Impact of BELF teaching on universities that provide international

business in Chile, China and Indonesia

Sofía Gómez T.
Amaia Montenegro M.
Víctor Silva F.

Abstract

Globalization has led to the need for a common language to improve verbal communication
between countries and people. The second world war had great repercussions, one of them
was the lack of supply in Europe, where American companies expanded throughout the
world, providing that international companies adopt English to generate profitable and
lasting business opportunities. In this way, it is essential that the areas of higher education
related to administration, business and international trade have an important base of the
English language and thus improve international relations.

Key words: BELF, English as Business Lingua Franca, teaching, business schools,
NNEST

Methodology

The methodology used for this research is qualitative and quantitative, making a literature
review of papers that address content related to "English language in business schools".
The purpose of this research is to qualitatively compare three cases of countries, whose
lingua franca is not of English origin. Within the cases to be studied in the research, there
are plans and programs designed and implemented in countries such as China, Chile and
Indonesia.

The data collection method is based on researching key concepts related to "English
language in business schools" and how cultural factors affect learning and the
implementation of a common language in business schools internationally. It is very
important to recognize concepts such as BELF (Business English as a Lingua Franca) and
NNEST (Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers) as they will be mentioned throughout the
study.
The referential theoretical framework, is within the globalization and aims specifically at
international business adopting English as a common language and as a required
competence for professionals from different areas, including those related to international
business. The implications of language, and geographic / cultural distance / closeness, are
critical when teaching English as a universal language.

There are still countries that have deficits in some areas such as teaching English or have
made significant progress in this area. It is expected to verify this statement through the
research to be carried out, from the countries mentioned above. We have chosen to be part
of the literature review, three countries whose geographical location is far. As a similarity, it
is mentioned that none of the countries is native English speaking. It is for this reason that
they have been selected, with the aim of demonstrating the effort made by the countries to
maintain constant competitive conditions in the international market. These countries were
selected because they all have a different native language, they teach international business
in universities, they have had a sustained growth of their economy in the last 15 years and
have increased the number of international transactions (The World Bank, 2018).

Literature Review

For centuries, the language and culture have merged, generating in the population
distinctive features of each place where they live, for example, in Latin America there is a
variety of languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, as well as a language fusion
derived from indigenous peoples that have enriched the area culturally and historically.
However, today, thanks to globalization, the need to maintain a common language has
arisen, with the aim of improving verbal communication between countries and people. The
language we refer to is English (Statista, 2018). This is because there is a high percentage
of the world population that speaks this language, either because it is their lingua franca, or
because they specialized in it, as shown in the following graph:
 Graph 1: The most spoken languages in the world

Source: (Statista, 2018).

As can be seen in the graph, the first language that covers the largest amount of the
population is the English language with a total of 1,500 million people, where 375 million of
the total are native speakers of the English language. Secondly, there is the Chinese
language, which, although it is spoken by 1,100 million people, 982 of these are native
speakers of the language. It is at this point, the main difference: the population that speaks
the Chinese language versus the population that acquires this language natively, is very low
compared to the population that speaks and / or is a native speaker of English, as many
people have This language is included as a second language.
There are precedents, related to the above, derived from the Second World War, which
indicate that, when the United States of America became a benchmark -after the war-
several factors have repercussions in commercial expansions by the power in the field of
business, in order to supply the world, since Europe could not do so because of the almost
total devastation of the territory. Thus, American businesses expanded to different parts of
the world, forcing international companies to learn the English language, to generate
business opportunities, in a market that promised growth. Together with this historical
phenomenon, new initiatives are born to standardize the language. For example, according
to the Vienna Convention, all sales contracts must be in English, with the possibility of
attaching a copy in another language (OEA, 1969).

As mentioned above, globalization has become one of the most important movements in
international business, for that reason business education aims for business schools
worldwide to adequately prepare their graduates to face the business environment with the
best tools in relation to English speaking. This is how a new concept "Englishnization",
originated in Japan, is adapted so that companies from countries that do not speak English
as a native language, adopt the language in workplaces (Cavaliere, Glasscock, & Sen,
2014).

All the above is directly related to the new concepts when referring to the language in the
countries, with an orientation directed towards international business. An important
conception to deal with is BELF Business English is a Lingua Franca, which concisely points
to the teaching of English, using business contexts and specific terminology, in the areas of
economics, international law, bonds, among others.

This concept is subdivided in turn into ELFGBP (English Lingua Franca for General
Business Purposes), which is defined as the general terminology used in the business world,
and ELFSBP (English Lingua Franca for Specific Business Purposes) that, unlike of the
previous one its purpose is to classify the concepts related to the specific vocabulary of each
branch of commerce. The most relevant aspect of BELF is that its purpose is aimed at both
the teaching of English and the use of it when generating research aimed at business. In
contrast to the previous definition is the term BE (Business English), which refers to the
teaching of English applied to business, but not to its use in research, this being its main
difference with BELF (Wu, 2013).
The conception of BELF and its main uses has been previously determined. Undoubtedly,
the implications of learning another language are diverse, especially when countries are not
native English speakers, how will they teach the English language? For this, several studies
have been developed, which are based on NNEST Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers
declaring the main problems or impediments at the time of language teaching, by a person
whose lingua franca is not English. The term NNEST includes people who were born in a
country that doesn´t have English as their native language, who have completed their
primary, secondary and university education in their country of origin (Abayadeera, Getie
Mihret , & Hewa Dulige, 2018).

To demonstrate in practice how English and its influence is deployed all over the world,
cases from three countries where some measures have been implemented will be
announced in business schools so that the specific language used is common and universal.

The first case reviewed is China. It is interesting to know the Asian giant's perspective on
the implementation of English in international business schools, this is much more relevant
from the premise that it is a country with a large number of inhabitants. The story begins
around the 1950s, when for the first time in schools English was implemented with the sole
purpose of training translators, however, in schools the English language adhered to
curricular plans as a subject to be deepened as the administration or mathematics. One of
the most important milestones of this new perspective was in the 1980s, when a new form
of implementation was decided, capable of merging the English language with other
educational subjects. For example, it has been decided to teach Marketing, Management
and International Cooperation classes in English. The purpose of this new application was
to think that the English language could be taught in a natural way and to instruct students
in different fields, which will later be related to the language of business (Wu, 2013).

In the decade of the '90s, there is a new revolution in terms of the English language, since
now not only seeks to teach English in business schools and other areas that are useful and
integrative, but now, what is It realizes is to generate material in the English language,
therefore, information is collected and the Chinese make articles and publications in the
language. This was because students and teachers were already familiar with English, and
therefore this new milestone was made easier thanks to the implementations of previous
years. The articles produced by China, in the matter of International Business reached a
total of 623 publications (Wu, Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF), 2013). From the
beginning of the 21st century - specifically in the years 2000 to 20012 - there was an
increase of almost 13 times more in the development of publications made in English in the
Asian country, reaching a total of 8,013 publications during this period (Wu, 2013).

The BELF concept is directly related to this first case, since the practical interpretation of
this, allowed that all the publications, added to the proliferation of the English language in
the population and in the business schools, reflected as a result an increase in the domestic
economy country, and a facilitation in the process of globalization. In other words, the
perceived impact was positive in the development of the economy since it is reflected in a
turn of the Chinese economy, currently based on international relations of exchange, and
global communication, allowing the application of the English language as the main source
of link with the rest of the world.

Close to Asia, covering mostly the Oceanic continent, is the Republic of Indonesia. A country
where the predominant religion is Muslim and where languages are diverse, being the official
language "Bahasa Indonesia" which is the most spoken by the population, followed by
Javanese, Balinese, and other regional languages ( Oficina de Información Diplomática de
Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, 2018).

Unlike most of the world, Indonesia attributes the language of International Businesses in
English to British and not to the United States. The fundamental reason for this thinking is
that due to colonization - recalling in the particular case of the United States, where a large
part of this territory was colonized - and the great participation they had in the world wars,
the English gain this recognition. Although Indonesia was never colonized by them, they
decided that it was necessary to adapt to the new context that the British had created
(Syamsinar Mappiasse & Bin Sihes, 2014).

The approaches with the English language in the Asia-Oceania region, are strong and
grounded. The implementation of the English language is part of the tuition of the inhabitants
of the country, government laws have begun the English language implementation in
schools from an early age, therefore, a significant part of the population has language
approaches. The results of this type of implementation of the English language are relevant,
since the Indonesian population has no problems in understanding, reading and writing
without great difficulties. However, they have shown that their oral capacity in the English
language is not enough, since the population has shown difficulties in holding conversations
in English. (Syamsinar Mappiasse & Bin Sihes, 2014).
There has been an approach to English with schooling. Thus, in parallel there is work in the
university population and in business schools. There is a prestigious academy that leads the
ranking of universities with respect to Business and Economics. This is the University of
Indonesia, characterized by its educational program since it has varied specializations such
as: a basic course in economics and business, an extensive and complete course in
economics and business, and finally the course in economics and international business. Of
these, specifically the one of economy and international business, it is divided in two stages,
the first stage in Bahasa Indonesia language and the second stage comprised in the last
two years, the courses must necessarily be in another country, in this case in The University
of Queensland, Australia. The offered courses are in English language and the subjects that
the program offers to be studied are behavior of the commerce, behavior of the businesses
and the behavior of the economy (Indonesia Universitas, 2015).

The final approach of the University of Indonesia was to teach English in a natural way,
forcing its students to obtain an educational experience in a country whose lingua franca is
English (Indonesia Universitas, 2015).

So far, countries belonging to Asia and Oceania have been analyzed, but what about Latin
America? Well the following case points to the teaching of English in business schools.
Chile, considered a tri-continental country, from north to south its population speaks the
Spanish language as a lingua franca (Oficina de Información Diplomática del Ministerio de
Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, 2018).

According to the laws established by the National Congress of Chile, supported by decree
81, established on June 14, 2004, the program for strengthening English learning in primary
and secondary education is regulated in educational establishments regulated by the
Ministry of Education (Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, 2004).

The purpose of this decree is to promote the English language compulsorily for all students
in the country. However, this is not enough since within the parameters that are visible
according to the level of English speaking in a study called "The great 'examination' of
English to companies and workers from around the world" where they declare Chile as a
Latin American country that has less knowledge of English placing it in a "low" position,
accompanied by Peru and Brazil, show that efforts are not enough (Burman & Tran, 2016).
Regarding international business schools, some universities have specializations in this
field, for this occasion the University of Valparaiso will be considered in which international
business classes are taught where students have English classes oriented to international
business, such as example international administration and English foreign trade. In
addition, each year of study, incorporates two levels of English progressive except the first
year, where the first semester is emphasized in the native language as a base and then the
second semester, you start with the level 'more basic' and so on reaching a total of five
levels of English, plus two levels of English applied to specific areas. It is important to
emphasize that each of the levels of English is dedicated to strengthening various skills,
such as listening, speaking, analyzing, understanding, researching and creating material in
the English language (Universidad de Valparaíso, 2018).

Conclusion

This research allowed a comparative approach between three countries located in different
continents whose native language is not English. "Table 2" shows some fundamental
comparison parameters for the process of learning English in universities and educational
establishments in these countries.

Table 2: Aspects that influence the learning of English in countries whose native language
is not English

Universities
English teaching in schools English teaching as a subject Subject taught in English International experience
Chile Since first grade ✅ ✅ ✅
China Since third grade ✅ ✅✅
Indonesia In high school ✅ ✅✅✅

✅ Completed

✅✅ Satisfactorily fulfilled

✅✅✅ Mandatory

Source: Own elaboration, based on information gathered from the research.

Table 2 on aspects that influence the learning of English is based on the research of three
countries whose native language is not English. As can be seen in the first column, all the
students from the countries under investigation have had close contact with English before
having started their studies in international business. In the following columns, the three
main forms of teaching English are highlighted: English teaching as a subject, subject taught
in English and international experience by universities from the countries under study. For
clarity, below, each item will be explained. In the first place, the teaching of English is
specified as a general subject, focusing on a theoretical perspective. Secondly, there is the
teaching of specific subjects in English, with the aim of teaching this language in a more
natural way and closer to the technicality of language in international business. Finally, there
is the international experience, whose purpose is to offer the student a closeness to the
language in a country whose native language is English.

As a result of all the above, it can be concluded that English is the most important language
in the context of foreign trade and international transactions. This is why, in countries where
this language is not spoken in a native way, it has become paramount when teaching
international business, the implementation of English thus obtaining a common language
that allows communication between all the countries of the world.

As studied, the countries have different levels of English acquired, and also different
teaching methods for this language, allowing the differentiation between them. First, China
stands out among these three countries. The main difference is that, in a limited period of
time, it has achieved an incredible performance, not only in the teaching of the language,
but also in the publication of writings related to international business. China thus
demonstrates a command of the language superior to the other countries investigated.
Then, there is Indonesia. This country, chose to address this issue in a more 'aggressive',
forcing its students to pursue for two consecutive years, studies at a university located in a
country with English native language. Finally, this Chile that, although it has supported the
teaching of English through public policies, the efforts are still insufficient. Even so, the great
advances achieved in a short time by the universities that teach the specific undergraduate
in international business are highlighted, opting for a mixed form of teaching that includes
specific subjects taught in English, together with the possibility of studying an academic
period in some university that educates its students in subjects taught in the English
language.
The international commercial context, every day is influencing more in the Chilean economy,
so that Chile should be constantly improving the way it adapts to this reality. The state has
already made great efforts, such as reducing international barriers through trade
agreements with other nations, or joining international organizations focused on promoting
trade between countries. Also, some years ago in the universities of this country the
international business career was formalized, with the aim of creating professionals
specialized in international trade, who achieve a high level of English to be able to diversify
the way in which Chile is related to the world through different forms of integration.

Bibliography
Oficina de Información Diplomática de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación. (February, 2018).
exteriores.gob.es. Obtained of
http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Documents/FichasPais/INDONESIA_FICHA%20PAIS.pdf

Abayadeera, N., Getie Mihret , D., & Hewa Dulige, J. (2018). Teaching effectiveness of non-native
English-speaking teachers in business disciplines: intercultural communication
apprehension and ethnocentrism. Accounting Education, 183-184.

Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional. (14th de June, 2004). leychile. Obtained of leychile.cl:
https://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=226283&idParte=0

Burman, P., & Tran, M. (2016). El gran 'examen' de inglés a empresas y trabajadores de todo el
mundo . Harvard Business Review .

Cavaliere, F., Glasscock, K., & Sen, K. (2014). The enghlishnization of business: does this help or
hinder teaching global business? Project Innovation, 161-168.

Indonesia Universitas. (July de 2015). Fakultas Ekonomi Dan Bisnis. Obtained of feb.ui.ac.id:
international.ui.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Faculty-of-Economics.pdf

OEA. (1969). Convención de Viena sobre el Derecho de los Tratados . Viena: 1980.

Oficina de Información Diplomática del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación.

(March, 2018). exteriores.gob.es. Obtained of
http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Documents/FichasPais/CHILE_FICHA%20PAIS.pdf

Statista. (2018). Obtained of https://es.statista.com/estadisticas/635631/los-idiomas-mas-

hablados-en-el-mundo

Syamsinar Mappiasse, S., & Bin Sihes, A. J. (2014). Evaluation of English as a Foreign Language and
Its Curriculum in Indonesia: A review. English Language Teaching Vol. 7, 113-119.

The World Bank. (9th Dicember, 2018). worldbank.org. Obtained of data.worldbank.org:

https://data.worldbank.org
Universidad de Valparaíso. (1st Dicember, 2018). Universidad de Valparaíso. Obtained of
santiago.uv.cl: http://santiago.uv.cl/images/folletos/f19088_20.pdf

Wu, Y. (2013). Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF). International Education Studies, Vol. 6,
130-131.

Wu, Y. (2013). Business English is a Lingua Franca (BELF). Canadian Center of Science and
Education, 130-131.