Conceptual Transition from English as a Foreign Language to BELF

Öz

Business professionals, who use English language in their daily interactions at global corporate companies in Turkey, have been educated within the paradigm of teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, as most of their interactions in business world take place with speakers of other languages in multilingual/cultural settings, these professionals’ use of English language as Lingua Franca (ELF) may commence to function in different domains with different purposes and communicative outcomes within the paradigm of BELF. However, to our best knowledge, how business professionals in Turkey use and conceptualize English language in their daily business domains and how they position themselves as users of English and BELF have not been investigated. With this aim in mind, we conducted a research with 19 business professionals working at global companies in Istanbul. The data was collected through a survey administered with 19 business professionals and semi- structured interviews with five informants working in top positions at those companies which serve global customers. The findings of the study revealed that business professionals in Turkey are in a state of flux between the two paradigms – i.e., EFL and ELF toward the construction of BELF because EFL and ELF co-exist in their minds.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• BELF,ELF,EFL,business professionals

Yabancı Dil Olarak İngilizce'den Ortak Dil Olarak İş İngilizce'sine Kavramsal Geçiş

Öz

Türkiye'deki uluslararası kurumsal şirketlerde İngilizceyi günlük etkileşimlerinde kullanan iş insanları Yabancı Dil olarak İngilizceyi (YDİ) öğrenme ve öğretme yaklaşımı çerçevesinde eğitilmişlerdir. Ama iş dünyasındaki etkileşimlerinin çoğunluğu çok dilli/ kültürlü ortamda diğer dillerin konuşanlarıyla gerçekleştiği için bu iş insanlarının Ortak Dil olarak İngilizce (ODİ) kullanması Ortak Dil olarak İş İngilizcesi (ODİİ) yaklaşımı içinde farklı alanlarda, farklı amaçlarla ve iletişimsel sonuçlarıyla çalışmaya başlar. Bununla beraber Türkiye'deki iş insanlarının günlük iş ortamlarında İngilizceyi nasıl kullandığı ve kavramsallaştırdıkları ve kendilerini İngilizce ve (ODİİ) kullanıcıları olarak nasıl konumlandırdıkları henüz sistematik olarak araştırılmamıştır. Bu amaçla İstanbul’daki uluslararası şirketlerde çalışan 19 iş insanı ile bir araştırma yürüttük. Araştırma verileri 19 iş insanına özgeçmiş anketi verilerek ve küresel müşterilere hizmet eden şirketlerde en iyi pozisyonlarda çalışan 5 katılımcı ile yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılarak toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları Türkiye'deki iş insanlarının algılarında YDİ ve ODİ'nin bir arada var olduğu için iki yaklaşımın yani YDİ ve ODİ'den ODİİ'ye doğru yorumlama arasında etkileşim içinde oldukları ortaya koymuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce (YDİ),Ortak dil olarak İngilizce (ODİ),Ortak dil olarak iş İngilizcesi (ODİİ),iş insanları

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