Abstract
Globalization and the advent of information and communication technology have led to the emergence of an IT outsourcing (ITO) industry worldwide, and the English proficiency of Chinese professional employees has been widely identified as a particular challenge for the development of this industry in China. This paper examines the use of English by Chinese software engineers in contacting offshore clients and also the English training practices inside an ITO company in China. Through evaluating the English training classes and interviewing software engineers about their views of those classes, this study finds that English training lessons fail to focus on work-related communicative practice, leading to software engineers' low motivation to attend English training. It also suggests possible solutions to improve English training, including immersing English trainers into the target work situation of software engineers, and involving managers who are experienced in communicating with clients with assisting software engineers' spoken English performance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 50-62 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | TESOLANZ Journal |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | Special edition |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | National Conference for Community Languages and ESOL (14th : 2014) - Wellington, New Zealand Duration: 10 Jul 2014 → 13 Jul 2014 Conference number: 14th |