A University Course in English Business Communication and the Actual Needs of Finnish Business Executives

Abstract

At the intersection of the planning and designing of the Business English courses for the new University of Eastern Finland, the need arose to draw up a new course description. To assure the quality of a new high-profile Business English syllabus and to find whether a language expert’s course description meets the needs of authentic business professionals, the views and opinions of Finnish and European business executives were studied by means of a questionnaire. The questions addressed the needs of business executives in terms of their English language and business communication skills. This article discusses the findings of the survey in relation to the course description and my own experience of the teaching of English Business Communication courses. The implications of the study will be applicable to course designing and the teaching of future business professionals.