Cross-cultural curricular innovation : an ecological, principled perspective on teaching business English in China

Abstract

This thesis aims to offer useful pedagogical information for ESP instructors, business professors, and curriculum developers. The author calls attention to specific sociocultural variables at the macro and micro level which impacted the approach and design of an intensive, short-term, Business English (BE) program for Chinese university students in mainland China. Drawing from this experience of cross-cultural curricular innovation, suggestions are made for on-going curriculum improvements reflecting ecological and principled concerns. Finally, this research supports wider implications for the rapidly growing field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in the post-methods era (Brown 2002; Richards and Rodgers 2001, Nunan 2000).