1. An analysis of English in the workplace: The communication needs of textile and clothing merchandisers Instructor: Dr. Pi-Ying Hsu Presenter: Wei – Ting Chien Date: November19, 2009 1
2. Citation So-mui, F. L., & Mead, K. (2000). An analysis of English in the workplace: the communication needs of textile and clothing merchandisers. English for specific purpose, 19, 351-368. 2
3. Contents I. Introduction II. Literature Review III. Methodology IV. Results & Conclusion V. Reflection 3
4. Background Textile and clothing industry is a major contributor to the Hong Kong economy and the largest employers within the manufacturing sector. (So-mui & Mead, 2000) 4
5. Background There is a highly demand for employers to hire employees who are good at language performance and usage in business context. (So-mui & Mead, 2000) 5
6. Purposes of the study to investigate the workplace English needs of textile and clothing merchandiser to analyze the English usage of communication of textile and clothing merchandiser 6
7. Literature Review There is a lack of sufficient training for majority of ESP teachers. (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) 7
8. Literature Review Guidance and practice in the use of English communication in the context of business tend to be very limited. (Louhiala-Salminen, 1996) 8
13. 12 questions1. Extent of English usage 2. Countries with which business is conducted 3. Common channels of communication 4. Preferred channels of communication 5. Purpose of writing communication 6. Use of abbreviations in written messages 11
33. Conclusion Extensive use of English Extensive use of tax Specific purposes for communicating Use of authentic materials 28
34. Reflection Some of literature are out-dated. No question samples provided . No interview protocol provided. No interviews with Poly U graduates. The findings would be valuable to ESP course designers. Merchandises of other industries would have similar needs. 29
