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DELIVERING PRESENTATIONS IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF A BUSINESSPERSON'S ROUTINE, ALONGSIDE ATTENDING MEETINGS, TELEPHONING OR EMAILING. HOWEVER, PUBLIC SPEAKING IS A MAJOR SOURCE OF ANXIETY FOR MANY PEOPLE AND ADDING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE INTO THE MIX WILL CERTAINLY UNNERVE EVEN THE MOST CONFIDENT OF PRESENTERS. THUS, A BUSINESS ENGLISH COURSE WOULD NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT AT LEAST ONE LECTURE DEDICATED TO PRESENTATIONS, USUALLY WITH A DUAL PURPOSE: CONSOLIDATING STUDENTS' GENERAL PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS AND ALSO EMPHASIZING THE SPECIFICITY OF BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. THIS PAPER PROVIDES AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT A FIFTY-MINUTE LECTURE AT UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL WOULD COVER IN TERMS OF GENERAL ASPECTS AND ALSO SPECIFIC POINTS (SUCH AS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, VOCABULARY, LEVEL OF FORMALITY) TO BE CONSIDERED WHEN PREPARING FOR A BUSINESS PRESENTATION. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TEACHING ENGLISH FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES IS AN ADAPTIVE PROCESS, AS IT REQUIRES THE INSTRUCTOR TO ADJUST PERMANENTLY TO THE STUDENTS’ SPECIFIC NEEDS WITH A VIEW TO PREPARING THEM FOR A CAREER IN THEIR CHOSEN FIELD OR HELPING THEM NAVIGATE THEIR WORK TASKS IF THEY ARE ALREADY JOB-EXPERIENCED. WRITING E-MAILS HAS BECOME AN ESSENTIAL LIFE SKILL NOWADAYS, BUT FOR BUSINESS STUDENTS IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO GET IT RIGHT, AS THEIR JOB AND/OR THE FUTURE OF THE COMPANY ARE OFTEN AT STAKE, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT A GLOBAL PANDEMIC HAS FORCED US TO REDUCE DIRECT INTERACTION SIGNIFICANTLY. THIS PAPER STARTS FROM ILLUSTRATING THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING BUSINESS WRITING TO STUDENTS BASED ON AVAILABLE RESEARCH ON BUSINESS ENGLISH TEACHING AND THEN FOCUSES ON PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF HOW TEACHERS CAN IMPROVE BUSINESS STUDENTS’ EMAIL WRITING SKILLS AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL. IT WILL SHOW THAT MASTERING THIS SKILL LIES AT THE BASIS OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS INTERACTION AND COMMUNICATION, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MAIN GOALS OF BUSINESS ENGLISH TEACHING. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the larger context of globalisation and internationalization, navigating business operations in a multicultural environment is no easy task. The Far East has always fascinated the West through the uniqueness of its traditions, while at the same time remaining mysterious and rather difficult to assimilate for those who have not experienced culture shock before. Therefore, this paper strives to emphasise the importance of familiarising business students with the key issues related to cultural awareness and communication, focusing on Asian cultures in contrast to the Western world since, in the light of the latest political and economic developments leading to an ever-increasing Chinese dominance, they will undoubtedly be putting that information to good use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lot of headlines have been made over the last decades on the brain drain in Romania and elsewhere. We have seen a lot of our students leave the country right after graduating from university and many of them do not plan on returning in the near future. From the perspective of the professor teaching English to business undergraduates, this raises a few issues, from managing the students' expectations and learning needs to adapting the course itself to a split reality. This paper discusses the findings of a small study conducted at the beginning of the 2022-2023 academic year among first- and second-year business students at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration in Iași, as it tries to find out what plans they have for studying and/or working abroad in relation to their expectations and learning needs regarding (business) English courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the chain of events brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was the year of online education and in many parts of the world, including Romania, this is still the norm in most higher education institutions. After a full academic year of distance learning, 131 undergraduate business students filled in a questionnaire about how they perceived the entire process and what they thought about their Business English course in particular. Results showed that the teaching, learning and evaluation experience was relatively positive, although direct interaction with teachers and peers have suffered the most in the process. Encouragingly, about 43% would like to continue with a hybrid system in the future, which is no doubt due to the flexibility the online system provides. However, further research is needed in terms of establishing the long-term effects of online education on university (language) courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ASSESSMENT IS A CRUCIAL PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF COURSES RELY ON IT TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. OVER THE 2020/2021 ACADEMIC YEAR, ALL TEACHING, LEARNING AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES AT OUR UNIVERSITY WERE CONDUCTED ONLINE. WHILE THIS HAD ALSO BEEN THE CASE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE SPRING SEMESTER OF THE PREVIOUS YEAR, THE SITUATION WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE TEMPORARY AT THE TIME. THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO IDENTIFY AND PROVIDE PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF BEST PRACTICES WHICH CAN BE EMPLOYED IN THE CLASSROOM IN ORDER TO DEVELOP A STRATEGY FOR ONLINE ASSESSMENT AS WE ENTER AN ERA OF WIDESPREAD DISTANCE LEARNING. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With globalisation also comes Englishization, the tendency to use English as the language of communication almost anytime, anywhere, but especially in the case of multinational corporations (MNCs). They are looking for qualified workforce that is able to perform tasks in a foreign language and their appeal is significant among business students, who understand the importance of improving their skills through (Business) English courses. This paper discusses Englishization in relation with higher education and MNCs, while also presenting the results of a study conducted among undergraduate business students on the appeal of multinationals and the language skills needed in order to access corporate positions. It will show that, although Englishization has become a well-established trend in Romania, which seems to increase the appeal of multinational corporations among highly qualified candidates, it may not be permanent, since many of them are not necessarily looking to work there throughout their career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from Jeremy Harmer's (1994) general list and Evan Frendo's (2012) Business English-focused perspective on teacher roles, this paper aims to discuss in more detail the different dimensions of the teaching process I have identified during my seminars at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and provide practical examples of the teacher's role(s) in the classroom based on the fundamental process of needs analysis. It will show that teaching ESP is indeed more of a collaborative process between the students and the teacher and, consequently, the latter's role must shift according to the former's learning needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign language competence and cultural differences are often seen as the most common barriers to effective business communication and mastering them is understandably a long-term process, involving both targeted study and accumulating relevant practical experience. This paper will start by identifying other obstacles to effective communication that business people might encounter nowadays and then suggest some ways in which students preparing for a career in business would benefit from communication-focused activities in the classroom. It will show that an interdisciplinary approach is especially relevant at the moment, since the traditional channels and perspectives on business communication have been challenged in the context of the current global health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-learning has been around for quite some time, but it has never been as important or as widespread as it is these days. After the initial switch to online education in March 2020, the changes to both teaching and learning are about to become more permanent than expected. This paper aims to discuss the implications for the academic world of the new online reality in light of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, focusing on how it affects communication in general and the teaching of Business English in particular. It is based on my personal experience at the oldest university in Romania and will highlight my thoughts on what the near future might look like in terms of the online education process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both a novelist of manners and of morals, Edith Wharton is known for her depiction of leisure-class New York in novels like The House of Mirth (1905) and The Age of Innocence (1920), which brought her a Pulitzer Prize. This paper aims to bring forth the issue of social conflict in one of her later novels, The Reef (1912), which reveals a twist to the author's usual perspective on this matter. In an attempt to reveal the complexity of Wharton's work to the Romanian audience, my approach moves away from its usual categorisation as a novel of manners and hopes to complete the perspective with a look at the film adaptation inspired by the book. A television movie, Passion's Way (1999), was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and stars Timothy Dalton, Sela Ward and Alicia Witt. Beyond the intricate debate on the issues of adaptation in general and film adaptation in particular, my paper will reveal the nature of social conflicts in Wharton's novel, their development and their resolution, while also analysing their depiction on screen, in order to create a comprehensive picture of the deeper meanings in her work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER AIMS TO DESCRIBE THE SOCIAL AND MORAL BACKGROUND OF LATE XIXth AND EARLY XXth CENTURY AMERICA, A PERIOD IN WHICH EDITH WHARTON PUBLISHED HER NOVELS OF MANNERS. AFTER DEFINING THE CONCEPTS OF SOCIETY, MORALITY, AND CONFLICT, I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DEPICT THE HISTORICAL FACTS WHICH LEAD TO CONFLICT SITUATIONS AT THE TIME. THIS WAS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS OF INFORMATION COMING FROM BOTH FICTIONAL AND NON FICTIONAL SOURCES. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION HAD BROUGHT ABOUT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ON BOTH THE SOCIAL AND MORAL LEVEL. AS A RESULT, THE CLASS DYNAMICS SHIFTED, THE MORAL CODES SUFFERED MUTATIONS AND CONFLICTS ON BOTH LEVELS ARISED. THEY ARE ALL REFLECTED IN THE LITERATURE OF THE TIME, AND EDITH WHARTON'S PERSPECTIVE IS UNIQUE IN THE FACT THAT SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE UPPER CLASS LIVING ABROAD FOR THE MOST PART OF HER LITERARY ACTIVITY. IT CAN BE SAID THAT, ALTHOUGH CHANGE WAS DEFINITELY PRESENT, SOME CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS STILL STRUGGLED WITH THE SOCIAL AND MORAL CUSTOMS OF THE PAST WELL INTO THE XXth CENTURY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]