Business English in the eyes of economics and management students at the University of Białystok

Abstract

According to the regulations of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, university graduates should have to know a foreign language at B2 level, as described in The Common European Framework of Reference, and they should know its specialized variety. These are the only recommendations concerning general language courses and their specialized varieties. It is up to schools of foreign languages or other institutions providing language courses for institutions of higher education to determine requirements concerning language for specific purposes. However, students are rarely asked to contribute to the development of curricula and syllabi. This article presents the results of a survey conducted among students of Economics and Management at the University of bia łystok. The survey was devoted to students' perceptions of Business English in English courses conducted by the School of Foreign Languages at the University of bia łystok. The aim of the survey was to answer the following questions: - what do students of Economics and Management at the University of bia łystok believe to be the appropriate proportion of general English to Business English? - when would they like to start learning Business English? - what Business English topics do students find interesting? - how do Economics and Management students use the knowledge and skills gained in Business English classes? The article also presents possible implications of the survey for ESP course designers, and stresses the importance of needs analysis for developing ESP syllabi in the context of Polish tertiary education.