Business English Speakers Can Still Be Divided by a Common Language

15 December 2011

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Business is the most popular subject for international students in the United States. At last count, twenty-one percent of foreign students at American colleges and universities were studying business and management.

The Institute of International Education in New York says engineering is the second most popular field, in case you were wondering.

Thomas Cossé is a professor of marketing and business at the University of Richmond in Virginia. He says international students who want to study business need to have good English skills -- and not just to study at his school.

English is a common language for business, but communication is not just about language

THOMAS COSSÉ: "At least among business schools, more and more worldwide are requiring that their students take English, and they are teaching more in English."

But the world has more non-native speakers of English than native speakers. As a result, Americans working with foreign companies may need to learn some new English skills themselves.

At the University of Richmond, teams of graduate students work with companies seeking to enter the American market. The students learn about writing market entry studies. The reports are written in English. But Professor Cossé tells his students to consider who will read them.