи. Выводы, представленные в этой статье, показывают,
что новый метод обмена новостями в начале уроков
делового английского полезен как для слушателей, так и
для работодателей организаций, в которых работают наши
выпускники.
INTRODUCTION
Republic of Uzbekistan has rapidly entering the international market. Our
economy sectors require specialists with skills and knowledge of foreign language. In
order to enhance the global cooperation our government have issued a number of state
benefits for those employees who get required knowledge of foreign language.
At our Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship postgraduate program
on Business English is compulsory. In fact, Business English (BE)is interdisciplinary
subject which comprises the study of business terminology and supports in developing 4
language skills. Moreover, this subject helps to improve vital skills for any manager such
as making presentations, having a meeting or negotiations, etc. which are known as soft
skills. To crown it all, BE extends the outlook of the postgraduates who intend to obtain
more knowledge and experience in their specialties by reading news and resources in
foreign language.
The research is focused on adult learners in Business English language classroom.
There are myriads of ways to teach English to adults. This article presents new effective
approach to develop speaking skills to managers of primary, secondary and tertiary
sectors of economy.
As a matter of fact, people in our country after graduating from the Higher
education don’t use English unless the working environment and responsibilities de
mand
them to do so. Hence, most employees in the rural areas almost forget foreign language
or have the passive knowledge of it, and some of them have background knowledge of
German or French languages. In order to create a proper language environment, it is good
to involve them into the friendly atmosphere of talking about current events in English.
Attitude is yet another affective factor in learning a second language.
Attitude is the way
that you think and feel about something. The successful acquisition of a second language
seems to some extent, contingent upon learners’ views of the language learning
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environment, the learning situation, and how they view the target language and its
speakers
[11].
The research done by B. William Dharma Raja and K. Selvi shows that
“…the
students who never read the English newspaper perceived more problems in learning ESL
than those who read occasionally, daily and frequently. Also, the students who read the
newspaper occasionally and daily perceived more problems than the students who read the
English newspaper frequently”
[2]. The habit of reading news and share them with others
intensifies the learning process.
According to Carol Taylor
“Effective communication is one of the most important
skills to learn to become a good manager. This is true in any language. You must learn how
to settle conflicts, how to give encouraging feedback and how to motivate your team while
also being sensitive to their problems. It’s very difficult to achieve all of this in a second
language. You need to have complete command of English so you can be precise in your
communication.
It’s much easier to communicate effectively in English if you invest time in
gaining fluency”
[3]. Adult learners from various manufacturing companies, organizations
and governmental institutions need the second language mainly to communicate with
international partners, so the skills of speaking are very crucial. In fact, at our educational
institution we facilitate companies’ employees, entrepreneurs and busines
smen to
upgrade their knowledge and skills. Learner-centered activities make it efficient for adult
learners enter the new language environment. The solution to the effective developing of
speaking skills to adults is working on news.
In general, the interest of the government in preparing qualified managers with
knowledge of foreign language is pivotal. So, regular activity like
sharing with news
in the
class promotes the acquiring managerial skills.
METHOD.
Teaching language to adults
Continuous adult education is one of the key components of ensuring sustainable
and effective development of human capital and socio-economic development of our
Republic as a whole.
As in the case with any other age group, teaching a foreign language
to adults has its own specificity, with some attributes of older learners being facilitative of
this task and others constituting a source of major difficulties
[10].
Adult learning is known as andragogy was first introduced by American educator
Malcolm Knowles. The resulting principles of a self-directed, experiential, problem-
centered approach to learning have been hugely influential and are still the basis of the
learning practices we use today. Understanding these principles is the cornerstone of
increasing motivation and enabling adult learners to achieve [6].
What are the peculiarities of the adults learning languages?
A number of scholars dedicate their research works on teaching adults, among
them M. Knowles who advocates that adults learn based on their (a) need to know;
(b) self-concept; (c) experiences; (d) readiness to learn; (e) orientation to learning; and
(f) motivation. The differences between children learning and adult learning are
associated with adults having lived and experienced more than children [7].
According to Abela
“adults are also motivated by extrinsic factors such as a job or a
salary”
[1].
According to Shamim Ali
“Adult students are voluntary learners. They have certain
expectations of achievement. The teacher of adults should fulfill their expectations and
utilize their experiences, because adults can respond better if encouraged to draw on their
personal knowledge. Sometimes adult students while learning English as a second language
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have several obstacles to overcome. Not only must they learn to communicate in a new
language, but also they must adapt themselves to new Classroom culture”
[12].
The authors of Current Issues In Adult Learning And Motivation 7th Adult
Education Colloquium advocate
“…when adults enter an institutionalized education
programme, there is a distinct tendency for them to slip into the well-known pupil role
where control and responsibility are left up to the teacher. This is the least demanding role
to adopt, and often the teacher is also inclined to take on, and even insist upon, the
traditional, controlling teacher role. It is only in the very few cases when the participants
are brought to realize that they can take responsibility and use the teacher to support their
own learning that the picture alters”
[5].
Therefore, it is required to focus on those few cases which make it possible for the
learners to take responsibility and let teacher support their learning. Mihaela Cozmaa in
her work states that
“the mature age students have more learning experience behind them,
and this aspect can prove to be both beneficial and problematic. Thus, on the one hand,
adult students have well-developed learning strategies that have served them well in other
settings, and the teacher can help them use these strategies to their advantage in language
learning, too. On the other hand, adults come to the English classroom with certain
expectations about the learning process, and, in case these expectations are not met, the
learners may become critical towards the new context of instruction”
[10].
K
nowles’s andragogical model is grounded in six adult learning principles (which
he, good scientist, called assumptions):
1.
The need to know Adults need to know why they need to learn something.
2.
The learners’ self
-concept Adult learners expect to be responsible for their own
decisions.
3.
The role of the learners’ experiences What adult learners know and have done
already impacts how they learn.
4.
Readiness to learn Adults become ready to learn when they need to know or do
something in their life.
5.
Orientation to learning Adult learners are life-centered (or task- or problem-
centered) rather than subject-centered.
6.
Motivation
Internal motivators are more effective than external ones [4].
In presenting the method of sharing the news I made an attempt to follow the six
adult learning principles. From my experience I can say that when using in class modern
methods of teaching language like communicative or direct, there were learners who
resist to accept new way of working in class. They prefer traditional method
–
reading
the text in class and translating it. Nevertheless, adult learners always wait for something
new from each lesson.
But all of them suffer from procrastination, they don’t fully admit
the responsibility of the personal development, neglecting the fulfilment of their home
task. Hence leaving the main work for self-study and checking the results in class is what
the method of sharing news suppose.
Verbal methods
Teaching methods are ways of joint activity of the teacher and students aimed at
solving learning problems. In modern didactics, there are:
•
verbal methods (the source is the oral or printed word);
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•
visual methods (the source of knowledge is observed objects, phenomena; visual
aids); practical methods (students gain knowledge and develop skills and abilities by
performing practical actions);
•
methods of problem-based learning [14].
For our research we have chosen the verbal method which proves to improve the
level of the learners’ communication skills.
Verbal methods occupy a leading place in the system of teaching methods. Verbal
methods allow you to convey large amounts of information in the shortest possible time,
pose problems for students and indicate ways to solve them. The word activates the
imagination, memory, feelings of students. Verbal methods are divided into the following
types: story, explanation, conversation, discussion, lecture, work with a book. To this list
of the types we recommend to include
sharing current news
.
The task of each teacher is not only to give ready-made tasks, but also to teach
students to get them on their own.
Choosing and applying teaching methods and techniques, the teacher seeks to find
the most effective teaching methods that would provide high quality knowledge,
development of mental and creative abilities, cognitive, and most importantly,
independent activity of students [13].
As N.Y. Shepelyova states
“…graduates of the master’s program ... need a foreign
language, first of all, for a deeper mastery of the specialty and for practical use in
professional activities and everyday business and personal communication.
A small number of classroom hours allocated for the study of a foreign language in a
non-linguistic magistracy increases the importance of independent work in the educational
process...”
[15].
For the learners of our graduate school with poor level of language knowledge
practical classes are very important, so as the classroom hours are small. In order to
make use of the class time, it is necessary to choose the effective method of teaching
language. For this reason, I start the lessons with sharing the current news on different
issues. This method let the teacher get involved most learners into the learning process
and gives opportunity to speak ones’ own thoughts on a certain event.
Moreover, learners
are able to activate their passive vocabulary and improve language skills.
How to use a new method?
Communication starts with exchanging information on
the latest news. Having read the news in social media each student was to share it with
groupmates. The Socratic method of questioning was explained to them and was made a
center of attention while preparing the news. Hence who, what, where, why, when are
the questions to which the students should have the answers in the information they
bring in class. Also each presenter should express his/her own opinion on the delivered
information and invite others to contribute in the learning process by expressing their
own ideas.
The method of sharing news takes not much time (about 20-25min in the class a
teacher can allot 2-3 minutes for each presenter), but in the process of developing the
habit of preparing a couple of news, one local and one international news, students have
to spend time on the self-study. And this is the key of the method. They have to present
the news which answers to 5wh questions-who, what, where, when and why. When
teacher gives assignment to bring news for the next lesson and checks them, students get
used to be ready for each lesson.
Positive sides
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While exercising this method a student has great opportunity to practice
4 language skills: search for some news (Reading), translate words and sentences,
comprehend the information translated (Writing), present the news to groupmates
(Speaking) and when listening to other news try to understand and give comments
(Listening).
Shepelyova N.Y. in her work states that
“Translation is regarded by many
authorities as an important and necessary form of study. It is the basis of a consciously
comparative approach to teaching foreign vocabulary and grammar and justifies the dosed
use of the native language
when learning a foreign language”
[15].
While translating the material students encounter new words and expressions, so
they naturally extend the vocabulary. And when presenting the news, they practice and
memorize them better.
Teacher is always ready to
correct student’s speech.
Thus the students can rely on
the support of the teacher and the groupmates. Little by little they accustomed to speak
without shy and fear to make mistakes. By presenting the news to the audience the
speaker learns how to deal with audience, correct the voice, intonation and stress, make
use of posture and gestures.
When presenting interesting information to the audience and seeing that listeners are
eager to absorb the news, the speaker develops the feeling of being important. This is a great
thing when one raises personal self-esteem, feels as a necessary member of society.
As our learners are the specialists and work in the middle management they
require to be good communicators not only in Language 1, but also in Language 2. So,
being able to talk in English on different topics besides professional ones makes credit to
him/her. Any manager stands from other employees with the following features like:
–
be aware of current events;
–
focus the attention on the important issues at work;
–
communicate with employees or colleagues in a friendly way;
–
have the feeling of time;
–
be a model for a subordinates
–
get the target
These features are exercised during the active involvement in the sharing with the
news learning process.
RESULTS
I’ve achieved the positive results in teaching BE to adults with elementary level
and let them improve their knowledge. Below I brought the findings that I got while
having my investigation on introducing the method of sharing with the news.
Learners regularly brought in class a couple of news (local and world news). This
way they improved their vocabulary and grammar knowledge, and practice their
speaking skills. So, by the end of the term my learners had become more assured in
themselves and willingly presented new information to the rest of the class. They also
developed the habit of giving complete information by using 5wh questions, which does
not leave a room for further questions.
The survey on the effectiveness of this method was held at the end of the semester
in the focus group of 10 learners. It showed that all learners liked the idea to share the
news with groupmates every lesson. The learners admit that their vocabulary had
enriched greatly. Starting with sharing news is a good motivation for them as they wrote.
Personally, I could state that they learned how to start conversation on the current
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events, at the beginning of each lesson willingly presented the most interesting and
mutually beneficial news, and express own point of view.
This method proved to be the most effective in the elementary class for some
reasons, the learners while using this method:
1.
developed self-responsibility;
2.
practiced language skills;
3.
expanded vocabulary;
4.
improved grammar and pronunciation;
5.
overcome the fear of making mistakes;
6.
developed skills of speaking to the audience;
7.
obtained feeling of importance in the society;
8.
expanded personal knowledge, so as to become a good communicator;
9.
improved managerial skills
DISCUSSION
Electronic resources have enough works on using newspaper in class, but all of
them describe the methods of teaching reading skills. For example, Lindsay Clandfield
and Duncan Foord state th
at “There is also a lot of information in newspapers which
make them an excellent springboard for lessons. So what do teachers do with
newspapers? One of the problems with newspapers is that they are often used as an up-
to-date coursebook activity. The teacher applies the same pedagogical principles and
exercises that are in the coursebook. Two major problems tend to emerge from this
approach:
It can be extremely time-consuming for teachers
It is not necessarily interesting for learners” [8]
The approach that I suggest, on the contrary, takes no time for a teacher to
prepare. The focus is on the learner-
centered activity, which intends to improve learner’s
self-education habits and practicing in class. Learners search for interesting news, read
them at home and prepare for telling them minding 5wh questions. The method sharing
the news turned to be very effective in developing speaking skills. Learners on their own
prepare news that they consider interesting for the rest of the class and self-educate
themselves. These days we cannot do without social media, it means that all information
we get from Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and other channels that provide latest news.
Accepting information in the native language is natural, but to read it or retell it to
someone in English is problematic for those whose language level is poor. Using these
social media as a source the learners can achieve fantastic results in improving their
knowledge of foreign language.
To control the fulfillment of the given assignments (in our case preparing some
news) is critical for keeping the order in the classroom. Most adults procrastinate doing
tasks in time, that is why a teacher should demand them to complete the assignment. By
doing this the learners cultivate a habit of responsibility for their study and personal
development.
Working with the adults requires more careful approach, each learner has high
position at his company, so the teacher-learner relationship is important.
Our learners’
age ranges from 28-47, and the most are shy or afraid of making mistakes. It is
recommended to work in the atmosphere of trust and support from each participant.
Each learner should feel his importance in class. Encouragement is non-the-less
significant in teaching adults. Motivating them to learn, extend their horizons and
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become highly qualified specialists in the nearest future is the main task of a teacher. By
stressing on achievements in better pronunciation, making a sentence with new words,
making a 1-minute speech when presenting a news creates good spirit within the class.
When a person feels support any fear to make mistake or procrastinating the fulfillment
of tasks will fade away.
CONCLUSION
The Government’s position on adult training in foreign language shows the
importance of language skills. Teachers always tend to find and implement the most
effective teaching methods and contribute to the development of the educational system.
The habit of reading news and share them with others intensifies the learning process.
Findings presented in this paper indicate that the new method of sharing news at the
beginning of the Business English lessons is beneficial for both the learners and the
employers of organizations where our learners work. Regular preparation for delivering
news develops in the adults a habit of searching for some new information and
responsibility. Furthermore, being always aware of current events is crucial for
governmental officials, managers, businessmen and entrepreneurs. Sharing the news will
also make them a good companion and interesting leader.
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