Communication Mobility and Communication Strategies Used in BELF Communication: Self-Report of Thai Human Resources Professionals in a Multinational Corporation
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Published:
Dec 31, 2018
Keywords:
Communication mobility Communication strategies Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF) Business communication Human Resource (HR) professionals
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Abstract
This study attempted to identify and compare the frequency of communication mobility and communication strategies employed by Thai Human Resources professionals in a multinational corporation in Bangkok. To achieve the goals of a small-scale study, a self-report questionnaire was adapted and developed based on the recently introduced ‘communication mobility’ framework of Marina and Smirnova (2013), and the Strategy Use in Speaking Task Inventory of
Chuanchaisit and Prapphal (2009). The questionnaire was based on the purposive sampling method and distributed to thirty participants, including Human Resources analysts, supervisors, and advisors. The key findings revealed: (1) Thai professionals often used communication mobility in their workplace, and mostly employed ‘Strategy 4: Individual active strategy’, ‘Strategy 7: Analytical strategy’, and ‘Strategy 2: Schema search strategy’; (2) they also often employed communication strategies in workplace communication; and (3) there was no significant difference in the uses of communication mobility and communication strategies among them, even though they used communication strategies that were ranked slightly higher than communication mobility. New findings have confirmed that communication mobility was another strategy for effective communication, which was used in this particular Human Resources setting almost as often as communication strategies which have been used for decades. They also pointed out the necessity of effective strategies for achieving communication goals in the Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF) context.
Article Details
How to Cite
Rajprasit, K., & Hemchua, S. (2018). Communication Mobility and Communication Strategies Used in BELF Communication: Self-Report of Thai Human Resources Professionals in a Multinational Corporation. REFLections, 25(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.61508/refl.v25i2.165402
Section
Research articles
References
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Rastegar, M., Sadat, S. & Gohari, M. (2016). Communication strategies, attitude, and oral output of EFL learners: A study of relations. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 6, 401-419.
Rogerson-Revell, P. (2007). Using English for international business: A European case study. English for Specific Purposes, 26, 103-120.
Smirnova, O. (2013). Developing communication mobility of university students in Economics (Doctoral thesis). KandidatNauk, Moscow, Russia.
Tareva, E. (2007). Personal-developing potential of a textbook in a foreign language. Educational methodical complex for the teaching foreign language in non-language schools: theory and practice of development. Moscow, Russia: Rem.
Verapornvanichkul, P. (2011). A survey of problems in oral communication skills when dealing with English speaking clients: A case study of employees at one of the big 4 audit firms in Thailand (Master’s thesis). Thammasart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Watterson, M. (2008). Repair of non-understanding in English in international communication. World Englishes, 27(3-4), 378–406
Widdowson, H. G. (1983). Learning purpose and language use. London, England: Oxford University Press.
Young, R. F. (2010). Discursive practice in language learning and teaching. Plenary Delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics. https://dept.english.wisc.edu/rfyoung/ AAAL_Atlanta_2010.pdf
Alharbi, N. (2016). Business English as a Lingua Franca in Saudi multinational corporations: A qualitative investigation of communicative strategies and orientations to use in international workplaces (Doctoral dissertation). King's College London, England.
Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Balykina, G. (2015). Intercultural aspect of Russian business negotiation practices. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2577188
Bataineh, R. F., Al-Bzour, W. K., & Baniabdelrahman, A. A. (2017). On the teachability of communication strategies to Jordanian EFL beginners: Exploration and reflection. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 4(3), 213-227.
Bialystok, E. (1990). Communication strategies. Oxford, England: Blackwell.
Celce-Murcia M. (2007). Rethinking the role of communicative competence. In E. AlcónSoler and M.P.
SafontJordà (Eds.), Intercultural language use and language learning (pp.41-57). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.
Chitpupakdi, S. (2014). A Needs analysis of Thai executives’ English proficiency: A case study of Carpets International Thailand Limited (Master’s thesis). National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand.
Chuanchaisit, S., & Prapphal, K. (2009). A Study of English communication strategies of Thai university students. Manusya: Journal of Humanities, 17, 100-126.
Cogo, A. (2010). Strategic use and perceptions of English as a lingua franca. Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 46, 295–312.
Cook, V. J. (1993). Linguistics and second language acquisition. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.
Dӧrnyei, Z., & Scott, M. L. (1995). Communication strategies: What are they and what are they not? Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Association for Applied Linguistics, Long Beach, California, USA.
Epifanova, S. & Hild, A. (2015). Contemporary issues in cross-cultural business interaction amongst office and managerial staff in Thailand. UTCC International Journal of Business and Economics, 7(1), 131-145.
Faerch, C. & Kasper, G. (1983). Plans and strategies in interlanguage communication. In C. Faerch & G. Kasper (Eds.), Strategies in Interlanguage Communication (pp.20-60). New York, NY: Longman.
Hanamoto, H. (2016). How participants in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) employ communication strategies: multiple realities in minimal responses in ELF. Asian Englishes, 18(3), 181-196.
Harris, R. (1987). Reading saussure: A critical commentary on the ‘Cours Delinguistique Générale’. La Salle, IL: Open Court.
Kankaanranta, A. (2010). BELF Competence as business knowledge of internationally operating business professionals. Journal of Business Communication, 47(4), 380-407.
Kennedy, S. (2017) Using stimulated recall to explore the use of communication strategies in English lingua franca interactions. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 6(1), 1-28
Kongsom, T. (2016). The impact of teaching communication strategies on English speaking of engineering undergraduates. PASAA, 51(1), 39-69.
Kryzhko, O. (2015). Diverging interpretations in German-Russian business communication (Doctoral dissertation). University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Louhiala-Salminen, L. (2002). The fly’s perspective: Discourse in the daily routine of a business
manager. English for Specific Purposes, 21, 211-231.
Louhiala-Salminen, L., & Kankaanranta, A. (2011). Professional communication in a global business context: The notion of global communicative competence. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 54(3), 244-261.
Makhmutov M. I. (1972). Theory and practice of problem based education. Kazan, Russia: Tatknigoizdat.
Marina, O. (2011). Some models of bilingual production: Control and influences of languages in these models. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3(1), 98-116.
Marina, O. & Rajprasit, K. (2014). Investigating the Impact of Personality Factors on Perceived Communication Mobility of Non-native English Speaking Thai Professionals in International Companies. PASAA, 47, 61-96.
Marina, O. & Rajprasit, K. (2016). The role of personal factors in 'communication mobility' development of Thai and Russian professionals in BELF context. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 22(2), 167-186.
Marina, O., & Smirnova O. (2013). Communication mobility and environment for its development. PASAA, 45, 167-182.
Marina, O., & Smirnova O. (2016). The Cambridge BEC as an academic context model of problematic situations in professional intercultural communication. Journal of Siberian Federal University, Humanities & Social Sciences, 4, 953-959.
Mauranen, A. (2006). Signaling and preventing misunderstanding in English as a lingua franca communication. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 177, 123–150.
Nimnuch, S. (2011). English communication problems influencing Thai people to take English courses at language institutions (Master’s thesis). Thammasart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Omar, Z., Embi, M. A., & Yunus, M. M. (2012). Learners’ use of communication strategies in an online discussion via Facebook. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 64, 535-544.
Rastegar, M., Sadat, S. & Gohari, M. (2016). Communication strategies, attitude, and oral output of EFL learners: A study of relations. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 6, 401-419.
Rogerson-Revell, P. (2007). Using English for international business: A European case study. English for Specific Purposes, 26, 103-120.
Smirnova, O. (2013). Developing communication mobility of university students in Economics (Doctoral thesis). KandidatNauk, Moscow, Russia.
Tareva, E. (2007). Personal-developing potential of a textbook in a foreign language. Educational methodical complex for the teaching foreign language in non-language schools: theory and practice of development. Moscow, Russia: Rem.
Verapornvanichkul, P. (2011). A survey of problems in oral communication skills when dealing with English speaking clients: A case study of employees at one of the big 4 audit firms in Thailand (Master’s thesis). Thammasart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Watterson, M. (2008). Repair of non-understanding in English in international communication. World Englishes, 27(3-4), 378–406
Widdowson, H. G. (1983). Learning purpose and language use. London, England: Oxford University Press.
Young, R. F. (2010). Discursive practice in language learning and teaching. Plenary Delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Applied Linguistics. https://dept.english.wisc.edu/rfyoung/ AAAL_Atlanta_2010.pdf