Current Research & Developments in English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF)

Panel convenors: Miya Komori-Glatz

Over the last fifteen years, there has been a small but steady stream of research into English as a business lingua franca (BELF). The adoption of English – either officially or unofficially – as a company’s working language creates opportunities for companies to attract high-calibre employees from all over the globe, but also brings numerous challenges in terms of optimising information flows and overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers.

Since Louhiala-Salminen, Charles and Kankaanranta’s (2005) seminal work on BELF, the field has seen a number of studies in different contexts. Nevertheless, many come to similar findings highlighting the extensive usage of English as a business lingua franca, its highly variable and context-specific nature. Additionally, many studies have drawn attention to the importance of strategic competence and relational talk in effective BELF communication (Ehrenreich 2016).

This panel presents current research and recent developments in BELF studies. It invites BELF scholars to present new conceptualisations of and critical perspectives on BELF as well as to report on findings from empirical studies and implications for teaching and business practice. We also welcome contributions from participants who do not identify themselves as BELF scholars but who research the role or use of English as part of multilingualism in the workplace.

References:

Ehrenreich, Susanne. 2016. English as a lingua franca (ELF) in international business contexts: Key issues and future perspectives. In Kumiko Murata (ed.), Exploring ELF in Japanese academic and business contexts: Conceptualization, research and pedagogic implications. Abingdon, New York: Routledge, 135–155.

Louhiala-Salminen, Leena, Mirjaliisa Charles & Anne Kankaanranta. 2005. English as a lingua franca in Nordic corporate mergers: two case companies. English for Specific Purposes 24(4), 401–421.