Business English proficiency and its related strategies, in the Quebec context.

摘要

This study investigated the use of English in Quebec offices; it further examined the knowledge and strategies used by francophones as they perform various business-related tasks in English. A sample of 26 offices located in a primarily francophone community were surveyed regarding what tasks employees were required to perform in English. Results showed that all but one required some level of English proficiency. It is to be noted that 46% of the offices surveyed conducted all of their business within Quebec's borders. These findings led to the conclusion that English is a requirement in the majority of offices and therefore should be taught in Quebec's secretarial and accounting programmes.; In the second phase of this research, concurrent and retrospective verbal reports were used to examine two of the tasks frequently reported as being performed in English in the offices surveyed. Six volunteers (3 experienced and 3 inexperienced) performed role plays of each task and the strategies they used in the preparation and execution of the role plays were coded into previously determined categories which were based on the work of Bachman and Palmer (1996) as well as that of Tarone (1980). All participants showed evidence of having used Bachman and Palmer's goal setting, assessment and planning strategies in preparation of their role play performances, and they all used at least some of Tarone's compensatory strategies in the actual execution of the role plays.; Further research is suggested in the area of strategy-based English second language instruction within the business programmes offered by the Quebec Ministry of Education.