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AUA Extension | Class 4
English for Business Communication – Essentials
LANGUAGE FOCUS: COMPARATIVE FORMS
There is a mistake in each of the following sentences. Find it and correct it.
i. Southern Europeans don’t seem to be concerned about punctuality as Northern
Europeans do.
ii. Northern Europeans don’t tend to express their emotions as much as Southern
Europeans.
iii. Greeting people with a kiss is not as common in the UK as is in France.
SPEAKING: VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR IN DISCUSSION
(i)
Worksheet 1 lists adjectives that can be used to describe a certain culture. Without saying
the word, try to describe the word.
EXAMPLE:
If your word is ‘conservative’, you might say: “people who are this word do not like a lot of changes –
they prefer the traditional way of doing things”.
(ii)
You will receive six more words that have a logical association with the first six. Try to
match them into pairs, giving reasons for your choices.
(iii)
What other adjectives might we use to describe a certain culture?
(iv)
From your knowledge and experience, discuss which nations or ethnic groups tend to be
associated with the adjectives from the Althen text and questions (i)-(iii). Using
appropriate comparative forms, mention similarities or differences with Armenian culture.
EXAMPLE:
Armenians aren’t as concerned about equality as Americans (are).
READING & SPEAKING: BAD NEWS!
PART A
Look at the short business letter below. This letter is described as ‘ineffective’ in a business
communication textbook. Why do you think it is inappropriate?
English for Business Communication – Essentials
AUA Extension | Class 4
PART B
As we have already discussed, an understanding of directness and indirectness is important for
cross-cultural communication. The text below explores how this cultural characteristic relates to
business. Fill in the gaps with an appropriate word.
WORDS IN THE TEXT:
buffer (n)
–
reluctant (adj)
overlook (v)
–
–
something or someone that reduces shock or protects against difficulties
(e.g. a buffer zone = an area of land between two opposing armies or
countries)
being unsure whether to do something because you do not want to do it or
doubt that it is the right thing to do
to fail to see or notice something (synonym = miss)
To ________________________________ disappointment, North Americans generally prefer to present
negative messages indirectly. You may wish, however, to modify the organization, format, and
________________________________ of letters you send elsewhere. In Germany, business
communicators occasionally use buffers but tend to present bad news
________________________________. British writers also tend to be straightforward with bad news,
seeing no reason to ________________________________ its announcement. However, in Latin countries
the question is not how to organize negative messages but ________________________________ to
present them at all. It’s considered disrespectful and ________________________________ to report bad
news to superiors. Thus, reluctant employees may fail to report accurately any negative messages
to their bosses. In Thailand, the negativism represented by a refusal is completely
________________________________; the word no does not exist! In many cultures, negative news is
offered ________________________________ such subtleness or ________________________________ such a
positive light that it may be overlooked or misunderstood by literal-minded Westerners. Indeed,
in many Asian countries, one must look ________________________________ an individual’s actual words
to understand what’s really being communicated. One must consider the communication style,
the culture, and especially the ________________________________. So, for example, “I agree” might
________________________________ “I agree with about 15 percent of what you’re saying” or “We will
consider your offer” could mean “We will consider it, but the real decision-maker ________________”.
(Adapted from ‘Essentials of Business Communication’, Guffey & Nagle, 2003)
Answer the following questions:
(i)
How directly or indirectly is bad news communicated in an Armenian business context?
Compare it with the examples above.
(ii)
How are other aspects of cross-cultural communication reflected in the workplace (i.e.
individualism and privacy, time and action, formality and informality, etc.)?
(iii)
The letter in PART A was written in a North American business context. How do you
think the first paragraph of the letter should be written?
FOR NEXT CLASS Re-write the letter in PART A to make it more appropriate.