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MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School

Certificate for Approving the Dissertation

We hereby approve the Dissertation

of

Shatha Abdulmohsen Alali

Candidate for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

______________________________________

Heidi McKee, Director

______________________________________

James Porter, Reader

______________________________________

Tony Cimasko, Reader

______________________________________

Emily Legg, Reader

______________________________________

Fazeel Khan, Graduate School Representative

ABSTRACT

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL CONTEXTS: STUDYING THE

EXPERIENCES OF NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKING (NES) AND NON-NATIVE ENGLISH

SPEAKING (NNES) PROFESSIONALS IN MULTILINGUAL, MULTICULTURAL

ORGANIZATIONS

by

Shatha A. Alali

The fast growth of globalization and internationalization of businesses have necessitated

developing intercultural business communication. Professionals in today’s global job market,

particularly those working in multilingual environments, need to be able to communicate with

people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

In this global, technological network, English language competency is for many at the forefront

of communication skills needed because of a need for a common lingua franca for international

communication. In order to better facilitate communication among native English speakers

(NES) and non-native English speakers (NNES), we need to recognize and prepare to help

students and professionals work in global multicultural and multilingual contexts.

In this dissertation, I argue that we need to look in depth at oral and written professional

communication in global contexts. I use frame of English for Specific Purposes (ESP), and I seek

to answer how NNES and NES professionals communicate in multilingual, multicultural

workplace environment using English as a lingua franca. Focusing on companies in the Gulf

States, I conducted 27 interviews with NES and NNES professionals from a wide variety of

companies and positions, and I received survey responses from more than 120 NES and NNES

professionals.

The results show first-person accounts of the challenges faced and opportunities created in the

multilingual, multicultural workplace context and detail when and why English or Arabic is used

for what purpose. From these accounts, I draw detailed recommendations for business

communication pedagogy and curriculum to aid all professionals (both NES and NNES). Some

of the recommendations for corporate workplace training and for professional communication

education in native-English and non-native English countries include: the importance of self-

awareness in language usage for both NES and NNES professionals, the need for cultural

intelligence and competence for multicultural communication, the benefits of corporate-specific

cultural communication training, including English for specific purposes and business

communication in ESL/EFL pedagogy, and the role of visual communication when

communicating in multilingual, multicultural contexts.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN GLOBAL CONTEXTS: STUDYING THE

EXPERIENCES OF NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKING (NES) AND NON-NATIVE ENGLISH

SPEAKING (NNES) PROFESSIONALS IN MULTILINGUAL, MULTICULTURAL

ORGANIZATIONS

A DISSERTATION

Presented to the Faculty of

Miami University in partial

fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Department of English

by

Shatha A. Alali

The Graduate School

Miami University

Oxford, Ohio

2019

Dissertation Director: Dr. Heidi A. McKee

©

Shatha A. Alali

2019

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables………………………………...……………………………………………..…….iv

List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………….vi

Dedication……………………………………………………………………….……………….vii

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………..…viii

Chapter 1: Considering the Challenges and Opportunities of Multilingual and Multicultural

Professional Communication: Introduction and Literature Review………………………………1

Chapter 2: Research Methods………………………………………………………………...….13

Chapter 3: " The Language Barrier Is Bigger Than The Cultural One”: Oral language in

Multilingual, Professional Communication……………………………………………….……..21

Chapter 4: " When It Comes to Written Communication, I Would Say It's 100% English Based ":

Writing in Multilingual Professional Organizations…………………………………..…………37

Chapter 5: " The First Thing I Always Tell Them Is: Know the Culture": Culture and Language

in Multilingual Professional Communication…………………………………………………....63

Chapter 6: Building Better Support and Networks for Multilingual Professional Communication:

Reflections and Recommendations………………………………………………………………78

References…………………………………………………………………………………….….93

Appendix A: Recruiting Email and Consent Form......................................................................100

Appendix B: Survey Questions for NNES Professionals…………………….……………...…104

Appendix C: Interview Questions for NES Professionals………………………………...……116

Appendix D: Interview Questions for NNES Professionals in English and

Arabic…………………………………………………………………………………...…...….122

Appendix E: Interview Questions for NES Professionals in English………………………..…125

iv

LIST OF TABLES

Chapter 2

2.1 NNES Survey Participants Fields of Profession…………………………………………..…14

2.2 NES Survey Participants Fields of Profession ……………………………..………………..15

2.3 NNES Survey Participants’ Career Positions……...………………………………………...15

2.4 NES Survey Participants’ Career Positions…………………………………………..……...16

2.5 NNES and NES Professionals Participated in Interviews………………………….………..18

2.6 Key themes for coding survey and interview data………………………………………...…19

Chapter 3

3.1 English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Non-Native English Speakers

(NNES)…………………………………………………………………………………………..22

3.2 English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Native English Speakers

(NES)……………………………………………………………………….……………………23

3.3 English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Non-Native English Speakers

(NNES)…………………………………………………………………………………………..23

3.4 NNES communication in multicultural and multilinguistic variation in professional

meetings…………………………………………………………...……………………………..26

3.5 Some NNES professionals’ examples of difficulties they experience in attending professional

meetings in English……………………………………………………………..………………..26

3.6 NES communication in multicultural and multilinguistic variation in professional meetings

with NNES………………………………………………………………………...……………..27

3.7 English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Non-Native English Speakers

(NNES)………………………………………………………….……………………………….29

Chapter 4

4.1 English in the workplace—survey perspectives of non-native English speakers

(NNES)…………………………………………………………………………………………..38

4.2 Results for the question concerning the most common types of documents NNES

professionals write in a typical month……………………………………..…………………….40

4.3 Results for the question concerning NES views’ of NNES challenges in English

writing……………………………………………………………………………………………43

4.4 Results for the question concerning NNES views of the difficulties they have in English

writing…………………………………………………………..………………………………..44

4.5 Comparison of results for the question concerning NES and NNES views’ of NNES

challenges in English writing……………………………………………………….……………44

4.6 The results for challenges NNES face in English writing……………………………...……45

v

4.7 Results for the question concerning NNES confidence of their writing in L1 (n=84) and

L2………………………………………………………………………………………….……..47

4.7-A NNES studied in English Speaking Countries…………………………………………….48

4.7-B NNES studied in Non-English-Speaking Countries………………………...…48

4.8 NNES professionals’ suggestions for developing written communication in English in the

workplace…………………………………………………………………………………….…..50

4.9 NES professionals’ suggestions for developing NNES written communication in English in

the workplace…………………………………………………………………………...………..51

4.10 NNES professionals’ answers of co-writing with others to produce co-authored

writings…………………………………………………………………………………………..52

4.11 NNES collaborative writing in team work………………………………………….………52

4.12 NNES bilingual practices in team work writing……………………………………...…….53

4.13 NNES Bilingual Writing…………………………………………………………………....54

4.14 NES translation practices in ELF professional context…………………………………….56

4.15 NNES using of technology for writing…………………………………………….……….58

4.16 NES using of technology for writing……………………………………….………………59

Chapter 5

5.1 Difficulties that NNES experience in communicating in ELF context: When I experience

difficulties in communicating with NES and NNES professionals, I attribute it to the

following…………………………………………………………………………………...…….64

5.2 Table 2: Difficulties that NES experience in communicating in ELF context: When I

experience difficulties in communicating with NNES professionals, I attribute it to the

following…………………………………………………………………………………...…….64

5.3 NNES communication in multicultural and multilinguistic variation in professional

meetings……………………………………………………………………………...…………..65

5.4 NES communication in multicultural and multilinguistic variation in professional oral

communication………………………………………………………………………………..….66

Chapter 6

6.1 NNES background of preparedness for communication in English in educational

institutions………………………………………………………………………………………..79

6.2 NNES background of preparedness for communication in English in the

workplace……………………………………………………………………………..………….87

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Chapter 4

4.1 NNES professionals speaking vs writing in English in the ELF Gulf States

workplace………………………………………………………………………………….……..39

vii

DEDICATION

This is by the Grace of God

ربي فضل من هذا

To the memory of my father, Abdulmohsen, who always believed in my ability to be successful.

viii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank Allah (God), my creator and my greatest source of

inspiration, with a humble heart for giving me the strength, knowledge, wisdom, understanding,

ability and opportunity to conduct and complete this research. Without Allah’s blessings and

mercy, this achievement would not have been possible.

Then I would like to express my deepest thanks to my home country, Saudi Arabia, and

more specifically to the Saudi Ministry of Education represented by the Saudi Arabia Cultural

Mission (SACM) in the United States for generously supporting me financially along the way of

completing my degree, which helped me make my dream of earning a doctoral degree come true.

I was lucky enough to receive the opportunity to study and earn my doctoral degree from

Miami University which has strong academic programs in the Department of English, which

prepared me to complete my doctoral degree successfully. I am especially indebted to Dr. Heidi

McKee, my dissertation committee chair, who has been very supportive of my research goals and

who worked actively to provide me with all kind of help to pursue these goals. Without her help

and thoughtful feedback, this research would have never come to completion. Thank you very

much, Heidi, for your guidance, support, and your patience with me.

I am also grateful to all my dissertation committee members, Dr. James Porter, Dr. Tony

Cimasko, Dr. Emily Legg and Dr. Fazeel Khan, whom I have had the pleasure to work with in

this project. And I would especially like to thank Dr. Jason Palmeri for his guidance and help

through the stage of doctoral examination process who gave me focus on English for Specific

Purposes.

Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my family who has been my biggest

support in the pursuit of this journey. I would like to thank my loving and supportive aunt,

Radiah, and my biggest supportive uncles, Mohammed and Ali. Most of all I would like to thank

my mom, Fatimah, whose love and guidance are with me in whatever I do.

Thank you all very much for supporting me on this journey!

1

Chapter 1: Considering the Challenges and Opportunities of Multilingual and

Multicultural Professional Communication: Introduction and Literature

Review

English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in Global Context

The fast growth of globalization and internationalization of businesses have necessitated

developing intercultural business communication. Professionals in today’s global job market are

expected to have intercultural communicative competence and awareness of workplace context

to effectively engage and deal with culturally diverse people from different geographical

locations and different linguistic backgrounds. The growing number of businesses in globalized

job markets increases the needs for understanding intercultural business communication, which

dynamizes businesses by engaging various languages and cultures (Cheney, Christensen, Zorn,

& Ganesh, 2004; Varner, 2002). Globalized corporations often work in multicultural professional

contexts. They frequently send their employees to work overseas who need to be skillful in many

communicative competences. Consequently, language proficiency has become an essential

practice of organizational social systems; Mirjaliisa Charles (2007) noted that “only language

can enable individuals and companies (and countries) to communicate” (p. 261), which,

therefore, necessitates investigating language development within social and lingual divergence

of organizations “to gain a better grasp of how public relations works in society” (Ihlen & van

Ruler, 2009, p. 11).

In this global, technological network, English language competency is for many at the

forefront of communication skills needed (Charles, 2007) because of a need for a common lingua

franca for international communication. In order to better facilitate communication among native

English speaking (NES) and non-native English speaking (NNES) professionals, we need to

recognize and prepare to help students work in global multicultural workplace context.

English as a lingua franca (ELF) stands for using the English language as a means of

communication among individuals who speak different native languages, which is mainly used

for intercultural communication. To be considered a lingua franca, David Crystal (2006) argued

that three criteria must be met: (1) a language must be used as a native language by different

peoples in different countries; (2) it must be adopted as an official language by many countries;

and, (3) it must be prioritized in language teaching by various international, educational

institutions. English, with its widespread usage around the world, meets these criteria to be

considered the primary lingua franca of global communication. Thus, and not surprisingly, the

number of non-native English speakers who use English as a medium language of

communication is higher than the total number of native-English speakers (Canagarajah, 2007).

The increasing practice of ELF in intercultural communication necessitates investigating the role

of ELF in global business communication.

English as a lingua franca, today, is extensively used in most of the business and

industrial organizations around the world (Charles, 2007; Cogo, 2012; Gerritsen & Nickerson,

2009; Louhiala-Salminen & Charles, 2006; Piekkari, 2009; Welch, & Piekkari, 2005). Amitai

Etzioni (2008) stated that as a result of the colonial and post-colonial periods, English serves as

the global language and became an integral part of economic and social development. It “greatly

reduces the costs of conducting transactions and communications across national borders” (p.

155). In global professional communication, English is considered an essential communication

skill which job candidates must master to be qualified for the demands of the labor market. In a

study of the role of English and other languages in a German multinational corporation, Susanne

2

Ehrenreich (2010) found that English is considered a “must” in the company and that employees

develop their English depending on their professional roles within the company. She concluded

that professional, communicative English as a lingua franca should be taught for global business

context. Like many studies that recognize the significance of business English as a lingua franca

in the global business communication (Ehrenreich, 2010; Evans, 2013; Evans, 2016; House,

2012, Kankaanranta & Louhiala-Salminen, 2007; Kankaanranta & Lu, 2013; Liu & Liu, 2017;

Nickerson & Crawford Camiciottoli, 2013), Alessia Cogo (2012), in an ethnographical approach

of research, interviewed and observed professionals using ELF within a multilingual IT company

based in London, UK . She found that ELF is highly used collaboratively in spoken and written

communication among multilingual professionals.

Due to the phenomenal growth of English as a lingua franca in global job market, we

need as professional communicators to delve deeply in studying ELF in workplaces to

successfully prepare professionals already in the workplace and students about to enter the

workplace. As a way to study ELF, I focus more specifically on the Gulf States workplace

context where we can clearly see this phenomenon in which for many positions English is

considered an essential prerequisite without which job candidates are not hired.

ELF In the Gulf States Workplace Context

Shedding light on the Gulf region, the drastic change and the growing economic

configuration of the Gulf States’ (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United

Arab Emirates) in the recent decades impacted by the role of oil and energy, specifically in the

mid-1970’s and early 1980’s has opened wide gates for global trade and investing companies to

be built in the region. Consequently, millions of foreign expats and investors have poured into

the Gulf job market for working and investing in different economic activities. Foreign labor that

work in the Gulf States are varied among experts, executives, and highly skilled, skilled and

unskilled laborers. In a few years, this rapid economic development has brought radical changes

in the structure of the Gulf societies. According to the AlAyam newspaper (2018), the total

population of the Gulf States is 51,002,366, including 24,691,868 foreigners equaling 48% of the

total Gulf States population whereas the citizens are 26,310,498 of the total population with

percentage of 52%, only 4% higher than the expats percentage. These numbers show how

heavily the Gulf States depend on expats to fill gaps in the job market and thus how multilingual

most Gulf State workplaces are.

This economic openness has provided golden chances for local corporations and

investors to establish and build businesses with foreign corporate partners and clients. These

mutual business relationships have played a significant role in economically, culturally, and

linguistically diversifying the workplace environment, which necessitates adopting English to be

the official language of businesses in the Gulf market, specifically for the private sector, and the

second official language of the Gulf countries. English is considered the language of business in

the region (Kenny, Reddan, & Geraghty, 2018; McClure, 2018). In Saudi Arabia, it is “widely

spoken and is taught as a compulsory second language in schools. Though Arabic is the language

spoken by most people, there are other minority languages spoken mainly by expatriates” (Sawe,

2018). Likewise, in Dubai, Arabic is the official language of the governmental sector and affairs

and the language of the educational system; however, English is the mostly spoken language,

specifically for commercial businesses and tourism since most of Dubai population are

expatriates who speak English or their own languages (Joyce, 2017). The situation of adopted

English for business purposes and as a second language of the country was also applied in the

3

other Gulf countries like Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait (Chepkemoi, 2017; Kiprop, 2017;

Misachi, 2017; Sawe, 2017), which indicates that English occupies a significant role in the

growing economy of the Gulf States.

The adoption of English as a lingua franca in much of the Gulf States job market,

surrounded by multilingual, multicultural diversity, creates a complicated, communication

dynamic since English is not the native language of the Gulf countries and not the native

language of many of the expats who mostly come from non-English speaking countries (e.g.,

European countries, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Iran, Egypt, Sri Lanka, China) to

work in the Gulf States. Given the linguistic diversity of the Gulf States and the use of English as

the business language, the Gulf States region is an excellent place for studying English as the

lingua franca in both written and oral communication in the workplace. In this dissertation, I

investigate how English in the Gulf States, specifically in Saudi corporations, is practiced for

oral and written business communication in different business companies and industries. I also

examine how cultural diversity affects NNES and NES professional use of English as a lingua

franca and, consequently, their communicative performances. The overarching goal of my

dissertation is to demonstrate how NNES and NES professionals in multilingual, multicultural

workplace contexts negotiate linguistic and cultural diversity in business contexts to bridge the

gap between educational institutions’ outcomes and job market needs in the Gulf States through

developing knowledge that will be helpful for improving the curricula for teaching and preparing

both NNES and NES students for working in multicultural professional contexts.

In this chapter, I examine studies that look at professional communication (written and

oral) and cultural communication in English in a lingua franca (ELF) context. I focus my review

in part on the field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) because it focuses on workplace

communications and how English is used purposefully in business contexts. I note, however,

that very few ESP studies investigate how both native and non-native English professionals

communicate in multilingual/multicultural business environments using ELF and how they write

professional texts and process documentation in multilingual contexts. I also focus in relation to

studies of business communication on the field of intercultural communication to understand

how cultural differences strongly influence multinational professional communication. However,

I contend and clarify that the reviewed studies in the field of English for Specific Purposes and in

multicultural business communication need deeper exploration of how both NNES and NES

professionals in a real multilingual/multicultural business context use English as a lingua franca,

how it is understood by diverse employees, and how multiculturalism impact professional

practicing and understanding of it.

Literature Review: Issues Around Language and Culture In Multilingual, Multicultural

Workplace Context

In this section, I review several threads of research shaping my study—language usage in the

workplace, considerations of English for Specific Purposes, and intercultural communication.

Language in the Multinational Workplace

Many scholarly works explore the power of language behaviors in the occupational

context. Anne-Wil Harzing and Alan J. Feely (2007), drawing from their debated about the

impact of language on the way multinational corporations manage their subsidiary operations,

argued that some professional positions like management need highly rhetorical fluency for

communication skills like negotiation, motivation and persuasion and decision making. They

4

studied NNES professionals and found that the lack of needed rhetorical skills could cause

misunderstanding and miscommunication, which could make NNES lose their self-confidence

and motivation to participate and share their thoughts effectively. Their NES colleagues, on the

other hand, might see them as lacking confidence and leadership skills which could result to lost

credibility and trust and business success. In an ethnographic study conducted on NNES

managers working in UK subsidiaries based in an international context, Mark Neal (1998) found

that NNES professionals were often frustrated about language difficulties they encountered while

communicating with their British colleagues, particularly when those colleagues used slang or

jargon. His study showed that NNES professionals felt stress when asking for clarification and

they felt discouraged in expressing themselves persuasively in English. Neal noted that these

language difficulties go farther to the emotional level of being dissatisfied of their career

progression and increased feelings of being outsiders.

Miscommunication in the workplace was also the focus of many studies like Adrian

Holliday (1995) who investigated professionals’ specific needs in a Middle Eastern oil company

to identify language difficulties between local and expats employees while using oil

technologies. The role of language in company power dynamics, particularly corporate embrace

of multilingualism, was also explored by Christine Sing (2017), in a case study examining what

makes a corporate language “common”, and how it is practiced and managed in three different

international units of Siemens, a German multilingual, multinational corporation. Interview data

revealed that there is a powerful interchange between English and the local language, German,

and she found that multilingualism is strongly present in the corporation’s communication. The

corporate administration left the issue of the official corporate language undecided to avoid

provoking emotional reaction toward language identity in diverse context. Similarly, Alessia

Cogo (2012) explored the relationship between ELF and diversity in a UK multilingual

professional corporation and found that the corporation’s practices are highly multilingual, with

English as a lingua franc (ELF) being used frequently as a collaborative language among

multilingual professionals. Focusing on using English as a common corporate language,

Kankaanranta and Louhiala-Salminen (2010) surveyed and interviewed professionals working in

an international context on how they use every day English as a lingua franca in business

contexts communication at work. They found that the distribution of both local languages and

English are different in the workplace with higher usage of local language. They concluded that

English is highly contextual in ELF environment, and professionals need to know conventions of

organizations to smooth professional communication and to know when it’s appropriate and

effective to use a particular language.

In another scholarly work, and using the lens of public relations, Louhiala-Salminen and

Kankaanranta (2012) presented two case studies of international business communication

conducted in international organizations. The first case study examined the uses of multilingual

strategy (the usage of different languages in company activities: English, French, Spanish and

Portuguese) in a non-governmental organization. The study showed that there were some

significant communicative challenges due to multilingual practices in the corporation. From this

case, they concluded that clear structure and guidelines for using the four languages interactively

were needed to avoid problems of translation and the challenge of not sharing a common

language. The second case study drew from surveys and interviews with professionals in five

international companies about using English for their international, internal communication. The

authors found that this strategy of picking English proved pragmatic because it was a language

that all employees knew, to some degree, but that there were still language proficiency

5

challenges that NNES faced while communicating with NES.

Similar to these findings, Mirjaliisa Charles and Rebecca Marschan-Piekkari (2002)

investigated staff experience of using English in horizontal communication between divisions of

the same multinational corporation headquartered in Finland. They found that although English

is the common language across the corporation and that it was supposed to facilitate

communication across divisions, it also created problems for divisions where employees lacked

the language skills in English. That is, what was perhaps a good decision for the multinational

corporation overall, was not always as good for specific divisions within the corporation. In

order to increase the corporate strategic performance using foreign language, the researchers

suggested providing training for communication needs at the organizational level, increasing

knowledge for corporate-level communications rather than focusing on increasing knowledge of

the practiced language in specific local contexts.

Some scholars have examined English as a lingua franca more specifically in writing.

For example, Mohammod Roshid, Susan Webb, and Raqib Chowdhury (2018) explored English

writing of business emails in business organizations located in Bangladesh. Using qualitative and

quantitative methods, their findings revealed that the components of the written messages were

more personal, informal and flexible similar to ELF spoken language. The authors concluded

that both in writing and in speaking ELF is a flexible medium of communication (see also Du-

Babcock & Tanaka, 2016).

Other scholarly research has emphasized the importance of linguistic awareness in ELF

communication. Jane Henderson and Leena Louhiala-Salminen (2011) argued that building trust

among multilingual, multicultural professionals in an ELF context is challenging. They

investigated how easy or difficult building trust is depending on common ground and common

language established. They found that there are several factors related to spoken language that

hinder or increase trust among professionals. Their findings emphasize the importance of

developing self-awareness of language use in multicultural communication. In a similar study,

Carolin Fleischmann, Laura-Christiane Folter and Jolanta Aritz (2017) examined how the level

of language proficiency of multicultural team members impacts building cultural cooperation.

They examined how foreign language proficiency impacts culture building, like shared norms,

collaborative task performance and problem-solving, in multicultural team work. They found

that language proficiency impacts mutual understanding and reciprocal communication like

providing feed-back and sharing identity. And, in one last example, Jakob Lauring and Anders

Klitmoller (2015) explored the use of inclusive language by professionals in multicultural

organizations in their formal and informal situations and how such language usage could impact

their creativity and performances. They found that managerial common language was related to

employees’ performances not creativity. It showed that diversity could lead to creativity and

effective performance only if language variation is encouraged but also managed appropriately.

Given the issues of multilingualism in global corporations discussed by the selection of

studies I’ve discussed here, what then can we do to enhance professional communication

between and among NES and NNES? How to raise self-awareness and develop style of

communication toward cultural diversity and multilingualism in global professional context?

What lenses might we bring to bear? In the following sections I review scholarly studies using

frames of English for specific purposes (ESP) and multiculturalism in the workplace context.

6

English for Specific Purposes

English as a lingua franca (ELF) is mainly practiced in multicultural, multilingual

business contexts in which English is used for specific professional purposes and in which

professionals are mostly non-native English speakers who use English as a second language.

Thus, it is helpful to analyze issues of business communication in ELF through the lens of

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) theories and pedagogies, and English language teaching

including EFL and ESL practices. In this section, I provide some definitions of what ESP is and

ESP pedagogy, how it works, ways it is helpful and what’s missing from various studies.

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a branch of English Language Teaching approach

(ELT). it is distinguished by its main goal which is fulfilling students’ specific needs and

purposes. Brian Paltridge and Louise Starfield (2013) defined ESP as teaching or learning

English as a second language (ESL) or as a foreign language (EFL) for a particular context,

which content and goals must be directed toward learners’ very specific needs. Jameel Ahmed

(2012) and Majid Hayati (2008) likewise define ESP as learner-centered approach which

concerns teaching English as EFL or ESL; while designing pedagogical approaches, they focus

on considering learners’ and contextual needs to help learners achieve their desired outcomes.

Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998), emphasized that ESP is not necessarily content-related but

more activity-related. ESP pedagogy, according to them, should reflect a disciplinary

methodology. Pedagogy and practices in English for business purposes, for instance, should

reflect business context in which business practices and communication like meetings

negotiations occur (Charles, 1996). Diane Belcher, Ann Johns, and Brian Paltridge (2011),

likewise, defined ESP as studying a second language (L2) in a broader sense to make connection

between language, discourses, context of use, and students’ needs, then to apply analysis of these

dimensions to pedagogical approaches. A key thread through these approaches to ESP is that

ESP isn’t necessarily aiming to build fluency across all contexts, but rather to focus intently on

what a NNES needs to know about English in order to complete a specific task within a specific

activity system and context.

Analyzing a communicator’s contextual needs has always been a key component of ESP

practices to fill the gap between learners’ current and target needs in professional contexts. There

have been several theories of needs analysis approach in ESP felid. Dudley-Evans and St. John

(1998) classified needs analysis to three different main categories:

• Present situation analysis (PSA) to predict current level of language proficiency

• Target situation analysis (TSA) to achieve target product, competencies and

objectives

• Learning situation analysis (LSA) which focuses on subjective and process approach

They also discuss the necessity to make needs analysis compatible to different situations,

and to distinguish between overall needs (what does the student need English for?) and specific

course needs (what does the student need from the course?). They provide a temporary approach

to analyze students’ needs by “asking pertinent questions on arrival and evaluating and adapting

throughout the course” (p.127). Dudley-Evans and John’s main proposal in needs analysis is

investigating students’ perspectives of their needs. My goal in my research is to analyze working

professionals’ perceptions of their needs. To look at professionals in the field, to learn their

challenges and experiences so as to develop strategies for working professionals to use and to

develop curricula and pedagogies for educational contexts, in schools and in the workplace1.

1 The need to turn ESP studies to the experiences of working professionals has been noted by others as well. Belcher

(2009), for example, stated that language teaching approaches mostly attempt to evaluate students’ language proficiency scores

7

Noticeably, many sources discuss the effectiveness of needs analysis through

investigating students or faculty perceptions of English language needs in different settings

(Jordan, 1997; Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998), or through analyzing learners’ communicative

performances in a specific situation like Shi (in Belcher, 2009), who conducted a short

ethnographic study to observe learners’ performances, then to identify lacks and deficiencies.

These ESP studies of needs analysis mainly rely on students’ perceptions of their needs;

however, students in most cases are not engaged in the real workplace context and not

necessarily aware of subject-specific requirements. Successful investigation of students’

perceptions depends on students’ awareness of differences between both language proficiency

needs and learning needs (Basturkmen, 2014), which might not happen during investigation.

Unlike English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) research which focus on analyzing real

context closely using task-based approach, ESP needs analysis as Flowerdew (in Ravelli et.al,

2013) pointed out has mainly focused on skills-based approach required in specific-disciplines

and professional working environment like delivering professional presentations and

professional engagement. However, limited number of ESP research focused on discovering

kinds of linguistic and communicative problems emerge in multicultural workplaces. Thus, the

dynamic practice of the workplace which is influenced by various cultural and economic factors,

ESP needs analysis needs to continue to be expanded into workplace studies.

I do not study pedagogy directly in my dissertation, but as part of my research, I asked

participants about their educational experiences being prepared to work in a multilingual

company where English is the lingua franca. Their responses and the findings from my study

have implications for teaching, particularly for education in the Gulf states, but also more

generally for professional education in countries where English is the native language and in

countries where it’s not. So, for part of this literature review, I examine ESP theories in the Gulf

states.

ESP Pedagogy in Global Context: Gulf States and Saudi Context

ESP theories and pedagogies have also been explored in the Gulf States educational

system since English is adopted as the second language for educational institutions. There have

been some scholarly works that recognize the increasing need to teach English for specific

purposes in the Gulf states and Saudi academic schools to fill job market needs of language

skills. Ahmed (2012) explained that although many Saudi academic schools have preparatory

year programs in which students learn English for general purposes, such programs do not

always help students meet their specific needs of English. He demonstrated that there is a recent

tendency in English Language Teaching (ELT) in Saudi academic schools to adopt ESP classes

for academic purposes since preparatory programs that teach general English is not enough to

prepare students for academic disciplines and job market. Ezza and Al-Jarallah (2015) studied

the validity of English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) classes taught in colleges of

engineering, medicine, and medical sciences. To collect data, they interviewed participants who

were deans, faculty, students of these disciplines, and practitioners of the ESAP program. The

findings revealed that few students interacted comfortably in ESP classes; they said that “college

does not pay enough attention to our need for ESP” (p.181). The students emphasized their needs

and their educational experiences. He explained that ESP practitioners need to seek to collect various forms of content (e.g.

video/audio recorded, written texts…etc.) to examine data in real context along with help from community insiders. Belcher

emphasizes the importance to engage community practitioners within real context needs analysis; however, he does not identify

an appropriate time manner for exploring real context needs.

8

for English for Medical Purposes (EMP) to prepare them to communicate effectively with

physicians in real context and to help them understand medical classes and conduct researches in

academia. El-Sakran (2014), similarly, investigated ESP classes provided for TESOL graduate

students in an Emirates (UAE) academic school. The course main project asked students to

investigate the effectiveness of teaching ESP classes in the UAE schools and the Gulf States

region. The students showed positive attitudes towards the teaching approach; for students, the

class was relevant, motivating, interesting and helped them use ethnographic strategies to

investigate ESP classes in the Gulf States.

Other studies examined the effective methods and approaches of teaching ESP in the

Gulf States classes. Mohammad Nazim and Zoheb Hazarika (2017) explored the efficacy of ESP

vs. Preparatory Year Program (PYP) provided in a Saudi academic school. He found that

students in PYP have a sufficient level of a general English language proficiency but not

qualified enough for ESP classes in which students should be at an intermediate to advanced

level of English. Likewise, Mohammad Alnufaie and Michael Grenfell (2012) examined Saudi

EFL students’ writing strategies, looking at now and if students used process approaches as they

worked within classes focused more on teacher-centered product approaches, which are more

common in the Saudi educational system. The study showed that about 95% of the investigated

students were mixing between process and product while writing.

In relation to process-based approach to ESP, Abdul-Aziz S. Alsamani and Ayman S.

Daif-Allah (2016), explored the effectiveness of integrating project-based learning (PBL) on

developing vocabulary acquisition in computer sciences. Like the previous study, resistance to

PBL project was also expected due to various academic challenges that ESP practitioners

encountered, and because of implementing a new learning method which could create learning

resistance. However, the findings showed that PBL was an appropriate learning method for

Saudi students; it emphasizes creativity through providing a relaxed learning environment which

encourages students’ engagement away from traditional teach-centered approach. It also

develops new learning habits through encouraging problem-solving approach, independency,

cooperation outside classroom, and awareness to learning process.

These studies of ESP pedagogy in the Gulf States are important and helpful for

considering how to build pedagogies for Gulf State students, but we also need studies of Gulf

State professional contexts to understand how English is used in both oral and written

communication in the workplace and what then the implications are for pedagogy based on

findings from professionals. However, we need not only to focus on the specific purposes for

professional communicating and using the language proficiently but also to explore corporate

cultures in which communication happening; multicultural variation in the workplace strongly

influences how ELF is perceived, used and practiced by multinational workforces.

Multiculturalism in Global Workplace Context

The main purpose of having multicultural workplace context, Jaroslava Ďurišováa and

Miloš Čambálb (2015) said, is to develop corporate policy and workplace environment by

providing equal opportunities for all employees to express their thoughts, practice their skills,

and share creativity which stems from different cultural backgrounds. In intercultural

communication, as Rebecca Marschan-Piekkari, Denice Welch, and Lawrence Welch (1999)

noted, there is often a lack of awareness toward cultural and language differences, which must be

considered to acquire multilingual, multicultural communicative competencies (Holden, 2002).

Accordingly, a communicative competence should be defined not only by individual’s ability to

9

use language skills but also the ability to use it within the organizational level (Louhiala-

Salminen & Kankaanranta, 2011, 2012).

Several scholarly theories discussed business communication in international context.

Alfred Smith (1966) explained the relationship between culture and communication and how

they are intertwined and inseparable. He said that “the way people communicate is the way they

live. It is their culture. who talks with whom? And about what? These are questions of

communication and culture” (p.1). Ďurišováa and Čambálb (2015) argued that multiculturalism

could be understood as the means of engagement to overcome variation and prevent cultural

conflicts that possibly arise between majority and minority. Thus, they asserted that multicultural

engagement could be developed only in the secured atmosphere in which tolerance, respect and

acceptance are the predominant behaviors away from being threatened by prejudices, stereotypes

and prejudgment.

Miscommunication in multilingual, multicultural context could happen due to

misinterpretation of words and behaviors of language, cultural norms and traditions. Gerard

Nierenberg and Henry Calero (1971) explained that the language system of one’s culture impacts

how this person understands others’ words and behaviors; what the speaker says and thinks is

said, and how the listener perceives what the speaker says all influence people’s communication.

When thinking about culture and business communication, one of the foundational

approaches to be discussed is Edward Hall’s Beyond Culture (1976) in which he analyzed how

philosophies, political institutions and culture impact behaviors through the lens of an

anthropologist. He argued that humans’ potentials are limited by their cultures that they live in

unless they are able to go beyond cultural boundaries to be more creative and responsive to

think, change, communicate and solve problems. He believed that “what gives man his identity

no matter where he is born—is his culture, the total communication framework: words, actions,

postures, gestures, tones of voice, facial expressions, the way he handles time, space and

materials, and the way he works, plays, makes love and defends himself” (p.37). Hall was trying

to draw reader’s attention to the fact that cultural behaviors gradually became habits being

controlled by hidden thoughts, which could provoke conscious attentions. Thus, intercultural

encounters highly arise hidden cultural thoughts and controls which are obviously reflected on

people’s verbal and non-verbal behaviors related to their ethnicities in addition to the significant

role of context and situation in shaping and reshaping meanings.

Hall’s theory of culture was extended by Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory and

research conducted in 1980 which focused on cross-cultural communication. He described how

the culture impacts social values and how these values impact people’s behaviors. Hofstede’s

study included 116,000 questionnaires that covered 60,000 people from more than 50 countries

worked in the multinational company, IBM. It examined and analyzed cultural values of

individualism-collectivism; uncertainty avoidance; power distance (social hierarchy) and

masculinity-femininity (task versus person-orientation) and later examined the fifth value of

long/short term orientation (Confucian Dynamism) which all became the main classification of

cultural values (d'Iribarne 1996; Hofstede 1980; Schneider and Barsoux 1997). He argued that

people tend to believe that peoples, despite differences, are all the same. They are unaware of

and tend to minimize cultural differences when communicating which leads to cultural

miscommunication. In order to create respectful cross-cultural communication, Hofstede

believed that we need to pay attention to the cultural dimensions of differences he theorized.

However, both Hall and Hofstede’s theories have been critiqued by many scholars who

argued that cross-cultural research is a problematic task due to many cultural factors that

10

researchers must overcome, which are different from typical researches (Cavusgil and Das

1997). Peter Cardon (2008) argued although Hall provided various anecdotes of different

cultures, he did not explain the method he used to develop and analyze his contexting model nor

he explained the measure he used for high-context and low-context cultures rankings. He did not

mention if he was using qualitative methods that meet today’s standards of research methods.

Nasif, Al-Daeaj, Ebrahimi and Thibodeaux (1991), on the other hand, discussed that

interpretations and definitions of terminologies are different across-cultures; thus, terminologies

used in research and questionnaire could be interpreted differently by different peoples in

addition to the issue of translation that could alter the intended research and responses meaning

(Henry, 1990). Another issue in cross-cultural research is that they focus on ethnocentric pattern

and a single timeframe, which could result in biased, inaccurate answers and misunderstanding

(Lubrosky 1959; Nasif et al, 1991). Researchers’ disciplinary backgrounds could also impact the

research results, as (Nasif et al (1991) argued. They said that in cross-cultural research, it is

better to gather points of view of different disciplines like perspectives of sociology, psychology,

economics, and anthropology, which could provide a different understanding to the research

results.

Diversity in business context could create communicative barriers like lack of

communication skills, language skills, awareness to cultural differences and social

communication, which all make intercultural communicative competence a necessity to

communicate effectively (Kikoski, 1999). Some studies found that failure behind working in

multicultural context is a result of the inability to understand and adapt in other cultures more

than lack of professional competence (Ferraro, 1990). Consequently, Julia Roig, as interviewed

by Mihočková (2015) argued that whenever acceptance and tolerance increase toward minorities,

cultural conflicts decrease and leads to stable society. Social balance, as Ďurišováa and Čambálb

(2015) said, is impaired in the societies that do not tolerate multiculturalism. Hence, to engage in

intercultural professional context, Wallace V. Schmidt, Roger N. Conaway, Susan S. Easton, and

William J. Wardrope (2007) discussed theories of intercultural communication and international

business, explaining how cognitive, social and personal skills like empathy, flexibility, and

tolerance to ambiguity all are needed for coping with intercultural challenges. They argued that

understanding multicultural communication is necessary to smooth business management and

prevent costly consequences of miscommunication that could happen in managerial or leadership

positions.

Undoubtedly, intercultural communication does not occur without any misunderstanding

triggered by differences in languages and cultural values (Adler, 1981; Usunier, 1993). The more

cultural and linguistic differences occur, the more self-awareness and understanding

professionals need to lower the risk of miscommunication and disruption in the flow of

information (Asheghian & Ebrahimi, 1990; Luostarinen, 1979). Several scholarly studies

investigated the impact of language and cultural differences on professional communication. In a

survey conducted on international marketing between American exporters and foreign partner

distributors, which focused on investigating the impact of cultural differences on professionals’

communication, Rajiv Mehtaa, Trina Larsenb, Bert Rosenbloomc, Joseph Ganitsky (2005) found

that cultural differences impact mutual trust, commitment and cooperation between NES and

NNES. The greater the cultural differences are, the lower the quality of communication and

cooperation occur in diversity. In a similar study, Neal (1998) in his cross-cultural management

study on a British subsidiary based on international context demonstrated how cultural and

linguistic differences in communication level can lead to cultural problems. He noted that

11

cultural differences in professional context increase difficulties in communication; such

difficulties could be practical like the differences in decision making and time management

between British and compatriots, it could also be emotional like the differences of cultural values

which caused frustration and difficulties in finding rapport with each other. These differences

made work more difficult and prone to problems and mistakes. Jessica K. Winkler, Jens Dibbern

& Armin Heinzl (2008) likewise observed cultural differences in offshore arrangement of

German organizations which work on outsourcing application activities to Indian vendors. They

found that cultural differences in power distance, cultural values, and working attitudes have

significantly impacted communication quality and in so affecting their outsourcing success.

According to Melvin C. Washington, Ephraim A. Okoro, and Otis Thomas (2012) several studies

have investigated the reasons behind failure in some international business ventures, and they

come up with three main reasons: lack of intercultural competency, inability to communicate in a

broadly, global level, and lack of appropriate etiquette in business negotiations. O’Rourke (2010)

Similarly noted that the most common factor contributes to the failure of businesses in

international context is the inability to adapt to the counterparts’ way of thinking and acting. As

employees being asked increasingly to master cultural competency for broad communication,

Melvin C, Ephraim A, and Thomas as well as O’Rourke, therefore, suggested for businesses to

recognize the significance of understanding counterparts’ cultural values and sensitivity toward

differences, to learn more about the challenges of expecting behaviors of diverse professionals

and about working in teams with multinational workers.

Accordingly, and based on the theories and studies conducted on the impact of language

and cultural values on business communication, what I think we need is to look in depth at

professional communication in global context using the lenses of multilingualism in ELF/ESP

context and multiculturalism, specifically on the Gulf States and Saudi workplace context; we

need to consider the following questions: how do professionals in global context communicate in

multilingual, multicultural workplace environment using English as a lingua franca? What are

some potential barriers occur in spoken and written communication between and among both

NNES and NES professionals? How do different cultural values and backgrounds impact

professionals’ mutual comprehension of using ELF? And how do professionals manage to

overcome miscommunication challenges? My dissertation seeks and offers answers to these

questions.

Dissertation Overview

In chapter two, I illustrate and detail the method of my research. Employing a

phenomenological and intercultural method of research and data analysis, my dissertation

focuses on the Gulf States workplace contexts, particularly the Saudi professional environment. I

conducted interviews with 22 Arabic and 5 native-English speaking professionals from a wide

variety of companies and positions and I obtained survey results from more than 100 native

English-speaking (NES) and non-native English-speaking (NNES) professionals. The interviews

were conducted in Arabic and English, depending on the preference of the participant and some

interviews were conducted in both languages. In this chapter I reflect in part on the role of

translation in all phases of research: from design and data collection to data analysis and data

write-up to member-checking and publication.

In chapter three, I focus on understanding the practice of English as lingual franca and as

a second language in global context in oral communication. I analyze the data I collected about

language barriers like second language terminologies, accent variations, bilingualism and

12

business productivity, and how cultural identity could impede oral effective communication

using ELF. I conclude the chapter by providing recommendations and suggestions for both

NNES and NES professionals based on the analyzed data and interviewees’ answers.

In chapter four, I focus on analyzing the data I collected on how NNES and NES

professionals communicate in business writing and process written documentation, how the

language barrier and bilingual environment impact their professional writings, what are

challenges NNES encounter in writing in English in westernized business styles and genres, how

often these professionals write, and what and how often written bilingual practices NNES and

NES do. I conclude the chapter with recommendations and suggestions for both NNES and NES

professionals based on data collected.

In chapter five, I focus on multiculturalism in Gulf State workplace. I argue that working

with people from different countries, generations, race, gender and who speak different

languages could create complications amid the ever-changing expectations for adaptability and

productivity in the workplace. The chapter analyzes data collected from survey and interviews

which investigate how NNES and NES professionals negotiate and manage cultural differences

in a multilingual context. I conclude the chapter with recommendations and suggestions for both

NNES and NES professionals based on the analyzed collected data.

In chapter six, drawing across the previous chapters and from participants’ in-depth

recommendations and suggestions provided in interviews and surveys, I offer summative

reflections and recommendations for professional communication in the workplace, for

pedagogical programs in native-English and non-native English countries and for the future

research needed. I reflect on how proficiency in English as a lingua franca is affected by self-

awareness of language proficiency, individual and cultural communicative style and cultural

competencies. I explain that affective linguistic performance and cultural intelligence are

necessary for cross-cultural professional communication through which we understand selves

and others’ way of communication, which helps to build professional relationships and

accomplish missions in diversity.

13

Chapter 2: Research Methods

In this chapter, I discuss my research methods for studying how professionals in multilingual,

multicultural workplaces communicate using English as a lingua franca. My survey and

interview approach allow for a deeper understanding of NNES and NES professionals’

experiences working in the Gulf States and provides data that points to ways to develop ESP and

intercultural communication theories for the global workplace.

Research Questions

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

• How do NNES and NES professionals in global context communicate in multilingual,

multicultural workplace environment using English as a lingua franca?

• What are the challenges that occur in spoken and written communication among both

NNES and NES professionals?

• How do different cultural values and backgrounds impact professionals’ mutual

comprehension of using ELF?

• And how do professionals manage to overcome miscommunication challenges?

My dissertation seeks and offers answers to these questions.

Method Selected

I chose to conduct research using mixed methods, both qualitative and quantitative.

Following Mary Sue MacNealy’s (1998) Michael Hughes and George Hayhoe’s (2009) and

Stake’s (2010) discussion of qualitative research methods, I choose a qualitative,

phenomenological study since the goal of the research is to explore a workplace phenomenon by

investigating experiences and perceptions of professionals in specific workplace context. I

carried out qualitative research to interview both NNES and NES professionals working in

different positions and different fields of profession in the Gulf States.

I also studied this phenomenon as drawn by John W. Creswell (2002), using a

quantitative approach from a mixed methods standpoint to survey participants and analyze

numbers and data gathered in a structured format. I was able to collect survey data from NNES

and NES professionals who work in variety of industries. I surveyed professionals to help get

more wide-spread information about professionals’ experiences. As shown in the subsequent

chapters, I put the quantitative survey data and the qualitative interview data in conversation to

analyze a number of themes and issues. Both the qualitative and quantitative methods were

helpful for understanding the multilingual, multicultural phenomenon in the Gulf States job

market.

The Researcher

As a researcher, I am uniquely positioned to conduct this cross-cultural, multilingual

research. I am a Saudi citizen who holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from King Saud

University, a Saudi academic school and a Master of Arts in English (writing) from the

University of Dayton in the U.S. While working on this study, I am pursuing my Ph.D. in

Rhetoric and Composition at Miami University in the U.S. As a researcher, I am a NNES

researcher who works closely with NNES and NES academic students and who taught EAP

course (First Year Composition for ESL students) and ESP course (Advanced Business

Communication for both NES and NNES students). I have been trained in the research skills

14

needed to design this study, skills include an empirical research course at Miami University. My

first language is Arabic, so I designed my recruitment materials in both Arabic and English. My

survey was in English, but I conducted interviews in both Arabic and English, as I describe in

more detail below.

Data Collection

I surveyed 120 and interviewed 27 professionals working in different fields of profession and

hold different professional positions in the Gulf States workplaces.

Survey

I designed the survey to seek answers for questions related to how NNES and NES

professionals in the Saudi and the Gulf States workplaces communicate in professional contexts

using English as a lingua franca in oral and written communication and how cultural diversity

impact their comprehension toward various Englihses used by different people. The research

sample was taken from the Gulf State job market. The focused research subjects were non-native

English speakers (NNES) and native-English speakers (NES) of 107 males and 11 females

professionals whose ages range varied between 18-25 and 56-65 years, and who studied in

different scholarly majors and work in different industrial fields, as shown in Tables 2.1 and 2.2,

like Arts and Finance, Business Management and Trading, Computer Sciences- IT (Information

Technology), Education and Training, Engineering, Science, and Mathematics, Hospitality and

Tourism, Human Services, Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security, Manufacturing,

Marketing, Sales and Service, Oil and Gas company, Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics,

and other professional fields.

Table 2.1: NNES Survey Participants Fields of Profession

Field of Profession Count

Arts and Finance 6.86%

(n=7)

Business Management and Trading 14.71%

(n=15)

Computer Sciences- IT (Information

Technology)

14.71%

(n=15)

Education and Training 3.92%

(n=4)

Engineering, Science, and Mathematics 17.65%

(n=18)

Hospitality and Tourism 0.98%

(n=1)

Human Services 3.92%

(n=4)

Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security 0.98%

(n=1)

Manufacturing 5.88%

(n=6)

Marketing, Sales and Service 4.90%

(n=5)

Oil and Gas company 15.69%

(n=16)

15

Table 2.2: NES Survey Participants Fields of Profession

The selected NNES and NES participants have worked for different periods of time include less

than 1 year, 2-4 years, 5-10 years, 11-15 years, 15-20, and more than 20 years. All participants

had to use English in their workplace yet not necessarily to speak it as a native language.

Participants career positions, as shown in Tables 2.3 and 2.4, included, but were not limited to,

Customer Service Agents, Engineers, Executives (CEO, CIO, CFO, CCO...etc., Human Resource

Administrators, Managers, Marketers, Programmers, Sales Representatives, and Small Business

Owners.

Table 2.3: NNES Survey Participants’ Career Positions

Other 9.80%

(n=10)

Total 100%

(n=102)

Field of Profession Count

Business Management and Trading

company

8.33%

(n=1)

Education and Training 41.67%

(n=5)

Government and Public Administration 8.33%

(n=1)

Human Services 16.67%

(n=2)

Oil and Gas company 8.33%

(n=1)

Other 16.67%

(n=2)

Total 100%

(n=12)

Position Count

Customer Service Agent 1.74%

(n=2)

Engineer 20.00%

(n=23)

Executive (CEO, CIO, CFO,

CCO...etc.)

6.96%

(n=8)

Human Resource

Administration

11.30%

(n=13)

Manager 32.17%

(n=37)

Marketer 2.61%

(n=3)

Programmer 2.61%

(n=3)

Sales Representative 6.09%

(n=7)

Small Business Owner 1.74%

(n=2)

Other 14.78%

(n=17)

Total 100%

16

Table 2.4: NES Survey Participants’ Career Positions

The first survey focused on NNES professionals, investigating their communicative competence

using English as a foreign language to communicate with other professionals in formal workplace

context. Some questions included focus on oral, written and cultural communication. (Please see

Appendix B for the NNES survey, presented in English.)

The second survey was for NES professionals, investigating their communicative

competence using English as a lingua franca to communicate with NNES professionals in

workplace contexts. The questions also focused on oral, written and cultural communication. (See

Appendix C for the survey for NES professionals.) Survey questions in both surveys were a range

of multiple choice, likert scale, rank order, and short open-ended. Participants could skip any

question they wished.

After designing the survey in English, I sent the research recruitment email in English to

NES and in Arabic and English to NNES professionals. I searched for NNES and NES

professionals in the Gulf States and Saudi workplaces using their LinkedIn profiles. The

participants selected were chosen based on different criteria including their professional and

workplace background. English had to be practiced in their workplaces, so they would be able to

participate in this study. The survey was sent to both males and females above eighteen years of

age and in different fields of profession. As shown in Table 2.1 and 2.2, the survey was received

by and completed by far more male participants, in part because in many global Gulf State

companies the workforce is predominantly male, especially in the oil sector.

Interviews

The interview invitation was also sent with the survey invitation letter. The participants had the

choice to conduct the interview in Arabic or English. I prepared many different questions in

Arabic and in English for both NNES and NES professionals depending on their positions, native

language, years of professional work, and type of industry. Potential participants were chosen

based on their meeting two criteria: they worked in the Gulf States and their company was

multilingual but used English (at least in part) as a lingua franca). The interviews began with

open-ended questions about the participants’ professional and language background in general,

and all questions were tailored to each participant depending on his position and professional

context:

• What is your position/job title and your responsibility at this company?

(n=115)

Position Count

Engineer 16.67%

(n=2)

Executive (CEO, CIO, CFO, COO...etc.) 16.67%

(n=2)

Human Resource 16.67%

(n=2)

Manager 25.00%

(n=3)

Other 25.00%

(n=3)

Total 100%

(n=12)

17

• How long have you been working in this position/company?

• How many years have you been working in an international context?

More intensive questions followed, to gather data with more depth on their professional

communication in English and with other NNES and NES professionals.

• What are common types of oral communications you have with colleagues? Do you

speak in English or Arabic? Do you communicate with customers/business partners from

native English-speaking countries like people from Americans, British, Canadians.…etc.

or non-native English countries like Chinese, Indians…etc.?

• Generally, how would you describe your business communication in English with non-

native Arabic speakers in terms of easiness and difficulty? how do you find working in a

bilingual business environment? What are some challenges newly hired employees face

in communicating with people from different cultures, for example difficulties in

understanding native speakers, delivering accurate meaning to English speakers,

understanding different cultural communication, processing documents in English in

different genres?

• Have you attended any business meetings in English with people from different

cultures, if so, how do you find professional communication in English with English-

speaking professionals in meeting? Are there any kind of challenges emerge in such

kind of communication? Could you provide examples…..Like understanding main

purposes of meetings in English, being able to communicate effectively in E,

professional presentation in E, enhancing cultural awareness and understanding…

• From your perspective as a CEO working in L2 context, what are essential professional

communication skills newly hired L2 employees need to have? Which language skills

and communicative competence components (linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and

strategic competence) do you emphasize to have?

• How can understanding cultural dimensions helps you as a business professional to work

cross-culturally? what are some challenges have you faced with L2 professional

employers/employees in business communication in English? How cultural/language

differences play role in facilitating/complicating understanding?

• In your workplace, what kind of format/genre and style of writing do you use. Do you

adapt western style of writing/genre or do you use second culture style of formatting to

cope with foreign clients/business partners?

I concluded the interviews with open-ended questions to invite more depth answers regarding

participants’ views and recommendations.

• From your personal experience in working in bilingual environments, what are things

needed to be considered when communicating in diverse environment with

multilingual/multicultural people, what are your recommendations and advisories for

educational institutions in the US and in the Gulf States to develop professional

communication in bilingual workplace environment.

The interviews were conducted over the telephone only. The interviews were recorded using a

voice recorder. No interview was conducted without confirming the written consent form sent to

participants after receiving written agreement of their participation. I conducted 27 interviews,

22 with NNES and 5 with NES professionals as shown in Table 2.5. Each interview took place in

a single interview session, and the length of the interviews varied from 30 to 60 minutes. After

completing each interview, I transcribed each one in Arabic or in English depending on the

18

language used during the interview. Then I translated the Arabic interviews to English so I could

include them in this dissertation written in English.

Participants could choose to use their real names or a pseudonym (marked as “pseudonymous” in

Table 2.5).

Table 2.5: NNES and NES Professionals Participated in Interviews Professional Position Company

A.H (pseudonymous) Manager, Business Development &

Proposals

A Saudi Construction Co. Ltd

Ahmed Al-Rashed Acting Executive Manager

Operational Risk

Al Rajhi Bank

Alias (pseudonymous) Senior Planning/process

optimization Engineer

Saudi Aramco

Ali Aljawad Co-Founder of two businesses,

Freelancer and Deals Manager

PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

B.S (pseudonymous) Associate Technical Professional -

Process

KBR-AMCDE

Oil & Energy

Brett Boyd Facilities Planning Specialist Saudi Aramco

Carl Tresler English Teacher

SESP (Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic)

Douglas Hassell CEO Sunlark Power (based in United Arab Emirates)

Emad Al Sahhar People and Organizational

Development Lead HRBP

Al Areefi Group of Companies-Chemical

Segment

Hasan Alfaraj Cost Control Specialist McDermott International Inc.

Hesham AlQahtani Chief Accountant Tatweer Company for Educational Services Ltd.

Hussain AlAli HR Compliance specialist Mercans, sub-contractor with ManTech MENA

LLC branch

Hussain Alsadah Senior HSES Training Specialist MCDERMOTT ARABIA CO LTD

Joe Stanley Programs Operations Manager ManTech International Corporation, MENA

Joshua E. Yardley Acting Head of Department

(Education)

SESP (Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic)

Khaled Aljuhani HR Manager (Anonymous Company) in Saudi Arabia

Mahdi Alshuwaiki Factory Manager Emerson Automation Solutions

Maitham Aljishi Co-Founder & CEO

Partner & Consultant

Taghleef Industrial CO . Ltd

Mogtaba Alzaher Purchasing Officer Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East

Mohamad Al-Tair Assistant Supply Chain Manager El Seif Engineering Contracting

Mohammad

Al Khabbaz

Sales Manager, Business

Development

Consultant, Entrepreneurship Coach,

Elected Municipal Councilor, Serial

Entrepreneur

SAM IT & Business Service (Co-Owner)

Hydrogen Atoms (Co-Founder)

Mohammed

AlKaltham

Senior Specialist Anti-Money

Laundering Investigation,

Compliance Anti Money

Laundering.

Al Rajhi Bank

Mostafa

Mohammed

HR Manager SESP (Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic)

Sajjad Alqallaf Sr. Instrument & Control Engineer SWCC (Saline Water Conversion

Corporation)

19

S.G (pseudonymous) Sr. Asset Engineering Manager Chemicals and intermediates industrial polymers

company

Talal Allaf Founder and Director

Account Manager

Isle of Innovation

Elm Company (Saudi Company)

Turki Al Alwan Chief Accountant Pan Gulf Valves (PGV)

Mechanical or Industrial Engineering

Data Analysis

I began with an inductive analysis—just reading and re-reading the transcripts to see what

themes emerged. Then I focused on a thematic analysis, reading both the interview transcripts

and the survey responses so to understand professionals’ point of views and analyze their

combined experiences. I organized data by thematic codes based on oral, written, and cultural

communication codes as shown in Table 2.6. The key themes I chose are based on participants’

experiences they had and challenges they encountered while communicating in English in the

workplace and based on their recommendations and suggestions for the best practices could be

done in business corporations and educational institutions.

Table 2.6: Key Themes for Coding Survey and Interview Data Chapter Codes

Chapter 3: oral communication Language proficiency and accent

• Second language terminology

• Accent

• Bilingualism

Cultural identity and language barrier

• Lack of cultural awareness in using the

language

• Language barrier and High-context culture

Chapter 4: written communication Language Expectations in Written Communications

• Written Genres and Communicative Contexts

• Challenges in NNES Style of Writing

• Negative Transfer from L1 to L2 Writing

• Style of Writing and The Use of Templates

• Possible Ways for Improving NNES Writing

• Collaborative Writing and Editorial Service

• Bilingual Writing: Translation Practices

• NES Translation Between English and Arabic

Languages

•

Chapter 5: cultural communication • How multiculturalism creates linguistic barriers in

professional communication

• Communication competencies needed in

multicultural workplace context

• The Power of Curiosity and the Importance of

Building Social Connections

•

Chapter 6: recommendations and

suggestions • Recommendations for English-as-Foreign

Language Schools teaching NNES students

• Recommendations for EFL schools

20

• Recommendations for ESL programs and academic

and schools in native-English speaking countries

teaching NNES and NES students

• Recommendations for business and professional

communication pedagogy

• Recommendations for Workplace Training and

Teaching

Ethical Concerns and Member Checking

Ethics remained the top priority throughout the research. I requested and received institutional

IRB approval to conduct this research. The risks to human subjects related to this study were

minimal. All participants were over 18 years of age determined by their ability to work in

different professional positions that they hold in the job market. I shared excerpts of the

dissertation with each interview participant, showing them the quotations used for review and

final agreement. I also asked them if there was anything they would like to add or clarify upon

reflection. Additionally, all recorded interviews were erased after final approval by the research

committee to minimize any future risks related to privacy.

21

Chapter 3: " The Language Barrier is Bigger than the Cultural One”: Oral

language in Multilingual, Professional Communication

For some of the participants I interviewed, what they identified as the “language barrier”

was, from their perspective, a greater factor shaping their oral, multilingual communication than

culture. This is not surprising given how English as a lingua franca continues to flourish

globally to facilitate business communication as the global economy necessitates having a

common language for business professionals from different backgrounds to work together. Of

the 120 people I surveyed who work at multilingual companies in the Gulf States, 71.57%

identified English as the lingua franca of their whole company and 20.59% identified it as the

lingua franca for at least some aspects of it. This means that a great deal of business

professionals are frequently having to communicate in a language other than their home, native

language and too that many native English speakers are working in environments where English

is used more as a foreign language than as a native language.

When communicators use a second, non-native language in the workplace it is most often

for a specific purpose to fulfil needs of a specific context. In second language (L2) pedagogical

studies, the goals of English language teaching (ELT) approach are not always tailored to meet

L2 learners’ needs, because it could be characterized as what John Swales defined in his

Episodes (1988) as “English for no obvious reasons.” Therefore, as discussed in Chapter 1, the

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) approach has emerged with a goal to develop appropriate

pedagogy for second language learners (LL2s) through connecting students’ professional needs,

language studies, discourse conventions, and related contexts (Belcher, Johns & Paltridge, 2011).

Because the main goal of ESP is to prepare L2 learners for communicating in specific

contexts, it is, not surprisingly, a challenging field due to the complex demands to engage into

different disciplinary and occupational contexts to enrich ESP pedagogy with authentic content

and to identify the extent to which ESP could serve professional purposes. Just a few studies

have been published in developing English for business purposes to improve L2 students’

business English proficiency. Brigitte Planken and Catherine Nickerson (2009) reviewed

scholarly studies on methodologies associated with ESP and business English as a lingua franca.

They focused on the spoken English business discourse in different European corporations in

which English is used as a lingua franca to facilitate communication among non-native English

speakers. They found that adopting business English as a lingua franca in a multicultural

environment could be problematic due to both cultural and language misunderstanding, which

may lead to unequal or limited participation among colleagues. Other studies (e.g., Basturkmen,

2010; Dudley-Evans, Jo, & John, 1998; Jordan, 1997) focused on developing ESP theories and

practices of needs analysis, genre analysis, and curriculum design. However, none of the above

studies investigated how native English speaking (NES) and non-native English speaking

(NNES) professionals communicate and process documentation in multilingual, multicultural

business environments.

Therefore, I chose to investigate the global multilingual/multicultural professional

environment, focusing specifically on professionals working in companies in Saudia Arabia and

the Gulf States in order to enrich ESP theories and pedagogical approach by exploring how

English as a second language and as a lingua franca is practiced orally among NNES and NES

professionals, what are the general oral language barriers they encounter in professional contexts,

how these barriers shape their interactions, and how they negotiate these barriers.

22

In this chapter, I turn from reviewing the scholarship on multilingual professional

communication and examine the specific data gathered in my study. Drawing from interviews

with 5 NES and 22 NNES professionals and surveys with 12 NES and 108 NNES professionals,

the overarching issues I explore in this chapter are the impact of the oral language barrier and

bilingual communication in the workplace, drawing from interviews and surveys with NES and

NNES professionals. Some questions in this chapter focus on evaluating oral language barriers

like second language terminologies, accent variations, bilingualism and business productivity,

and how cultural identity as expressed in language choices could impede effective

communication in second language. What the data show is that generally both NNES and NES

professionals can communicate orally in English in multilingual, multicultural business contexts,

however, with some workplace challenges in understanding accent variation and highly English

language proficiency. It also shows that NES professionals lack of linguistic cultural awareness

could also complicate NNES professionals understanding of English in workplace

communication.

Oral Language Proficiency and Accent

When surveying NNES and NES professionals for the official language they speak in Saudi

Arabian and Gulf States workplaces, the results in Table 3.1 show that 18.63% of NNES said

they always speak in English, 57.84% most of the time, and 18.63% sometimes. Only 4.9% of

NNES said they rarely speak English in the workplace. For writing, 66.67% of NNES said they

always write in English, 23.53% most of the time, and 5.88% sometimes. Only 3.92% said they

rarely write in English in their workplace.

Table 3.1. English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Non-Native English Speakers

(NNES) Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of the

time

Always Total

Time at work you speak in

English

0.00% 4.90%

(n=5)

18.63%

(n=19)

57.84%

(n=59)

18.63%

(n=19)

102

Time at work you speak in

Arabic

0.00% 11.76%

(n=12)

57.84%

(n=59)

23.53%

(n=24)

6.86%

(n=7)

102

Time at work you write in

English

0.00% 3.92%

(n=4)

5.88%

(n=6)

23.53%

(n=24)

66.67%

(n=68)

102

Time at work you write in

Arabic

25.49%

(n=26)

43.14%

(n=44)

22.55%

(n=23)

5.88%

(n=6)

2.94%

(n=3)

102

When it comes to speaking in Arabic, 11.76% of NNES said they rarely speak Arabic,

most participants 57.84% said they sometimes speak Arabic, 23.53% most of the time. Only

6.86% of NNES said they always speak Arabic. In terms of writing in Arabic, the highest

numbers of participants highlighted 25.49% for never, 43.14% rarely, and 22.55% said

sometimes. Only 5.88% and 2.94% said they speak Arabic most of the time and always,

respectively.

When surveying NES professionals about the main language they use in the Gulf States

workplace, as shown in Table 3.2, 90.91% said they always use English and 9.09% say most of

the time. NES participants said that their NNES colleagues can communicate with them

effectively, 36.36% said always, and 45.45% said most of the time. However, only 18.18% said

they rarely face difficulties understanding their NNES colleagues when those colleagues speak in

23

English and 36.36% said they face difficulties most of the time in understanding NNES English.

Table 3.2. English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Native English Speakers (NES) Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time

Always Total

When communicating in daily bases/ team

projects with non-native English

colleagues/professionals, I speak English

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 9.09%

(n=1)

90.91%

(n=10)

11

When communicating in English, I face

difficulty in understanding non-native

English speakers’ English

0.00% 27.27%

(n=3)

36.36%

(n=4)

36.36%

(n=4)

0.00% 11

When attending presentations and meetings

in English, there are difficulties in

communicating with non-native English

professionals

0.00% 27.27%

(n=3)

45.45%

(n=5)

27.27%

(n=3)

0.00% 11

My non-native English-speaking colleagues

can communicate effectively with me.

0.00% 18.18%

(n=2)

0.00% 45.45%

(n=5)

36.36%

(n=4)

11

Many NNES respondents self-identified with a high degree of L2 proficiency, as shown in Table

3.3; 41.38% strongly agreed, 51.72% agreed that they can understand oral communication in

English. Also, 41.86% strongly agreed, 50.00% agreed that they are able to communicate

effectively in English in their workplace. However, using English as a lingua franca in global

context does not go without challenges. While approximately 60% strongly disagreed or

disagreed that they face difficulty in speaking English in their workplace, a considerable number

of the survey respondents, approximately 30%, agreed or somewhat agreed that they find it

difficult understanding English in the workplace.

Table 3.3. English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Non-Native English Speakers

(NNES) Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

I find it more difficult to speak in

English

1.15%

(n=1)

3.45%

(n=3)

8.05%

(n=7)

10.34%

(n=9)

16.09%

(n=14)

34.48%

(n=30)

26.44%

(n=23)

87

When communicating in English, I

face difficulty in understanding others

(e.g., native English speakers, non-

native English who speak English as a

lingua franca like Indians and

Europeans)

1.15%

(n=1)

8.05%

(n=7)

22.99%

(n=20)

4.60%

(n=4)

17.24%

(n=15)

35.63%

(n=31)

10.34%

(n=9)

87

I understand oral communication in

English

41.38%

(n=36)

51.72%

(n=45)

3.45%

(n=3)

1.15%

(n=1)

2.30%

(n=2)

0.00% 0.00% 87

I can communicate effectively in

English with colleagues

41.86%

(n=36)

50.00%

(n=43)

4.65%

(n=4)

1.16%

(n=1)

1.16%

(n=1)

0.00% 1.16%

(n=1)

86

These quantitative data from the surveys show that both NES and NNES professionals

experience challenges centered around the use of English as a lingua franca in the workplace, but

to understand what these challenges are the perspectives of the people I interviewed are helpful.

24

For example, when I asked interviewees about the oral language barrier they encounter in L2

workplace context, Mohammad Alkhabbaz, a Saudi citizen and a co-founder of Hydrogen Atoms

and a co-owner of SAM IT & Business Service who has interacted in his career frequently with

clients from China, Germany, and India, pointed to oral language gap among NNES

professionals in international business communication, explaining:

Some nationalities [of] non-native [English] speakers, don’t really speak very good

English, and it's quite difficult to communicate with them. . .. I noticed that there was a

huge language challenge. . .. Some people [focus on] the cultural barriers. I tend to just

focus on the language barriers. I haven't seen huge problems related to culture; of course,

there are some, but I think the language barrier is bigger than the cultural one.

I now turn to exploring those oral language barrier challenges in more detail.

Second Language Terminologies

Linguistic misunderstanding is one of the main barriers encountered in intercultural

communication due to differences in, for example, language proficiency, professional jargon,

and cultural backgrounds as, for the focus of this chapter, manifest in oral language and

communication. Jargon when used by insiders to a discourse community works well for boosting

effective communication, enabling terms and phrases and acronyms to stand in for complex

knowledge sharing. However, in intercultural communication, jargon often obscures the intended

message if not all speakers are proficient with the jargon as communicated in English. Some

NNES argue that NES professionals tend to speak so fast and/or to use unfamiliar words in

professional communication without considering NNES understanding of what they say. Hussain

Alali, a Saudi citizen and a HR compliance specialist at Mercans, said:

Sometimes it is so hard to find the appropriate words while talking with native English

speakers, or they may use new or unfamiliar terms to us, for example, slang terms, highly

specialized terms for specific major. . .Sometimes we [NNES] do not understand some of

these terms, but we pretend to understand. For me, as a professional graduated from a

native English-speaking country, New Zealand, I find speaking English in workplace is

easy to a medium level of difficulty; however, my colleagues who graduated from Saudi

schools sometimes have difficulty in using English. [translated from Arabic]

Mohammed Alkaltham, a Saudi citizen and a senior specialist anti-money laundering

investigator at Al Rajhi Bank, also referred to NNES lack of essential terminologies in English,

impacted as well by rhetorically ineffective style of delivery:

Some people have a problem in delivering or describing something, specifically when

delivering accurate information related to financial matters or information requires

providing directions, suggestions or explanation. This problem could lead to

misunderstandings. The misunderstanding might be related to the culture or to the lack of

language proficiency. I may have a limited number of second language terminologies, or

I may express myself or explain something in a limited way. Or I might be unable to talk

in a professional style to deliver meaning concisely and accurately… Foreigners

[meaning those from European or American backgrounds], generally, do not like to talk

too much, they love directness and easiness in providing information in contrast to our

culture in which socialization is crucial before delivering intended information.

[translated from Arabic]

25

Hussain Alsadah, a Saudi citizen and a senior HSES training specialist at McDermott Arabia Co.

Ltd, said that as a NNES professional, he tries to simplify his oral language and avoids using any

unfamiliar terms to facilitate communication in his intercultural workplace environment. He said:

For non-native [English] speaking people, I try my best to make the communication

between us using body language, sometimes using [the] simplest words, I try to avoid

vocabulary that might be complicated for them to understand.

Due to differences in L2 proficiency among NNES professionals, more effort is frequently

needed to create meaningful and understandable communication as Ali Aljawad, a co-founder of

two businesses, described, “for non-English speakers, most of them or all of them cannot express

themselves correctly. I cannot get what they mean if they didn't explain it especially if their

English is not that good.” He finds “lots of troubles during presentations [where NNES are]

explaining more, justifying more, [and] clarifying more.”

While complaining about the gap in oral language proficiency, Aljawad also noted that

self-awareness in using L2 appropriately for the intended audience is necessary to smooth

professional communication. As a highly proficient NNES, he recognizes that “maybe my

business English, the terminologies that I use for non-[native]English speakers [are] difficult, so

I have to go to their level.” Overall participants’ answers reveal that simplifying workplace

English in English as a lingua franca (ELF) context is an effective way to maintain an

understandable level of oral language proficiency.

Accent

Many interviewees stated that understanding different English accents is one of the main

challenges they often face in an intercultural business communication. Table 3.4 presents NNES

professionals’ answers about their experiences in multicultural meetings. As it shown, most

NNES respondents strongly agree 38.27%, agree 40.74%, and somewhat agree 7.41% that they

feel comfortable in communicating in English in professional meetings. Few numbers, though,

say neutral 4.94%, somewhat disagree 6.17%, and disagree 2.47%. However, answers are varied

when asking them if they face difficulty in understanding different professionals’ accents and

fluency in English; the highest numbers say 30.00% somewhat agree, 12.50% agree, 1.25%

strongly agree, and 16.25% neutral. Other answers are 11.25% somewhat disagree, 22.50%

disagree, and 6.25% strongly disagree. When asking them if they feel unnoticed and

unappreciated in their workplace/meetings because of having difficulty in conveying their

thoughts in English, the majority strongly disagree 35.80%, disagree 35.80%, and somewhat

disagree 6.17% that they feel unappreciated but with few percentages who say neutral 7.41%,

somewhat agree 8.64%, agree 3.70%, and strongly agree 2.47%, which highlight their feelings of

being unnoticed in their workplace. Similarly, most participants strongly disagree 44.44%,

disagree 34.57%, and somewhat disagree 6.17% that they are less engaged and have limited

contributions as team players because of their inability to get a message across in English while

some other say neutral 3.70%, somewhat agree 4.94%, agree 4.94%, and strongly agree 1.23%

that they less engaged in team work due to lack of language proficiency. Some NNES

professionals clarify some difficulties they face in meetings like various accents, inaccurate

pronunciation, word by word translation between the two languages, native English speakers

accents like British and American accents, and lack of knowledge of the discussed topics in

meetings. When looking to the overall responses, it could be concluded that NNES

professionals, generally, are able to understand and engage in professional meetings with regards

26

to some difficulties like understanding various English accents and inability to communicate

their ideas clearly in English, which might hinder their professional communication.

Table 3.4: NNES Communication in Multicultural and Multilinguistic Variation in

Professional Meetings Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

I feel comfortable in

communicating in English in

professional meetings

38.27%

(n=31)

40.74%

(n=33)

7.41%

(n=6)

4.94%

(n=4)

6.17%

(n=5)

2.47%

(n=2)

0.00% 81

I face difficulty in

understanding different

professionals’ accents and

fluency in English

1.25%

(n=1)

12.50%

(n=10)

30.00%

(n=24)

16.25%

(n=13)

11.25%

(n=9)

22.50%

(n=18)

6.25%

(n=5)

80

I feel unnoticed and

unappreciated in the

workplace/meetings because

I have difficulty in conveying

what I want to say in English.

2.47%

(n=2)

3.70%

(n=3)

8.64%

(n=7)

7.41%

(n=6)

6.17%

(n=5)

35.80%

(n=29)

35.80%

(n=29)

81

I am less engaged and have

limited contributions as a

team player because of my

inability to get a message

across in English

1.23%

(n=1)

4.94%

(n=4)

4.94%

(n=4)

3.70%

(n=3)

6.17%

(n=5)

34.57%

(n=28)

44.44%

(n=36)

81

Table 3.5: Some NNES Professionals’ Examples of Difficulties They Experience in Attending

Professional Meetings in English I am facing problem when I talk with Indian people in meeting

Since I studied in the USA, and worked hard on the language, I’m not facing any issues in meeting. As an Arabic

native speaker, I think it's better to speak Arabic when the attenders are Arab because at the end it's our native

language and we should proudly speak it

The main issues with some Arabs who translate to English word by word, and not the syntaxes. Or for them

understanding the meaning of expression apart from its direct words meaning

At work meeting

Once some native British & Americans speak using their own accents!

All meeting and demo now done by English

Getting a chance easily to talk

Lack of knowledge of the subject occur

Sometime pronunciation of some words by others is difficult

NES professionals’ answers, on the other hand, show some similarities to the NNES responses.

When asking them if they feel comfortable in communicating with NNES in professional

meetings the highest number, as shown in Table 3.6, 40.00% agree, 20.00% highly agree, and

20.00% somewhat agree. Only few numbers somewhat disagree 10.00% and strongly disagree

10.00%. However, when asking them about difficulty in understanding NNES professionals’

27

accents and fluency in English, the majority somewhat agree 60.00% and 10.00% say neutral.

30.00% though disagree that they feel difficulty in understanding NNES accents. Likewise,

40.00% disagree, 10.00% somewhat disagree and 10.00% strongly disagree that they have had

interpersonal conflict with colleagues/business partners, and they feel frustration due to NNES

difficulties in English and cultural misunderstanding. Only 20 % say neutral and somewhat

disagree.

Table 3.6: NES Communication in Multicultural and Multilinguistic Variation in

Professional Meetings With NNES

Question Strongly

Agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

I feel comfortable in communicating

with non-native English speakers in

professional meetings

20.00%

(n=2)

40.00%

(n=4)

20.00%

(n=2)

0.00% 10.00%

(n=1)

0.00% 10.00%

(n=1)

10

I face difficulty in understanding

different non-native English

professionals’ accents and fluency

in English

0.00% 0.00% 60.00%

(n=6)

10.00%

(n=1)

0.00% 30.00%

(n=3)

0.00% 10

I have had interpersonal conflict

with colleagues/business partners,

and I feel frustration due to non-

native English speakers' difficulties

in English and cultural

misunderstanding

0.00% 0.00% 20.00%

(n=2)

20.00%

(n=2)

10.00%

(n=1)

40.00%

(n=4)

10.00%

(n=1)

10

It can be concluded that NES professionals, too, are able to communicate with NNES in

ELF context with regard to some difficulties like understanding accent variation in professional

meetings, which could complicate professional negotiation/discussion and limit NNES

participation.

When interviewing NNES professionals, some Saudi participants demonstrate difficulty

in understanding accents of other NNES professionals in their workplace. A.H., a manager at a

Saudi construction company, went to a graduate school in the United States and has worked in

Saudi Arabia for many years so he is a highly proficient NNES speaker. He noted that in

international professional communication with professionals from China, he and his colleagues

encounter a problem in understanding the Chinese speaker’s accent: “when they talk in English

we cannot understand them.”

Alsadah also brought up accents, describing a process of familiarization: “Frankly

speaking, it depends on their tongue. . . people [who are] coming from the U.S.—and you know in

the U.S. they have different tongues or different dialects—sometimes I feel I face difficulty in

understanding them until I get used to the way they talk and then it becomes normal.” Some other

NNES participants expressed difficulty in understanding NES professionals’ accents as Mostafa

Mohammed, a Saudi citizen and an HR manager at Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic (SESP),

commented: “I didn't have any difficulty with westerners’[accents] at all. There is only one guy I

have difficulty with [who] is from the UK and [who] speaks Welsh. I think he's from Wales and

even people from the United States, New Zealand or Australia, have difficulty to understand him

when he talks.”

Accents are, of course, not just a challenge for NNES professionals—NES professionals

struggle too, a point Aljawad noted: “accents are difficult to understand specially for English

28

speakers or, for example, those who come from Scotland, Australia.” And Khaled Aljuhani, an HR

manager at a multinational professional British corporation who went to graduate school in the

UK, also described the challenges in understanding both NES and NNES professionals. “Working

with a British company, it [is] a little bit challenging at the beginning but [for] other non-Arab

nationalities [we work with], there are more challenges. It is very hard to understand them. Their

accents are even harder than British and American accents”.

Based on NNES professionals’ answers shown above, it could be concluded that they

encounter difficulties in understanding accent variation of not only other NNES but also NES

professionals. Often NES professionals may forget that their English is English with an accent too.

They might use, for example, slang English, unaware of NNES unfamiliarity of their accents, and

they might also speak a rapid pacing English which could hinder NNES understanding of their

accents.

Bilingualism

Being a bilingual professional in an increasingly globalized world adds a significant

advantage to someone’s success since mastering different languages for professional

communication strengthens successful business relationships. One of my goals with this study was

to learn more of how NNES and NES professionals use English and Arabic interactively in

business contexts. Although English is the lingua franca of the global businesses, native languages

of home countries are present and practiced professionally along with English.

Switching to native languages among NNES professionals in business conversations in

which spontaneous communication is required is kind of getting back to safe-zone to clarify any

kind of miscommunication, as Maitham Aljishi, a Co-Founder & CEO Partner & Consultant,

described:

In Saudi Arabia in the workplace, we speak both languages—English and Arabic—and

our work colleagues they are not fluent in English. So I am used to speaking both

languages because some of my employees do not speak fluent English. But when we

communicate with Chinese manufacturers, we always talk in English like emails, phone

calls, or like Skype. The main language that we use to communicate to get things done is

English.

He also stated that some professionals are not familiar with highly specialized business

terminologies, which makes him switch to the local language, Arabic, to make sure everyone is on

the same page:

If we're talking about Saudi Arabia, sometimes, especially in the private sector, most of

employees are expats, let's say Egyptians, Jordanians, or Lebanese; not all of them

understand everything in English especially in marketing terminology; you know that if we

want to segment the market, they don't understand what that means. We have to talk in

Arabic, and you can apply this example to many occasions.

Aljawad, likewise, stated that in his workplace, oral translation between English and Arabic occurs

to help facilitate understanding of English accents “some clients ask to explain it in Arabic for

more clarification especially if we have native-English speakers here with British accents...it is

mostly an accent challenge more than communication.”

When surveying NNES professionals for switching between English and their mother

tongue, as shown in Table 3.7, Arabic, with their immediate colleagues, the highest percentages

highlighted both English and Arabic, 56.32% and it depends, 20.69%, which indicate the level of

comfort in speaking their home language in the workplace through which employees can express

29

themselves accurately and to prevent any kind of misunderstanding. Similarly, when dealing

with superiors, customers and clients, the highest numbers of NNES participants of 43.68% and

42.53%, respectively, chose to speak both languages, depending on their superiors’ native

languages.

Table 3.7. English in the workplace—Survey Perspectives of Non-Native English Speakers

(NNES)

NNES: When speaking with my immediate colleagues/superiors/customers/clients, I speak in:

Answer Immediate

Colleagues

Superiors Customer/Clients

English 19.54%

(n=17)

35.63%

(n=31)

34.48%

(n=30)

Arabic 3.45%

(n=3)

8.05%

(n=7)

4.60%

(n=4)

Bothe English

and Arabic

56.32%

(n=49)

43.68%

(n=38)

42.53%

(n=37)

It depends 20.69%

(n=18)

12.64%

(n=11)

18.39%

(n=16)

Total 100%

(n=87)

100%

(n=87)

100%

(n=87)

When communicating with superiors, customers and clients, as seen in Table 3.7, 35.63% and

34.48% of participants, respectively, tend to switch to English, depending on the other’s native

language and to maintain an acceptable level of formality.

In an open-ended comment where survey respondents explained how they chose what language,

answers included:

• With Immediate Colleagues

o If Arabic colleague, I speak in Arabic. If non-Arabic, I speak English

o It depends on the native language of my colleagues, it is better to clarify that in

the question. Assuming that the business colleagues are Arabs, sometimes the

corporate culture implies such a norm, i.e. speaking in English with them, and this

is common in organizations like Aramco. In some other situations, it is the nature

of technical terms used in the business, where it becomes much easier to discuss

with colleagues in English.

o It depends on their native language

o Depending on his nationality

• With Superiors

o It depends on their native language

o Depending on his nationality, superiority never an issue with me.

• With Customers/Clients

o If Arabic customer, I speak in Arabic. If non-Arabic, I speak in English

o It depends on their native language

As known, second language proficiency increases job opportunity and successful

business relationship Lisa Chau (2014) interviewed Ryan McMunn, a language expert and CEO

of BRIC Language Systems, who said that "I never would have been successful in China had I

not learned how to speak Mandarin. By learning a second language, I had an opportunity to

develop relationships with Chinese executives and conduct business in ways that otherwise

30

would not have been possible." Of the NNES professionals I surveyed, 74.26% (75 of 101)

identified that they completed their academic or professional degrees in English-speaking

institutions and 18.81% (19) identified completing their study in both Arabic and English. Only

5.94% (6) completed their degrees in their native language of Arabic. The number of NES

respondents is much smaller, just 12, but of those 12 only 25% (3) report that they write or speak

Arabic to “workplace proficiency,” meaning that 75% of NES professionals I surveyed are not

proficient in the language of the country where they work.

According to Cheryl Conner (2014), most American entrepreneurs consider English the

lingua franca of global businesses, which feeds the belief that there is no need to invest in

learning a second language, and not surprisingly then 82% of Americans are monolinguals.

Joshua E. Yardley, an acting head of education department in SESP (Saudi Electric Services

Polytechnic), said that although he has been working in Saudi for more than four years, he has

not needed to learn Arabic for workplace communications:

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't [speak Arabic]. I've been here for four and a half years

and have barely picked up any Arabic. And that's mainly due to the fact that I don't really

need Arabic. All of my [Arab] colleagues are fluent English speakers, and [when] I'm not

at work, most of my interactions with store clerks and waiters are also in English since

they're are all expats as well from the Philippines, Egypt or India.

Learning another language does take a lot of time and a long-term commitment, a point Joe

Stanley, a programs operations manager at ManTech International Corporation, MENA in Saudi

Arabia, shared:

I feel bad not speaking Arabic that much, but normally my work just never gives me time

to attend speaking classes. I can do the basics but nothing great fabulous. I could say salaam

Alaikum, Kaif Halek? So, if Hussein [an employee] helps me out a lot, he teaches me little

phrases. But it's not like I'm really learning the language like I should. I've been over there

so many years and not speaking Arabic. But I feel bad about not doing that […] So it's

probably worth the time because I have seen guys that they really plan on working say in

Saudi Arabia for many years and they take the time to learn Arabic and it does help them

out from a professional relationship.

Stanley explained how significant he feels it is to learn at least basic phrases of the local

language for new NES professionals who manage to work overseas; it provides opportunities for

social integration with NNES professionals since people trust those who familiarize themselves

with the local norms and language, and it also creates a sense of belonging to the new culture:

One of the things I do tell the new hires is, “Hey you're going to do working for a captain

in the Royal Saudi Air Force. Are you prepared to meet this captain?” And they go “what

do you mean?” [And I say] “you're going to walk into his office and he's going to say

something like Marhaba! And what are you going to say?” And they tell me, “well I

mean to say hello” and I'm going to say, “yeah you come off like every other American.

You know what, if you walk in and say Salam Alaikum, you're going to throw him off.

Number one he is probably going to back off and he's going to say: ‘you know Arabic.’”

And this is what I tell them [the new hires] “but that's OK. Just you come back with ‘No,

I don't speak Arabic, but I did prepare to meet you today.’ And you just scored a friend!

So, when you do that communications, the initial communication in the very first

communication that you plan for it, it can last a lifetime.”

Similarly, Brett Boyd, an American Facilities Planning Specialist in Saudi Aramco who has

worked in different countries overseas, stated that he has only been able to speak very little of the

31

languages of the host countries in which he’s worked, so far. He explains how he copes with the

lack of a second language proficiency in intercultural communication:

I had a project in China in 2005 and 2006, and I traveled back and forth between the U.S.

and China frequently. There were some days where no one spoke English, and I was

supposed to train them. So, using quick sketches, drawings, and sign language, I managed

to communicate. Occasionally, I run into this same situation in Saudi Arabia, but not to

work sites. At all of the Aramco work sites, there's always someone who speaks English,

and typically exceptionally well. However, sometimes when I'm traveling in Saudi

Arabia, I really struggle communicating with the little bit of Arabic that I know.

Familiarity of the target culture’s oral language in EFL business context, as indicated by some

interviewees’ responses, plays a significant role in decreasing language barrier of NES

professional communication. It also helps in enhancing better engagement with local people and

culture.

Cultural Identity and Language Barrier

Some NNES have a strong sense of identity and belonging to their native cultures.

According to Mohammad Khatib and Mohammad R. Ghamari (2011), speakers who have strong

feeling of belonging to their cultures consider their languages as representative of their identities,

which translates to their strict adherence to using their languages. Considering sense of identity

when communicating internationally, some professionals have a negative attitude toward using

English (or any second language) as a lingua franca to communicate with other NNES in a global

context, which sometimes complicates professional communication. For example, S.G, a Saudi

engineering manager in a petrochemical company, described some NNES professionals’ attitude

toward using English as a lingua franca:

I could see with American people or western people--their accents sometimes would be

difficult to get from the first time [but] other people, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, almost

we are facing many difficulties because they believe their languages are their main

tongues and part of their identities. They rarely try to learn the language [English] in a

very professional manner. I've been in some countries to work. I could see we faced

major difficulties especially with Chinese, Japanese or Asian because their cultures are

closed. They . . . deal with English language purely for business needs. If we face

difficulties or challenges in speaking with them […], [we need to] make it clear in the

second or third time with the body language to understand what they mean.

Similarly, Sajjad Alqallaf, a Saudi instrument and control engineer in SWCC (Saline Water

Conversion Corporation), revealed that identity plays a significant role in facilitating or

complicating professional communication:

A lot of Chinese in our field especially at the beginning of 2012, 2013, …do not speak

English and they don't want any English actually. Even they do not try to

understand…especially Chinese people. So […] if we need something, we...show them

some pictures...so they understand, and sometimes they don't understand very well.

But he also noted, that is changing as Chinese professionals interact more and more in global

business contexts.

Lack of Cultural Awareness

While NNES professionals express having challenges in understanding various English

accents, some attribute the lack of language proficiency issues to NES lack of language-learning

32

awareness because NES professionals are mostly monolingual who may not aware of difficulties

that NNES face when communicating in English nor do they recognize the cultural contexts

shaping language usage. If you’ve never learned another language, then you have not also

learned the discursive patterns that accompany that language. Mahdi Alshwaiki, a Saudi factory

manager at Emerson Automation Solutions, pointed out that when NES communicate in English,

most NNES professionals keep silent or pretend they understand everything; they do not ask for

clarification, which negatively impacts team work. But in high-context cultures like Saudi

Arabia, people feel embarrassed to ask for clarification or to say they did not understand. But

rather than the burden being on NES to change their discourse patterns, NES professionals

should show consideration and change their language usage. Alshwaiki attributed this issue to

NES lack of cultural awareness of the new workplace environment, which is a key factor that

complicates their communication in international context. He said:

People feel embarrassed to say, “Repeat the question, I did not understand.” Most

[NNES] people pretend to understand [NES professionals], but at the end, we find that

the work done incorrectly. When American professionals come here [to Saudi Arabia] to

work and who speak formal or informal English, they do not pay attention that we are not

used to the accents of their environment.

A.H. also, referred to NES vocal pacing as one of the challenges he encounters when

communicating with them, which connects to NES lack of cultural language-learning awareness.

He said:

With Americans, my main problem is with southern states’ accents. For example, I have

a dinner meeting today in another company. They [Americans from southern states]

speak too fast, this is one of the problems with American, pacing. My workplace manager

is American from Texas. His only problem is he speaks too fast...and he is so direct, what

is right is right and what is wrong is wrong; for him, there is no place for emotion.

[translated from Arabic]

Both Alshwaiki and A.H. indicate that NES professionals lack of language awareness and how

Arabic NNES may not ask questions can lead to misunderstandings as well as wasted time,

money, and effort when work is “done incorrectly.” NES professionals need to devote

considerable effort to speak English appropriately for international business communication

where for most people English is a foreign language and to adapt to L2 cultures’ norms and style

of communication Spencer Hazel (2016) points out that there is numerous evidences that NES

professionals are failing in international integartion due to their inability to tailor their English

for new cultures:

This points to a very real danger that native English speakers, especially those who never

mastered another language, risk missing out on business opportunities - whether in the

form of contracts, idea development, job opportunities and the like - due to a basic lack of

understanding of what international English communication entails.

While NNES complain about NES professionals’ accents and style of communication, NES

professionals also encounter difficulty in understanding NNES various accents. Douglas Hassell,

a British CEO of Sunlark Power in Dubai, UAE, said that highly diversified workplace context

in Dubai makes intercultural professional communication more complicated:

I think one of the biggest challenges is actually not the local community here. When

we're talking to the local community whether it's really Arabic community here, they

generally have good English skills and a good knowledge of the language in depth. The

issue I think comes because of the high levels of multicultural say 70 percent expats

33

living here [in Dubai] . . . Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Asian individuals, where you have

more of a barrier in terms of speaking English.

Similarly, Stanley demonstrated that diversity creates a competitive environment, which never

goes without challenges in managing expats’ needs:

I tell new hires because I run all the onboarding for new hires even when I was with Fidel

Arabiya even before in Riyadh and even in Abu Dhabi, but I ran the new hire programs.

And what's interesting is in Abu Dhabi in the UAE there we had thirty two nationalities

in that company, which you can imagine is not only the host country Language barriers,

but the barriers from people from Brazil or some eastern European country coming to the

Gulf region and privatizing themselves to go to work. But the first thing I always tell

them is know the culture.

Oral Language Barrier and High-Context Culture

According to Morris Kalliny, Anshu Saran, Salma Ghanem, & Caroline Fisher, (2011),

Arab societies are defined as high social context societies. Non-verbal communication in Arabic

culture has been given more attention because of its high-context nature in which intended

messages are left to be understood through non-verbal cues (Loosemore & Muslmani, 1999).

Professional communication in collectivistic high-context societies is highly impacted by saving

face in front of others. Rebecca S. Merkin (2017) found that in high-context cultures,

individuals’ perception of themselves is highly influenced by the views of others; they behave as

if they were observed and judged by society. Erving Goffman (2005), similarly, stated that in

collectivistic culture, “face is an image of the self, delineated by approved social attributes” (p.

5). Thus, in business communication, individuals of high-context cultures are often sensitive in

presenting selves in front of people; they tend to communicate indirectly to preserve dignity and

social position (Merkin, 2018).

Given the nature of high-context culture, and as indicated in the scholarly sources above,

some NNES professionals argue that the face nature of high-context people complicates

workplace communication in English. Alshwaiki, a Saudi factory manager at Emerson

Automation Solutions, described the issue of pretending to understand among NNES

professionals when communicate in English, they pretend to understand what is being said which

negatively impacts their performances and task accomplishments. He says:

When working on communication in the company, I love listening to people; I find most

people laugh [ when communicating in English], then I realize they have not understood

[what is being said].

Similarly, Maitham Aljishi, a Saudi Co-Founder &CEO Partner & Consultant, referred to some

Arabs’ way of communication in professional meetings. They pretend to understand the discussion

without asking for clarification: “If you have a meeting with expats from Arab countries, it's hard

to make sure that everybody is on the same page because nobody will say I cannot speak English,

or I don't understand because everybody pretends that he is covering everything.” He also referred

to the skill of observing body language as a technique to rectify any misunderstanding among

NNES, “So sometimes you have to guess by eye contact if they are understanding exactly what

you mean or not.”

Alkabbaz highlighted that the issue of pretending is mostly common among fresh graduates

who are not used to the new workplace environment:

Lots of colleagues act or deal with you and make you feel that they understand every single

word you say in English, but then you realize that they [do] not, and that's another

34

communication issue, I think, fresh graduates deal with. Sometimes they feel shy of not

saying that they do not understand a single word. Yeah, I mean that's a basic thing that they

should stop doing. They should clearly mention and validate their understanding of their

colleagues.

Although pretending could be a serious issue among NNES professionals if the majority of what’s

being said is not understood, but as Hussain Alali pointed out, sometimes some lack of

understanding does not hinder the overall NNES ability to communicate in English:

Sometimes we do not understand some of these terms, but we pretend to understand. For

me, as a professional graduated from a native English country, New Zealand, I find

speaking English in workplace is easy to a medium level of difficulty; however, my

colleagues who graduated from Saudi schools sometimes have difficulty in using English

but not to the extent that hinders their ability to communicate. [translated from Arabic]

Undergirding language usage is also the effect of self-confidence in high-context culture in which

some professionals tend to be hesitant in speaking in front of others. Mohammed Alkaltham stated

how social and cultural behaviors impact NNES professionals’ self-confidence when

communicating in English:

Generally, in professional contexts, I communicate in the Arabic language. I do not

restrict myself to English unless I need to communicate with non-Arabs. Previously, I’ve

faced a problem, and I’ve heard many other Saudi youth professionals complain about the

same problem, which is not being able to speak with Saudis in anything but in Arabic.

When I speak English with an Egyptian, for example, I find myself fluent in English but

with Saudis—my psyche—I worry about proficiency [because] some Arabs feel that they

are more proficient in English and others are not [and that] could feed their self-esteem

and make them behave arrogantly with people who are less proficient in English.

[translated from Arabic]

Since communicating in high-context cultures is highly related to saving face and dignity,

Alkaltham said that people’s positive reactions toward NNES professionals is the main factor

that boosts self-confidence: “For me, [confidence] is controlled by people around me if they

provide me comfort and confidence or not. Sometime, [while speaking English], making

mistakes or forgetting some phrases is normal, but some people start staring at me which makes

me feel lost.” Alkaltham highlights high-context communication style in Gulf States, which

strongly impacts second language practices in bilingual workplace.

Recommendations and Suggestions Focused on Oral Language for NES And NNES

Professionals

Based on the analyzed data and interviewees’ answers, I close the chapter with some

brief recommendations for NNES and NES professionals who are in the workplace or heading to

the workplace. What might they consider and do to facilitate more effective communication in

multilingual environments? In Chapter 6 I develop these recommendations in more detail, and I

offer recommendations for the design of curriculum and pedagogy for teaching professional

communication NES and NNES students to prepare them for working in global, multilingual

environments.

Recommendations for Both NES and NNES Professionals

In terms of language and negotiating what participants called the oral language barrier, both

NES and NNES professionals need to recognize that although English is a lingua franca many

35

words in English carry different meanings and understandings based on culture and on

background. As I discuss much more in Chapter 5, the meanings of words are constructed and

shaped by different societies and cultures. Thus, in oral communication, professionals need to

consider different possible meanings people may hold.

All professionals—both NES and NNES—need to recognize that many colleagues are

speaking English as a foreign language, thus there’s a chance that because of language

comprehension there may be colleagues who cannot fully comprehend spoken English

depending on their language proficiency, cultural background, and whether they are or are not

knowledgeable in the English language culture. (This applies for written English as well, which I

discuss in more detail in Chapter 4.) Thus, when communicating in multilingual contexts,

professionals should never assume that they have been fully understood; spending time

explaining and clarifying intended messages does not always guarantee mutual understanding

because NNES professionals, especially those who have never been in native-English speaking

cultures or those who are new to the workplace, are not familiar with various styles of oral

communication, including the use of jargon, slang, and dialects, things that could complicate

effective communication. Simplifying word choice, speaking slower pacing, using visual aids are

all important for professionals to do when communicating in multilingual context as a NNES

survey participant said, “[Professionals] should not think that everyone at the same educational

level in English as [they] are. Try to simplify words to communicate easily with others.”

Anna Pinsky (2014) found that in high social context cultures, some people tend to answer

questions based on what the other person wants to hear rather than their real perspectives. For

instance, in high-context cultures such as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, it is better to ask

questions in multiple, different ways to check communicators’ understanding. Thus, for NES and

NNES professionals asking in different ways about the same point is a useful technique to make

sure that NNES professionals grasp the essential points being conveyed. However, in high-

context culture, professionals tend to be sensitive to their social face; thus, repetition and

questioning along with respecting cultural differences should be done in a contextual-sensitive

and respectful manner to avoid misinterpretation.

In oral conversation and meetings, showing positive reaction toward questions and comments

from NNES speakers could help in boosting their self-confidence in practicing English. In

addition, for high-stakes discussions, to avoid any potential

miscommunication/misunderstanding among NNES, corporations may consider having officially

hired bilingual translators or colleagues to be present when needed. Sometimes moving across

languages in a formal discussion can be helpful so not all communications may always be in

English.

Additionally, careful selection of word choice/meaning, language structure, appropriate

speaking pace--clear and understandable terms and pronunciation, etc. are all highly required in

the multilingual workplace to maintain an understandable level of communication in English.

This means that when communicating in English, directness is preferable in providing ideas, to

avoid vagueness of words/phrases usage to limit any possible misunderstanding, and to pay

attention to other’s familiarity of the workplace specific language: is the audience familiar with

the jargon or the very specific terminologies used in conversation? If not sure, it is better to

provide brief definitions of any possible unfamiliar/complicated words/phrases when speaking or

presenting; otherwise, simplifying terminologies and avoiding slang and colloquial words

increase mutual understanding.

36

Providing informal or formal mentoring and workshops to prepare new hires and to develop

employees is an effective way to prepare colleagues for the multilingual communicative

environment. Ahmed Al-Rashed, a Saudi acting executive manager at Al Rajhi Bank,

recommended corporations develop their employees’ business English because, as he explained,

“I think developing employees [language] is very crucial since they represent their companies;

they need to positively reflect the image of their corporations. They must speak in clear,

professional, and effective way.” Some other NNES survey participants recommended that

corporations “[provide] workshops that has a lot of verbal and written interaction.”

Recommendations for NES Professionals

The survey and interview data showed that most of the NES workers are monolingual, which

they seem to regret but, for the most part, they said that it does not affect their ability to

communicate. However, bilingual NNES speakers reported something different, as Mahdi

Alshwaiki, a Saudi factory manager at Emerson Automation Solutions, pointed out that when

NES communicate in English, most NNES professionals keep silent or pretend they understand

everything, which negatively impacts team work. This shows a communication problem that

leads to other problems, as Alshwaiki pointed out, that work done incorrectly. Thus, NES

workers should pay more attention to the significance of modifying their English to the be

understood in cultures in which English is spoken as a lingua franca.

For NES professionals, it is important to also recognize that just because colleagues in a

multilingual workplace are communicating in English, they should not be expected to also adopt

westernized discourse styles. Many NES professionals who work globally may hold high

expectations that NNES professionals need to adopt western languages and culture. However,

these high expectations could be understood as cultural imposition, domination and disrespectful

to local cultures, which could create resistance to professional engagement and consequently

impact the chances of successful businesses. Thus, NES professionals—and all professionals--

should seek to show awareness and acknowledgment of local cultures and language. Engaging in

local cultures helps in understanding how people think, behave and communicate with each

other; thus, if professionals working in cultures and communities that are not their home cultures,

developing some basic, essential words and phrases in local languages helps for socialization and

cultural rapprochement.

Mahdi Alshuwaiki stated that NES professionals need to consider body language and tone

carefully thinking about such things in his workplace context as being sure to smile to show

agreement and “when communicating virtually, I recommend professionals not to speak fast, but

to be slow because as a workplace professional, style of communication should be

[understandable], which is important in virtual communication; we are not in a hurry.” Whether a

company has formal workshops or not, NES and NNES professionals can benefit from seeking

advice and discussing communication approaches with colleagues, both those new and

experienced in the company.

As does too considering the different language expectations for communication, including

written communication. It is to written communication I next turn in Chapter 4 and then I

examine culture more fully in Chapter 5 and provided learning and pedagogical

recommendations in Chapter 6.

37

Chapter.4: " When It Comes to Written Communication, I Would Say It's

100% English Based ": Writing in Multilingual Professional Organizations

With the wide-spread use of digital communication technologies, many business

relationships are initiated through written communication which professionals rely on to build

further business collaboration. Daily business interactions within a company run on written

genres like emails, letters, memos, reports, and digital platform. In addition, globalization and

networked technologies have widened written communication to reach beyond local cultures and

to include global communications. Writing is local and global, circulating in multilingual

networks with readers and writers from diverse backgrounds.

For all professionals, but particularly newcomers, these written networks can be

complicated to navigate. For example, Ledwell-Brown (2000) conducted a study to fill in the gap

between the writer’s and the reader’s intentions in the workplace environment. She found that

although texts are written among colleagues at the departmental level, they need to meet

managerial expectations of how decisions should be rationalized. Similarly, Adam (2000) and

Beaufort (1999) in separate workplaces studies both found that writers need to familiarize

themselves with audience’ needs and organizational writing conventions to meet their goals and

expectations. Other studies (e.g., Freedman & Adam, 1996; Blakeslee, 2001; Dias & Pare, 2000)

investigated the differences between academic and workplace writing to help students make

transitions between academic and workplace contexts. They found that professional writing in

the workplace is an action-oriented toward making decisions or changing policies for real events

in contrast to academic writing which is often oriented toward course content and evaluative

purposes. They suggested engaging students in activity systems that support the production of

real workplace texts.

Just a few studies have been published in developing English for business purposes to

improve L2 students’ business English proficiency. Planken and Nickerson (2009) reviewed

scholarly studies on methodologies associated with English for specific purposes (ESP) and

business English as a lingua franca. They focused on the spoken English business discourse in

different European corporations in which English is used as a lingua franca to facilitate

communication among non-native English speakers. They found that adopting business English

as a lingua franca in a multicultural environment could be problematic due to cultural and

language misunderstanding, which may lead to unequal or limited participation among

colleagues. Other studies (e.g., Dudley-Evans, Jo, & John, 1998; Basturkmen, 2010; Jordan,

1997) focus on developing ESP theories and practices of needs analysis, genre analysis, and

curriculum design but they focus primarily on oral communications. Few studies have

investigated how native and non-native English professionals communicate in writing in the

workplace and how they read and process texts in bilingual and multilingual contexts.

In this chapter, I build from my review of the scholarship on professional communication

and writing in Chapter 1 and I draw from surveys (n=100) and interviews (n=27) with non-native

English speaking (NNES) and native English-speaking (NES) professionals working in

multilingual companies in the Gulf States. I focus on writing in bilingual/multilingual contexts,

examining how even more so than with spoken communication, English is the dominant

language of writing in the Gulf States. I look at how, particularly for NNES professionals,

language challenges impact their professional writing. Specifically, I asked survey and interview

questions aimed to identify and evaluate the difficulties NNES encounter in writing in English,

what writing style and genres they use, and the role of translation in their writing process. The

results show that the surveyed professionals consider writing in English in English as a Lingua

38

Franca (ELF) context essential for effective intercultural business communication and that there

are many ways that we as professional communication educators might better prepare both NES

and NNES professionals for writing in multilingual environments.

Language Expectations in Oral and Written Communications

As explained in more detail in earlier chapters, English is the language of professional

communication in the Gulf States workplace. However, in contrast to the spoken language which

is often switched between English and the local language Arabic depending on the context,

English is primarily the language for written communication even among native Arab

professionals. In Table 4.1, results show that 18.63% of NNES participants report they always

speak in English and 57.84% say most of the time they do so. On the other hand, 66.67% of the

NNES participants say they always write in English and 23.53% say most of the time for a total

of 89.2% who write in English all or most of the time. The differences of the results indicate that

English is primarily the language of written business communication in Gulf States more than in

oral communication unless some documents need to be directed to governmental agencies, then

they must be written in the local language, Arabic.

Table 4.1. English In the Workplace—Survey Perspectives of Non-Native English Speakers

(NNES)

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of the

time

Always Total

Time at

work you

speak in

English

0.00% 4.90%

(n=5)

18.63%

(n=19)

57.84%

(n=59)

18.63%

(n=19)

102

Time at

work you

speak in

Arabic

0.00% 11.76%

(n=12)

57.84%

(n=59)

23.53%

(n=24)

6.86%

(n=7)

102

Time at

work you

write in

English

0.00% 3.92%

(n=4)

5.88%

(n=6)

23.53%

(n=24)

66.67%

(n=68)

102

Time at

work you

write in

Arabic

25.49%

(n=26)

43.14%

(n=44)

22.55%

(n=23)

5.88%

(n=6)

2.94%

(n=3)

102

To represent the data in Table 4.1 a different way, Figure 4.1 shows the comparison between

NNES answers of speaking in English versus writing in English in ELF workplace context.

39

Figure 4.1: NNES Professionals Speaking Vs Writing in English In the ELF Gulf States

Workplace

Since English is the language of commerce and business in the Gulf States, it is well positioned

in public and private sectors’ commercial system. Sajjad Alqallaf, an Instrument & Control

Engineer at Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), a public governmental corporation

in Saudi Arabia, stated that 90% of his workplace’s employees are Saudis. They always speak

Arabic for oral communication, but they write in English for official texts, particularly technical

documentation. When I asked him about the reason behind adopting English for written

communication, he said:

Because in this industry, contractors make everything for us so...the government signs

[agreements with] them... And also, we're following the national standards, for example,

in my specialty in instrumental control, we have...some institutes have many standards,

all projects should follow standards. [Since] the beginning of Saudization [the new policy

of the of Saudi Arabian Ministry of Labor which requires to increase the percentage of

Saudi nationals in the workplace] has started, the goal of our government is to make

100% Saudization in a lot of corporations. But actually, businesses have been established

with foreigners, the same with Aramco, there are Europeans and Americans contractors

working in SWCC.

Alias, a Senior Planning/process optimization Engineer at the Saudi Oil company, Saudi

Aramco, also stated that in his workplace, all written communication is in English compared to

oral communication:

When it comes to written communication, I would say it's 100% English-based...when it

comes to oral communication, it depends on the members of the team... it's still in

English, but sometimes they speak out of work in Arabic...75% English, 25% in Arabic...

Maitham Aljishi, a Co-Founder & CEO Partner & Consultant who got his bachelor’s degree

from a US school, explained how written English in professional communication is taken

seriously compared to writing in local language:

In [my workplace in] Saudi Arabia, if I want something, let's say from someone, and I'm

serious about it, like I want a ticket to be done, I send an email in English I want this plus

this but this and I want this job to get to be done let's say by Monday. But if things are

% 57.84

23.53 % 18.63 %

66.67 %

0.00 %

20.00 %

40.00 %

% 60.00

80.00 %

Time at work you speak in English Time at work you write in English

Most of the time Always

40

not that much urgent or serious, and the employee doesn't speak that much fluent

English, I send it in Arabic. But…if you want things to get serious, we write in English…

The idea that English is for when you want to “get serious” shows the ways language choice

takes on cultural meanings and for local contexts NNES professionals need to learn those

meanings as well, learning, for example, that if you get an email in English it means high priority

and get right to it. Some of that knowledge can only be gained in the workplace context, but

some of it, including attentiveness to rhetorical intent can and should be taught.

Written Genres and Communicative Contexts

To uncover common types of writing genres conducted in ELF business context, I

surveyed both NNES and NES professionals for popular writing genres in English used for

business purposes.

Table 4.2. Results for The Question Concerning the Most Common Types of Documents

NNES Professionals Write in A Typical Month

Table 4.2 highlights answers of NNES professionals regarding the frequency of using

writing genres. 71.43% of the participants said always and 24.49% said most of the time they

write emails, memos, and letters using English. For writing reports and proposals, 58.16% of

participants said always, 31.63% said most of the time, and 8.16% said sometime. And writing in

social media usage for business purposes, considerable numbers of participants reported using

social media for business communication.

30.61% of participants said always, 22.45% most of the time, and 26.53% sometime in English.

Additionally, there were some participants reported writing different genres like contracts and

governmental documents. Generally, percentages varied considerably, with memos, emails, and

letters having the largest percentage of usage, which indicates that these are the most common

types of genres used by NNES professionals in ELF context.

When asking NNES participants about using English for the ELF workplace

documentation, Alias, a senior planning/process optimization Engineer at Saudi Aramco who got

his bachelor’s degree from the UK, said that in the workplace, he communicates in English using

distinct kinds of genres like emails, reports, letters, and presentations. Hussain Alali, HR

Compliance specialist at Mercans who got his bachelor’s degree from New Zealand, affirmed the

necessity of using English for documentation in corporate internal communication to avoid any

disagreements among employees even among NAS (native Arabic speakers) professionals:

All our communications occur in English whether through email, social media or

virtually. Even with Arab professionals, we communicate in English because in case of

41

any dereliction of duty, writing in English could be used as a proof to top managers that

we [employees] have communicated in English, and they [managers] can also check if

any employee has not done his work, so it [English in written communication] helps us.

[translated from Arabic]

Most participants reported that email is the predominant English genre they use for

handling daily business operations in addition to other professional genres. A.H, a Manager at a

construction company who got his Master’s degree from a US school, said that email is the

dominant means of communication in his workplace. Similarly, Hasan Alfaraj, a Saudi cost

control specialist in McDermott International Inc. in Dubai, UAE and who got his Bachelor’s

degree from a US school, said that although his workplace is highly diversified, English remains

the medium language of written communication, and they mostly rely on emails to communicate.

He said:

[Written] communication is all in English, and it is through emails. It's a memo when it's

required. When an internal memo is coming from the management of the company, a

memo has to be issued. And when it comes to communicating with clients, it comes

through not only emails but letters as well, as part of the professional documentation.

Hesham AlQahtani, a chief accountant in Tatweer Company for Educational Services.

Ltd in Saudi Arabia, talked about professional communication in English in the corporations he

has worked at previously. He stated that email is the main means of communication for the

companies’ international businesses. He also illustrated some language challenges that NNES

professionals encounter when communicating internationally and how they cope with these

challenges:

In the current company I work at, I communicate with western companies outside the

Kingdom mostly in the UK and in the US. Most of our communication occur through email.

In the former company I worked at, professional communication was all in emails. The

formal language of communication was English. Arab professionals there did not exceed

2% of the total employees, and some had challenges in producing meaningful English

sentences, which made them use search engines or translation websites to overcome

language barriers. [translated from Arabic]

Alqahtani also clarified why these companies use email as the main means for

international communication and how NNES professionals cope with communication challenges

when email does not work:

Most of business communication in the former company I worked at depended on email

because it is easier and faster in delivering information. Even if there was any

misunderstanding, all inquiries and answers to emails were created through emails. In

some cases, if something needed to be clarified or if an email would take a long time to

be answered back, then a phone call would be made; however, phone calls were made for

specific people. [translated from Arabic]

Similarly, Maitham Aljishi, a Co-Founder & CEO Partner & Consultant, stated that email

is the preferable way of communication for his international business with NNES because of its

low costs compared to phone calls. He explained his way of communication with Chinese

manufactures using email and follow-up phone calls as needed:

We communicate both orally and by email. But if we want something from Chinese

manufacturer, let's say we want to put a specific label on the product. Sometimes it takes

two emails to explain what we [want] to him. If it's a U.S. manufacturer, we get that done

by phone [in] three minutes conversation, we get things done. But with Chinese, we don't

42

use phone that much with them because it's costly. So, most of our communication with

them [is] via email, and unless we are forced to speak to them directly if they didn't

understand what we want, we have to talk to them directly by phone. So, let's say with

Chinese, we usually send two emails to get one thing done. But with Americans, it's just

few minutes a phone call and that is it.

Aljishi also clarified that he considers written email the best way to communicate with NNES

(Chinese) professionals in order to avoid any potential language barrier in oral communication

like difficulty in understanding some workplace specific terminologies:

We prefer writing because even if they [Chinese] are not fluent in English, they use

dictionaries. But when we talk to them directly like by phone, sometimes we use some

vocabulary that they don't understand, so e-mail is much easier to explain things to them.

[And] it depends, sometimes you feel like you have a good English speaker

manufacturer, [which] doesn't [take] too much effort to explain anything to him. But

most of the time, you need some effort to get the job done.

Furthermore, Hussain Alsadah, a Senior HSES Training Specialist at McDermott Arabia

Co. Ltd, talked about challenges that NNES encounter when writing professional documents. He

said that indirect communication may not let professionals get the intended message. He also

indicated that writing emails is not an easy task due to not only language barrier but also the

absence of body language which could lead to misunderstanding. He said:

The most challenge I can say is not only the verbal communication most of it is

whenever it comes to writing an email or trying to write a letter or something…In terms

of oral communication, it's not that difficult to pass the information specially, as I said,

face to face language will be easier to deliver whatever message you want. Sometime,

over the phone, it might not be as easy as it is in the verbal face to face communication.

It's not that difficult, but because the email is one of the dangerous communication media

that could be interpreted in a different way. So, people might not get your intention and

they might misunderstand it and can create some clashes or conflict.

To avoid any potential miscommunication in professional emails, Alsadah also added that in his

company, they often make a phone call to other party before or after sending an email to ensure

mutual understanding and to finalize oral discussion:

And in our company that we were like guided, and I think this is one of the best ways to

overcome these problems. We do a phone call ahead of writing the email. So we do the

phone call to that agreement write everything that was discussed and document it and

then send the email. In case if we had to do the other way around as you said we need to

follow up with a phone call to address whatever we need to do to address in a more

appropriate and understandable way. We have a mutual understanding know whatever

we want. So that's how we do it.

For other professionals I interviewed other genres rather than emails predominated. For

example, Sajjad Alqallaf, a Senior Instrument & Control Engineer in Saline Water Conversion

Corporation (SWCC), on the other hand, stated that a variety of report genres are widely

produced in his workplace:

We have to write some reports, for example an incident report. If any incident happens in

our industry, we have to write an incident report, and this incident report is divided into

many sections, and we have to follow...(that). And also, if any problem, and equipment

failed, for example, for any fault happens in the system, we have to write a report, the

introduction, describes the problem in the body includes the problem, and sometimes we

43

have to write some actions to be done...and the date is important also...in the conclusion,

we have to write recommendation and suggestion, so something like that in technical

report. For research, we use for manufacturer for example manufacturer company, we

have to make some researches about some new technology. . . ., for example, to order

new spare parts for our system, we go to search about serial number and the

manufacturer' website, and we bring all certifications and quotations (for) a research, and

all that is in English...

Given the importance of English for writing, in terms of workplace expectations,

technical and industry requirements, and need to communicate with professionals from a range

of countries and native languages, professionals need to be prepared for writing in English in the

workplace and part of that preparation is understanding the challenges NNES professionals

encounter when writing in English.

Challenges in NNES Style of Writing

NNES writers often encounter challenges when writing in L2 due to, for example, lack of

L2 proficiency and transferring between mother tongues and L2. When surveying NES

professionals about challenges they perceive that their NNES colleagues have in business style

of writing in English, the results show varied answers, as appeared in Table 4.3; 32.14% of NES

professionals said that NNES writers have difficulty in explaining their ideas and making their

meaning clear, 28.57% said appropriateness of word choice to the context, 21.43% said they

have problems in content organization and using western style of formatting, and 17.86% said

punctuation and grammar.

Table 4.3. Results for The Question Concerning NES Views’ of NNES Challenges in English

Writing

Answer Total

Making their meaning clear; clearly

explaining their ideas

32.14%

(n=9)

Using appropriate English words 28.57%

(n=8)

Punctuation and grammar 17.86%

(n=5)

Organization and writing in western formats 21.43%

(n=6)

Other 0.00%

Total 100%

On the other hand, when surveying NNES professionals about difficulties their NNES colleagues

face when writing in English, as shown in Table 4.4, 39.00% said that the main difficulty is in

explaining ideas and making meaning clear, 22.00% said punctuation and grammar, 20.00% said

organization and writing in appropriate formats, 17.00% said appropriateness of word choice,

and 2.00% said all the choice and vocabulary and grammar.

44

Table 4.4. Results for The Question Concerning NNES Views of The Difficulties They Have

in English Writing

Answer Total Total

Making their meaning clear;

clearly explaining their ideas

39.00%

(n=39)

39

Using appropriate English

words

17.00%

(n=17)

17

Punctuation and grammar 22.00%

(n=22)

22

Organization and writing in

appropriate formats

20.00%

(n=20)

20

Other 2.00%

(n=2)

2

Other All the above

Need to improve their

vocabulary and grammar

Total 100% 100

In Table 4.5, I re-organize the results of based on priorities of choices that both NNES

and NES professionals choose. As it shown, both choose Making their meaning clear; clearly

explaining their ideas as the first problem in L2 English writing, and both choose Organization

and writing in appropriate formats as the third problem. NES choose appropriate word usage as

the second choice, since it enhances clarity of meaning and audience’s understanding whereas

NNES choose grammar as the second problem in L2 writing.

Table 4.5. Comparison of Results for The Question Concerning NES And NNES Views’ of

NNES Challenges in English Writing

NNES Answers NES

1 Making their meaning clear; clearly explaining their ideas 1

4 Using appropriate English words 2

2 Punctuation and grammar 4

3 Organization and writing in appropriate formats 3

Differences between NES and NNES answers in prioritizing the second and forth choices, as

shown in Table 4.5, indicates that while NES concern in getting understandable content through

using appropriate English words, NNES chose punctuation and grammar as the second challenge

they face in writing in English and using appropriate English words as the last choice, things that

might reflect how NNES get educated in English and how educational institutions teach English

as a foreign or second language focusing mostly on grammatical structure in L2 writing rather

than creating meaningful and understandable piece of writing to meet potential L2 long-term

needs in the real workplace context.

NNES participants were also surveyed to identify difficulties they themselves identify in

their own writing. Table 4.6 shows that the results for communicating intended meaning in

45

English, understanding business genres/formatting, and organizing writing effectively have

mostly fluctuated between sometime and never. These three categories focus mostly on general

written communication and organization of texts. However, for the last four categories, using

appropriate and accurate English words, business English style of writing, paying attention to

reader’s needs, and using correct grammar and punctuation, there has been significant numbers

choose most of the time. The last four categories mostly focus on language and mechanisms.

Generally, the results indicate that NNES professionals feel that they themselves are able to meet

the general standards of professional writing but not without common L2 writing issues.

Table 4.6. The Results for Challenges NNES Face In English Writing

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of the

time

Always Total

Communicating

my intended

meaning in

English

19.10%

(n=17)

39.33%

(n=35)

32.58%

(n=29)

5.62%

(n=5)

3.37%

(n=3)

89

Understanding

business

genres/formatting

21.35%

(n=19)

34.83%

(n=31)

28.09%

(n=25)

10.11%

(n=9)

5.62%

(n=5)

89

Organizing writing

effectively

22.73%

(n=20)

27.27%

(n=24)

32.95%

(n=29)

10.23%

(n=9)

6.82%

(n=6)

88

Using appropriate

and accurate

English words

10.00%

(n=9)

27.78%

(n=25)

43.33%

(n=39)

15.56%

(n=14)

3.33%

(n=3)

90

Business English

style of writing

22.22%

(n=20)

20.00%

(n=18)

37.78%

(n=34)

13.33%

(n=12)

6.67%

(n=6)

90

Paying attention to

reader’s needs

19.10%

(n=17)

20.22%

(n=18)

33.71%

(n=30)

17.98%

(n=16)

8.99%

(n=8)

89

Using correct

grammar and

punctuation

18.89%

(n=17)

38.89%

(n=35)

21.11%

(n=19)

16.67%

(n=15)

4.44%

(n=4)

90

Additionally, interviewees were asked about the most common issues they face in

business writing. Talal Al-Allaf, a founder and director of Isle of Innovation in the UK, and

former account manager at Elm Company in Saudi Arabia, focused on grammar as the main

problem that hinders NNES professional communication in English. He said that correct

grammar is significant since forming correct sentences helps in delivering the intended meaning

clearly:

Well, as I've just written in the survey that something very important is I believe that the

basic issue here is grammar, grammar, grammar in English is really the big problem that

usually people face, problems faced by people who are having English as a Second

Language. Grammar you know is very important and it's more important than to know how

to speak or to pronounce the words while you speak with people in business in workplaces

and in business. English speakers have no problem. If I'm a non-English speaker and I'm

coming to speak English and I'm not maybe pronouncing it correctly, but [ in writing]

grammar is number one, grammar is number one.

In a similar way, Mogtaba Alzaher, a procurement quality control at Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock

Middle East in Saudi Arabia and who got his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from US schools,

46

focused on the challenges of updated technical and business language. He said new

terminologies are constantly generated depending on production of new materials and products.

This creates a challenge for NNES professionals in learning, understanding, and using these new

words and phrases effectively which could complicate their writing of texts and technical

documentation:

I have difficulty in understanding new words in [business] materials. There are so many

materials I have to memorize what they are first, so I have to Google the word, see a

picture, what's this kind of material…and may be even do I know the Arabic…, so I have

to understand the definition of what to use it. Because this is new field... the materials

have names only in English or other language. I know how to explain it but...so many

materials have new vocabulary that were never used in college.

And, in another example, Khaled Aljuhani, an HR Manager at a multinational British

corporation in Saudi Arabia who got his master’s degree from the UK, said that expressing and

developing complex ideas is the main challenge he encounters in L2 writing, “for the written

ideas…if you are talking about complex idea…you find it difficult to express in writing, this is

my challenge which is the top level of expressing ideas”.

Alfaraj, on the other hand, complained about the quality of English language education

provided to ESL students in the US schools, which mainly focuses on teaching students English

for general purposes to engage in daily life routines whereas they overlook teaching students

how to learn and use English for their future endeavors in the workplace:

When it comes to study English in the US, I've been into two different institutions. Well,

they work perfectly for me. We were learning the English language as a second language

in general...I probably have picked up an accent from the US schools...vocabulary,

grammar... but when it comes to vocabulary related to…to work...I was 100% struggling

when it comes to vocabulary of work environment. Instead of ...[providing] classes

focusing on vocabulary of restaurants, for example, what kind of vocabulary would you

use in restaurants or what kind of language to use in hospital…which are all important;

however, I came to find that learning vocabulary related to work environment are more

important. I really wish that I had the chance to have a class or two...or I would be

exposed more to vocabulary that I would be really using in daily basis [at work] ...I think

it's more important to know vocabulary we will be using in daily basis.

Likewise, Alali, as a professional got his Bachelor’s degree from a native-English speaking

country, complained about some difficulties in communicating in English when speaking with

and writing to NES professionals. He said, sometimes he needs to communicate in English using

specific terminologies to deliver the intended meaning accurately, or sometimes NES

professionals speak or write in English using terminologies or words that NNES employees do

not understand like new business terminologies or slang words, which makes NNES pretend to

understand while they try to figure out intended meanings from the context. Simplifying

professional spoken and written English when communicating with NNES, Alali suggested, is

necessary to create effective, understandable communicative environment:

My advice to corporations is to simplify their professional use of English. I mean NES

professionals must consider differences of English proficiency levels between NES and

NNES in the workplace. For example, when an NES professional wants to explain

something to NNES, he should keep in mind that he communicates with a professional

who has basics in English, so not to expect NNES to understand every single point he is

trying to communicate. Sometimes, NES professionals are highly skillful in business

47

language; this does not mean to ask them to limit their use of English, but they must be

selective with their words and to make sure that the NNES professionals are familiar with

the words they are trying to communicate with. [Translated from Arabic]

Based on Alzaher’s, Aljuhani’s, Alfaraj’s and Alali’s answers about difficulties they

encounter in writing in English, it is noticeable that they got their academic degrees from native-

English speaking countries and were exposed to English in its native-English cultures. However,

some language issues emerge when communicating in professional contexts, thing that refers

back to the necessity of preparing ESL/EFL students to use English for specific occupational

purposes in the global workplace.

Negative Transfer from L1 to L2 Writing

An important part of writing in English in business for NNES professionals is that L2

writing proficiency could be greatly affected by transferring rhetoric from L1 to L2. Many

researchers found that for L2 learner their mother tongue is the main source for L2 writing.

Scholarship in contrastive rhetoric (Eid Alhaisoni, 2012; Karim Sadeghi, 2009; Narges Saffari,

Shahrina Md Noordin, Subarna Sivapalan & Nahid Zahedpisheh, 2017; Ryuko Kubota, 1998)

discuss both negative and positive influence of transfer between L1 on L2 writing. For example,

in relation to Arabic to English transfer, Alhaisoni (2012) states that poor and inadequate

teaching methods of writing skill in both Arabic and English in Saudi schools have negatively

impacted the quality of students’ L2 writing. But the opposite could also be true. Sometimes L1

literacy skill could be negatively influence L2 writing. In my research I sought to understand

more the relationship between native Arabic language proficiency in writing and L2 writing in

English.

When surveying NNES professionals about their L1 and L2 writing confidence, as it

appears in Table 4.7, significant numbers of participants 20.24% strongly agreed and 20.24%

agreed that they worry about the quality of their writing in their native language, Arabic, whereas

15.48% disagreed and 22.62% strongly disagreed. For writing in English, 12.36% strongly

agreed, 30.34% agreed, and 21.35% somewhat agreed that they worry about the quality of their

writing in English. Only 5.62% strongly disagreed that they do not worry of their English

writing. when analyzing the data of both languages, it is noticeable that participants who

reported that they strongly agreed, agreed and somewhat agreed they worry about the quality of

their writing in both languages are considerably close. What this shows, potentially, is the link

between proficiency and confidence in Arabic with proficiency and confidence in writing in

English.

Table 4.7. Results for The Question Concerning NNES Confidence of Their Writing in L1

(N=84) And L2 Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

When I

write in

Arabic, I

worry

about

the

quality

20.24%

(n=17)

20.24%

(n=17)

14.29%

(n=12)

5.95%

(n=5)

1.19%

(n=1)

15.48%

(n=13)

22.62%

(n=19)

84

48

of my

writing

When I

write in

English,

I worry

about

the

quality

of my

writing

12.36%

(n=11)

30.34%

(n=27)

21.35%

(n=19)

6.74%

(n=6)

11.24%

(n=10)

12.36%

(n=11)

5.62%

(n=5)

89

To explore the relationship between confidence in English and Arabic writing,

I broke the data down by whether a NNES professional studied in an English-

speaking country.

Table 4.7-A: NNES studied in English Speaking Countries

Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

When I write in

English, I worry

about the quality

of my writing

12.82%

(n=5)

30.77%

(n=12)

17.95%

(n=7)

7.69%

(n=3)

7.69%

(n=3)

17.95%

(n=7)

5.13%

(n=2)

39

Table 4.7-B: NNES studied in Non-English-Speaking Countries

Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

When I write in

English, I worry

about the quality

of my writing

14.00%

(n=7)

30.00%

(n=15)

24.00%

(n=12)

4.00%

(n=2)

14.00%

(n=7)

8.00%

(n=4)

6.00%

(n=3)

50

Tables 4.7-A and B present answers of NNES professionals who received their degrees

from native English-speaking countries and non-native English-speaking countries (or local

schools) respectively. The majority of respondents in both groups strongly agreed, agreed and

somewhat agreed that they worry about their writing in English. The answers, however, show no

major differences between the two groups, which indicates that NNES professionals, regardless

their educational background of English, feel worry about their English writing performance in

business context.

When asking about the influence of L1 writing on L2 writing, Mahdi Alshuwaiki, a

factory manager at Emerson Automation Solutions, explained how poor L1 writing skill could

negatively impact L2 writing along with other factors like limitation of English vocabulary and

poor translation between the two languages:

49

When a professional knows how to compose in Arabic, he would be able to do that in

English as well. For example, I noticed that I have a problem in composing in Arabic, so

when writing in English I transfer the same problem, this is one factor. Another factor is

the limitation of English vocabulary I have which does not allow me to write English

reports confidently. In addition, translation problems; I write something in Arabic then

translate it to English using Google Translator which does not provide accurate

translation… [Because of that], problems could emerge. Most people . . . are unaware

that the problem is not in [their way of communication] but in the English language used

which is not clear for everyone. [translated from Arabic]

Style of Writing and The Use of Templates

When working in ELF globalized context, businesses in the Gulf States mostly adopt a

western style of writing and formatting. Some participants reported using specific standardized

formats adopted by their organizations, which supports readability and usability and helps

employees get used to the workplace writing. B.S, an associate technical professional – process

at KBR-AMCDE Oil & Energy in Saudi Arabia, said:

Our company is half American and half Saudi. 99% of our work is conducted for Saudi

Aramco and other Saudi companies like SABIC. All these companies adopt English in

everything. We have ready-to-use formats for everything. A report is written using a

specific template. For example, it starts with an introduction, objectives, summary, etc.

Everything is designed and provided by the head branch of the company…even the cover

page. Aramco authorizes and provides these formats to us. Of course, these formats are

different for one project to another and for one department to another inside our company

itself. When sending a written document from our company to another, the format is

different. For example, if the company is American, the format is a western style. The

availability of these formats for [writing documents like] reports and emails make

employees get used to them… And over time, employees get used to the workplace

professionalism and overcome challenges. [Translated from Arabic]

Talal Al-Allaf also reported that western style of writing is the predominant style in the

corporations he has worked at before:

It's more on western language, and usually we look at ready templates about how to

respond to somebody by email and how do they organize the message, what to write the

beginning, how to close the message and so on. So that's more on the western...way.

NES professionals, likewise, reported that western or American style of writing is the

predominate one in the Gulf States corporations they work at. Brett Boyd, a facility planning

specialist at Saudi Aramco, said that American style of written communication is the style of

Saudi Aramco since English is its official language:

I was pleasantly surprised that Saudi Aramco was started by Americans back in the

1930s. Almost everything—the style of writing, the reports, the whole company

structure—is very much classic, bureaucratic American style. To be honest, I feel guilty

because I'm the foreigner. I'm in Saudi Arabia, in someone else's country, and the official

country language is Arabic. Yet, the official language of Saudi Aramco is English, and its

style of procedures and bureaucracy are classic American.

Similarly, Doug Hassell, a CEO of Sunlark Power in United Arab Emirates, said that

western style of writing is the dominant one in his corporation unless if there are documents

needed to be directed to the government, then Arabic is adopted, “I tend to use English style,

50

English formatting. The only time I write in Arabic when it's a formal letter to the government”.

Yardley also said that the adopted style of writing is the American style, “I would say that I have

not adapted my style of writing at all. So, I would say that my style of writing would be more

akin to what you would find in an American cultural or American corporate setting.”

Possible Ways for Improving NNES Writing

When surveying NNES professionals about the most helpful ways for helping NNES

Arab professionals write in English in the workplace, as it shown in Table 4.8, the highest

number of participants 25.00% said mentoring programs, 21.43% company-sponsored

workshops, 19.39% guidebook/handbook with writing tips, 16.33% editing/final proofreading

service, and 15.82% said repository/collection of sample documents. Other participants

suggested integrating digital and social media like YouTube for training and mentoring

employees. Some others suggested reading in English to improve English writing and using

English as the main language of communication in the ELF workplace.

Table 4.8: NNES Professionals’ Suggestions for Developing Written Communication in

English In the Workplace

Answer % Total

Company-sponsored workshops 21.43%

(n=42)

42

Mentoring programs 25.00%

(n=49)

49

Repository/collection of sample

documents

15.82%

(n=31)

31

Guidebook/handbook with

writing tips

19.39%

(n=38)

38

Editing/final proofreading service 16.33%

(n=32)

32

Other 2.04%

(n=4)

4

Other Social media like YouTube

Coaching

Reading improves writing

too

Making English the main

language of communication

Total 100% 196

In contrast, when surveying NES about the most helpful ways for helping NNES Arab

professionals write in English in the workplace, the highest percentages 25.00% and 25.00%, as

shown in Table 4.9, were given to both company-sponsored workshops and editing/final

proofreading service,

21.43% choose mentoring programs, and 17.86% said guidebook/handbook with writing tips.

Only 3.57% was given to repository/collection of sample documents. One participant suggested

creating a peaceful environment to mentor NNES employees in business writing.

51

Table 4.9: NES Professionals’ Suggestions for Developing NNES Written Communication in

English In the Workplace

Answer % Total

Company-sponsored

workshops

25.00%

(n=7)

7

Mentoring programs 21.43%

(n=6)

6

Repository/collection of

sample documents

3.57%

(n=1)

1

Guidebook/handbook with

writing tips

17.86%

(n=5)

5

Editing/final proofreading

service

25.00%

(n=7)

7

Other 3.57%

(n=1)

1

Other Spend a few months practicing in a

non-threatening environment with a mentor

writing in English and produce documents to

improve writing skills acceptable in the

business world.

Total 100% 28

NNES professionals’ choice of mentoring programs as the first priority indicates that

there is a need to provide newly-hired employees close training for the workplace norms,

conventions, and practices of writing and communicating in English to help them gain

confidence in communicating in English in professional contexts. It also shows that there is a

need for constant professional developing workshops that could involve cooperation between

business professionals and educators. I also find NNES answers about providing collection of

samples documents, guidebooks and editorial services crucial and most be taken into

consideration since learning by imitation and visualization are useful techniques which help in

improving L2 acquisitions and practice. NES professionals’ answers, on the other hand, did not

show considerable differences from NNES answers. The percentages of NES answers were close

in providing workshops, editorial services and mentoring programs, which also refers to the need

for helping NNES employees practicing English professionally as a lingua franca.

Collaborative Writing and Editorial Services

Teamwork creativity is a significant competency for workplace success. It strengthens

team members relationships and increases productivity. NES and NNES professionals were also

surveyed to understand their bilingual practices in teamwork and to what extent collaborative

writing improves their writing practices and team performances. When surveying NNES

professionals about how often they cowrite with others to produce a co-authored writing, as

shown in Table 4.10, the answers were varied: the highest percentages said they sometime

52.04% and rarely 18.37% cooperate to produce written document. 10.20% said always and

15.31% said most of the time. Only 4.08% said they never produce co-authored documents.

52

Table 4.10: NNES Professionals’ Answers of Co-Writing with Others to Produce Co-

Authored Writings

Answer % Total

Never 4.08%

(n=4)

4

Rarely 18.37%

(n=18)

18

Sometime 52.04%

(n=51)

51

Most of the

time

15.31%

(n=15)

15

Always 10.20%

(n=10)

10

Other 0.00% 0

Total 100% 98

Likewise, when surveying NNES for collaborative writing in team work, the answers

were somewhat close. Table 4.11 shows that highest numbers fluctuated toward strongly agreed

10.23%, agreed 26.14%, % somewhat agreed 22.73, and neutral 25.00% that they write

collaboratively in teamwork projects. Few numbers though disagreed of collaborative writing. In

the same way, participants strongly agreed 13.48%, agreed 31.46%, and somewhat agreed

21.35%, that they revise and edit written documents with colleagues before handing in

documents in contrast to small numbers who strongly disagreed 5.62%, disagree 7.87%, and

somewhat disagreed 8.99% of revising and editing written documents with colleagues.

Table 4.11: NNES Collaborative Writing in Team Work

Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

In workplace, I

write

collaboratively

in teamwork

projects

10.23%

(n=9)

26.14%

(n=23)

22.73%

(n=20)

25.00%

(n=22)

5.68%

(n=5)

6.82%

(n=6)

3.41%

(n=3)

88

I revise and edit

written

documents with

colleagues before

handing in

documents

13.48%

(n=12)

31.46%

(n=28)

21.35%

(n=19)

11.2%

(n=10)

8.99%

(n=8)

7.87%

(n=7)

5.62%

(n=5)

89

When surveying NNES professionals about bilingual practice in teamwork whether they

switch between English and Arabic in oral and written communication, as shown in Table 4.12,

the majority said they never 32.95% and rarely 23.86% talk in Arabic with colleagues about the

writing and then write in

English. However, considerable numbers said sometime 30.68%, most of the time 9.09%, and

always 3.41% communicate orally in Arabic before writing in English. On the contrary, most

NNES professionals said that they always 22.99%, most of the time 29.89%, and sometime

53

27.59% talk in English with colleagues about writing with few numbers who said they rarely

12.64% and never 6.90% talk in English with colleagues about writing.

Table 4.12: NNES Bilingual Practices in Team Work Writing

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time

Always Total

I talk in Arabic with

colleagues about the writing

and then write in English

32.95%

(n=29)

23.86%

(n=21)

30.68%

(n=27)

9.09%

(n=8)

3.41%

(n=3)

88

I talk in English with

colleagues about the writing

6.90%

(n=6)

12.64%

(n=11)

27.59%

(n=24)

29.89%

(n=26)

22.99%

(n=20)

87

When interviewing Alshuwaiki whether he thinks that oral communication in English

facilitates written communication in English, he said, “yes, because I explain it in English; for

example, after sending an email in so and so, I open it and address employees that we are going

to discuss so and so, which facilitates [my writing]. Aljuhani, on the other hand, expressed that

collaborative writing could help in L2 writing to certain extent. He said, “collaborative writing

sometime when having presentation for clients...it might help but not that much significant”.

[translated from Arabic]

NNES professionals also shared experiences of editorial services in business

corporations. Some corporations have editorial departments to which they submit their written

drafts for review process before finalization. Al-Rashed, an acting executive manager operational

risk at Al Rajhi Bank, said that “any procedure after we write…it goes to [a specific] department

which is responsible for revising the corporate policy…the legal or the IT”. Alias, senior

planning/process optimization engineer at Saudi Aramco, also stated that secretary service is

provided in Saudi Aramco for polishing to make sure that required document meets the company

standards like including the company’s logo and making sure of the language structure and

correctness.

On the other hand, NES professionals have different experience in collaborative writing

and editorial practice with NNES professionals. For example, Brett Boyd, a Facilities Planning

Specialist at Saudi Aramco, explained that collaborative team work writing is kind of a

frustrating task, because correspondence in Saudi Aramco is in English. They write a lot of

technical reports in English, which some could be a hundred pages or more. He said that when

leading a team effort, he is responsible for the quality of the written document. He said:

When the majority of a team is not native English speakers, I have to go through word-

by-word, line-by-line, and make all of the corrections. The others don't feel that

responsibility, at least to the degree that I do. So, I would go through these documents

from the beginning to the end. This task can take a significant amount of time.

He added that Saudi Aramco has secretarial and clerical staff to edit and polish written English

documents. However, many of these personnel are not native English speakers, making them

unreliable to do their own jobs properly:

That gets frustrating too, because one should be able to rely on a secretary to do his or

her job, but I can't. In theory, you would give such final editing to your secretary, and he

or she has that capability. It's rare that we have a clerical person whose English writing

skill is at the level of mine as a native English speaker.

What can be drawn from the previous interview responses is that some companies are, or have in

the past, offered editorial services, but the quality of the services and the abilities of the

54

employees to edit in English vary widely. However, some other corporations do not offer

editorial service and do not expect high proficiency of writing skill from NNES employees as

Alzaher said, “no, we don't have [editorial service]. Even the suppliers themselves do not really

care about grammar or even spelling..., So we have to put things together like what this guy

means by this word…”. What Alzaher said shows that focusing on writing skill in ELF

professional context depends mainly on the corporations’ priorities; some corporations mainly

aim to communicate their needs regardless language correctness and style appropriateness.

Bilingual Writing: Translation Practices

Translation between L1 and L2 is typical in ELF business context, which occurs in oral

and written communication. Some NNES professionals, specifically those with low English

proficiency, tend to rely on translation to facilitate their communication in English, and some

others depends on the official language, English, to facilitate writing in English. NNES

professionals were also surveyed to understand translation practices in ELF context.

When asking NNES about switching between Arabic and English when writing in

English, as it appeared in Table 4.13, most respondents said they never 68.54%, rarely 21.35%,

and sometime 8.99% write in Arabic first then translate it to English. Only 1.12% said always to

switching in writing. In contrast, 78.16% said always 18.39% most of the time, and 3.45%

sometimes they write in English through the whole process.

Table 4.13: NNES Bilingual Writing

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of the

time

Always Total

I write it in Arabic first then

translate it to English

68.54%

(n=61)

21.35%

(n=19)

8.99%

(n=8)

0.00% 1.12%

(n=1)

89

I write in English through the whole

process

0.00% 0.00% 3.45%

(n=3)

18.39%

(n=16)

78.16%

(n=68)

87

I talk in Arabic with colleagues

about the writing and then write in

English

32.95%

(n=29)

23.86%

(n=21)

30.68%

(n=27)

9.09%

(n=8)

3.41%

(n=3)

88

I talk in English with colleagues

about the writing

6.90%

(n=6)

12.64%

(n=11)

27.59%

(n=24)

29.89%

(n=26)

22.99%

(n=20)

87

I also produce an Arabic translation

of the same document for Arabic-

speaking audiences

36.78%

(n=32)

29.89%

(n=26)

22.99%

(n=20)

9.20%

(n=8)

1.15%

(n=1)

87

Other 50.00%

(n=6)

8.33%

(n=1)

33.33%

(n=4)

0.00% 8.33%

(n=1)

12

As previously mentioned, when surveying NNES professionals about bilingual oral and

written practices, and whether they switch between English and Arabic in oral and written

communication, the majority said they never 32.95% and rarely 23.86% talk in Arabic with

colleagues about the writing and then write in English. However, considerable numbers said they

sometime 30.68%, most of the time 9.09%, and always 3.41% communicate orally in Arabic

before writing in English. On the contrary, most NNES professionals said that they always

22.99%, most of the time 29.89%, and sometime 27.59% talk in English with colleagues about

writing with few numbers who said they rarely 12.64% and never 6.90% talk in English with

colleagues about writing. This indicates that using Arabic in oral communication occurs

55

depending on team members’ English proficiency and the level of comfort when speaking

English with native Arabic speakers.

In local corporations, translating documents to the local language, Arabic, is required to

communicate with governmental or local agencies. Participants’ answers about producing Arabic

translation for English documents indicate that using the local language for business writings is

very limited. The highest percentages said they never 36.78%, rarely 29.89%, and sometime

22.99% produce Arabic documents. Only 1.15% said always and 9.20% most of the time they do

so. This shows that translation to the local language depends mainly on the corporation’s activity

with public sector and governmental agencies, which requires addressing them using the local

language.

Interviewees’ answers about translation and switching between the two languages were

varied. Ahmed Al-Rashed, an acting executive manager operational risk in Alrajhi Bank, said:

“when writing an email, I write in English because it is the official language of my workplace,

even if I receive an email back in Arabic, I keep answer back in English”. Al-Rashed also stated

that in his workplace, translation occurs to solve the problem of English language deficiency

among Arabs:

For English language proficiency, Arabs are divided into three groups: very professional,

average level, and very basic level. Translating for the less proficient takes effort since what

is being said is repeated twice, which is a problem we encounter in oral translation, because

NES professionals do not understand what Arabs say which forces us to translate more than

one time, which takes time. [Translated from Arabic]

Aljawad on the other hand, said that in the corporation he works at, there is a translation

department which translates documents to the local language as needed, “we have a program to

translate to English if the client needs an Arabic version, we write it in English then translate it to

Arabic”. Alfaraj who works at McDermott based in Dubai said that his corporation needs

conduct governmental writings in Arabic like issuing invoices in Arabic in order for client in

Saudi Aramco receives the invoices and actually payoff:

Yes, we have to issue all the invoices into Arabic along with documents as needed, it's

required in English as well. However, the invoice cover sheet itself has to be in Arabic

when it comes to letters or numbers...[this happens in] all companies who work for Saudi

Arabia when it comes to translation.

Alali likewise said that Although English is the official language of his workplace,

written documents directed to the public sector must be written in the local language, he said,

“We do write one side in English and the other side in Arabic; this is to let employees and the

administration know to whom this document is directed, so anyone can read and understand the

document”. [Translated from Arabic]

Aljishi, as previously mentioned, stated that general written communication in English is

taken seriously in contrast to general written communication in the local language:

In Saudi Arabia if I want something let's say from someone and I'm serious about it, like

I want a ticket to be done, I send an email in English: I want this plus this but this and I

want this job to get to be done let's say by Monday. But if things are not like that much

urgent or serious, and the employee doesn't speak English fluently, then I send it in

Arabic. But it is a funny thing that if you want things to get serious, we talk in English,

and if we like have plenty of time to get the job done, we write in Arabic.

To avoid any misunderstanding in business investments in Saudi Arabia, Aljishi added that

documents are written in both languages, Arabic and English because they do not know if the

56

other is able to understand English. Bilingualism in written communication also happens to

avoid any embarrassing situation due to lack of English proficiency, “it’s not good to ask him [ if

he understands English] before submitting a proposal. So, to be in the safe side, we prepare

documents in both languages”.

Similarly, Al-Allaf stated that in Saudi corporations he worked at, translated documents

must be provided for governmental agencies. They sometimes hire a translator to provide the

government some contracts done with vendors or customers. The government, as he said, does

not accept documents if it is not in Arabic. He said, “giving a lot of business for translators or for

people who are just translating official documents when working for people like Asians who

need to apply for a visa and need to translate their documents and passports for the government”.

Al-Allaf also added that for his business, he constantly uses technical translation from

English to Arabic to provide translated products for Arabic consumers, which helps in

marketing, “Yes, sometimes, we need to translate, especially when selling or dealing with

technology or products coming from the West, we need to explain to employees or customers, so

we need to translate sometimes to the Arabic”.

Based on previous interview answers, it’s interesting to examine the cultural contexts and

meanings embedded in the use of English or Arabic or both. For some, using English means it’s

time to get “serious”—an interesting power dynamic to consider for companies writing in

English in a country where English is not the native language. When seeking the broadest

possible opportunities—investment, for example—both English and Arabic are used, showing

the recognition of important audiences for whom Arabic is the primary or only language. How

and when translation is used is an important area of study for business communication

professionals, raising many issues of language usage, power dynamics, and corporate relations.

NES Translation Between English and Arabic Languages

Table 4.14 shows NES professionals’ answers for translation practices in ELF workplace,

90.00% said never, 10.00% said rarely they write it in Arabic first and then translate to English.

90.91% said always and 9.09% most of the time they write in English through the whole process.

Although 81.82% said they never talk in Arabic with colleagues about the writing and then write

in English, 9.09% said sometime and 9.09% said most of the time they do so. 54.55% said they

always, 18.18% most of the time, and 18.18% sometimes they talk in English with colleagues

about the writing. Only 9.09% said they never talk in English about writing. Though 72.73% said

never and 9.09% sometimes they produce an Arabic translation of the English document for

Arabic-speaking audience, 18.18% said they most of the time they do so. The conclusion that can

be drawn from these numbers is that NES professionals mainly communicate in English in ELF

context with regard to a few bilingual practices in oral and written communication.

Table 4.14: NES Translation Practices in ELF Professional Context

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of the

time

Always Total

I write it in Arabic first and translate 90.00%

(n=9)

10.00%

(n=1)

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 10

I write in English through the whole process 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 9.09%

(n=1)

90.91%

(n=10)

11

I talk in Arabic with colleagues about the

writing and then write in English

81.82%

(n=9)

0.00% 9.09%

(n=1)

9.09%

(n=1)

0.00% 11

57

I talk in English with colleagues about the

writing

9.09%

(n=1)

0.00% 18.18%

(n=2)

18.18%

(n=2)

54.55%

(n=6)

11

I also produce an Arabic translation of the

same document for Arabic-speaking audiences

72.73%

(n=8)

9.09%

(n=1)

0.00% 18.18%

(n=2)

0.00% 11

Brett Boyd said that in his workplace, there is a Government Affairs Department, which

is responsible for the public sector’s documentation. He writes a letter in English which then

goes to a certain department to officially translate into Arabic. They, in turn, send it to the

government. It's called “Government Affairs”. Boyd said when gets a response letter in Arabic,

he copies and pastes the text in a translation engine like Google Translator to get a general sense

of the content. However, for any technical documents, an Arabic-speaking, Saudi co-worker

corresponds with and meets the government representatives on such projects.

On the other hand, Carl Tresler, an English educator at SESP (Saudi Electric Services

Polytechnic), said that in SESP, there is no editorial or translation service. However, he helps co-

workers in polishing translated documents. In the same way, Yardley, an acting head of

education department at SESP (Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic), stated that his limited

proficiency in Arabic does not allow him to translate anything himself. He seeks colleagues’

assistance for translation. Similarly, Stanley said that addressing the Gulf States’ governments

must be in the local language, which needs translation that takes time and effort to be done

accurately:

If it's long documents, and that's where a lot of people don't know how long it takes to

translate especially Arabic to English or English to Arabic. When I was a trainer many

years ago in Riyadh, our translators could only translate maybe five pages a day. So it's a

big document needs a plan for it cause will be a lot of issues in Arabic language because

what it means that English might not have meaning in Arabic.

Stanley also added that translation is required to present information in the local

language. He explained that while he was working for Vinnell as a trainer, the corporation had a

translation department to translate programs’ instructions and sometimes military manuals. After

getting documents and PowerPoints translated from the translation department, he and the

translator rehearsed so that he could show and speak about the Arabic slides though he does not

speak the Arabic language, “that took rehearsal as soon as I saw the slide. I go OK I know that

slides because I did the one in English, so I could even talk about that slides even though it's all

in Arabic. So, we had collaboration in that regard with what we presented and what we wrote in

our training department”.

Similarly, Douglass Hassell, CEO of Sunlark Power in Dubai, UAE, stated that

translating formal documents to the local language is needed when addressing the government; it

is mandatory to address them using the native language of the country:

The only time I’m writing in Arabic when it's a formal letter to the government where I

get it translated for me, and my cup of tea. Like in, for instances, a contract is being

signed in dual languages in Arabic so in which case, I’m making sure it's been translated

into English to understand what I'm signing… So, I think the time I write in Arabic is

formal letters to the government and what I'm signing writing contracts for the

government.

Based on the NES professionals’ answers, it could be concluded that translation is

required in bilingual professional context. NES professionals also do some translation to get

general meaning of some writings conducted in the local language, which in some cases lead

58

them to use translation engines like Google Translator that may or may not provide accurate

meaning of content. NES professionals could also be required to communicate using the local

language like presenting written Arabic slide decks for Arabic audience while they speak

English only like what Stanley reported. This refers to the necessity for NES workers to learn the

local cultures’ languages, or at least some, to be able to engage adequately and professionally

with local governmental institutions and NNES colleagues. Ignoring the issue of language could

be interpreted as superiority and carelessness. Mohammed Alkaltham, a Saudi Senior Specialist

who works in Anti-Money Laundering Investigation, Compliance Anti Money Laundering

department at Al Rajhi Bank, said that a lot of NES professionals like Americans and British

have spent many years working in the Gulf States and then they return back home while not

knowing even simple Arabic words and phrases. He argued that learning some of the local

language is necessary for engaging with locals since knowing the local language is a kind of

respect for local people and culture.

Technological development has also impacted business communication and translation

processes. To understand how technology impacts communication and translation in ELF

business environment, I surveyed NNES and NES professionals about using technology to

translate formal documents.

When asking NNES participants about using technology in business communication, as

shown in Table 4.15, 5.97% strongly agreed, 29.85% somewhat agreed, and 20.90% agreed that

they use technology to facilitate bilingual communication in compared to 13.43% who said

neutral, 13.43% somewhat disagreed, 7.46% disagreed, and 8.96% strongly disagreed that

technology is used to facilitate bilingual communication. Generally, the numbers show that using

technology for business communication among NNES professionals is less common. However,

the largest numbers of NNES participants strongly agree 22.06%, agreed 39.71%, and somewhat

agreed 11.76% that online writing, virtual teamwork, social enterprise-based interaction

facilitates their professional communication among international participants compared to

16.18% who said neutral, 5.88% somewhat disagreed, and 4.41% disagreed. The results reveal

that although using technology for bilingual communication is somewhat limited, using

technology in workplace facilitates NNES communication.

Table 4.15: NNES Using of Technology for Writing

Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

In workplace,

technology is used

to facilitate

bilingual

communication

(example:

using electronic

translator)

5.97%

(n=4)

20.90%

(n=14)

29.85%

(n=20)

13.43%

(n=9)

13.43%

(n=9)

7.46%

(n=5)

8.96%

(n=6)

67

59

Online writing,

virtual teamwork,

social enterprise-

based interaction

facilitates my

professional

communication

among

international

participants

22.06%

(n=15)

39.71%

(n=27)

11.76%

(n=8)

16.18%

(n=11)

5.88%

(n=4)

4.41%

(n=3)

0.00% 68

When surveying NES professionals for using technology in bilingual communication, as

shown in Table 4.16, the highest number somewhat agreed 40.00%, 20.00% agreed, and 10.00%

strongly agreed that technology is part of the bilingual communication in their workplace. Only

10.00% somewhat disagreed and 10.00% disagreed that technology is not used for this purpose.

Likewise, 30.00% strongly agreed, 20.00% somewhat agreed, and 20.00% said neutral that

online writing, virtual teamwork, social enterprise-based interaction facilitates their professional

communication among international participants whereas 20.00% disagreed and 10.00%

somewhat disagreed. The results indicate that technology is partly used to facilitate

communication in ELF business environment.

Table 4.16: NES Using of Technology for Writing

Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

In workplace,

technology is used to

facilitate bilingual

communication (e.g.,

using electronic

translator…etc.)

10.00%

(n=1)

20.00%

(n=2)

40.00%

(n=4)

10.00%

(n=1)

10.00%

(n=1)

10.00%

(n=1)

0.00% 10

Online writing,

virtual teamwork,

social enterprise-

based interaction

facilitates my

professional

communication

among international

participants

30.00%

(n=3)

0.00% 20.00%

(n=2)

20.00%

(n=2)

10.00%

(n=1)

20.00%

(n=2)

0.00% 10

When asking NNES professionals about using technology, AlKhabbaz said that there is

nothing in particular used for translation. When look up the meanings of English words, he uses

Google Translator: Not very much, but I do use Google Translator sometimes if I find I'm

looking for a certain word, but in the usual day-to-day operation, I do not use it that much.

Likewise, Mostafa Mohammed, an HR manager at SESP, said that he uses Google

Translator to

translate texts, and he makes some rhetorical and stylistic adjustments before finalizing Arabic

texts. He also adds that ready-to-use Arabic formats are often used in his workplace:

60

After getting Google translation, I make some revisions to the translated text…I write it

in English, then translate it to Arabic, then I make some adjustment to the Arabic

translation before I finally send it as a memo. We do have translated format for the

governmental documents. [Translated from Arabic]

Alqallaf, on the contrary, said that using technology for technical translation is difficult

because highly technical terminologies often obscure correct meaning. He clarified that in

industrial fields, technical writing is the typical kind of written communication which is different

from one department to another which makes translation challenging and complicated due to

different usage of terminologies and meanings, “If we stuck with translation, we make

meetings…, if we have some English letters, we have to translate it into Arabic... SWCC,

provides courses in technical writing, technical communication. The difficulty for me is how to

translate it to Arabic”.

While NNES use Google Translator for general translation, some NES professionals also

use Google Translator to get general sense of text as Boyd reported that he uses Google

Translator to translate some Arabic text to English to get a general meaning of content, “it is not

precisely correct Arabic, but I get the general meaning of the message”.

Hassell, on the other hand, stated that he uses Google Translator to get a general sense of

Arabic documents, other than that, it is risky to rely on online translator for business purposes

due to its inaccuracy in capturing the real meanings in relation to context. He said he has heard

customers criticize translated writings of electronic translators, thing that could impact

corporations’ reputation. He clarifies that he has translators working for formal translation:

I'd prefer somebody that an expert because you've got to provide the right content at the

right time. And one of the things that I am learning is that in this new age what you've

got to be doing is like sharing ideas and got rich content. So it's almost you're giving

away from your intellectual property because what you're trying to do is to illustrate to

the community of interest the values that you have…we want to work more in Saudi

Arabia, and in Saudi Arabia they're a little bit more intolerant, and they want to see

[writings] in Arabic. So, in that instance we're looking at producing flyers and marketing

content in Arabic as well as English.

Communication using social media has drastically increased in businesses due to the ease

of use and delivering information. Many businesses use social media like WhatsApp for internal

communication among employees and for staff management. Both NNES and NES professionals

stated that they use social media like WhatsApp because it is informal, easy and quicker tool to

deliver information and visual images. Hassell said:

WhatsApp is easier to understand because it's more informal, and it's more like shorter

sentences and clearer, and you might also be sharing an image or sharing something so

it's the visual cues of that and it's easier to interpret. I think I use WhatsApp quite a lot

across the organization and I encourage the teams to use that sort of informal because it's

just a little bit quicker rather than having a long e-mail to read in English, which might be

misconstrued you ending up with chat around various topics, which I think is also better

for the distance as well.

Stanley, similarly, said that WhatsApp is used for internal communication among

employees, although most employees who use WhatsApp are Arabs, they still write in English,

“it's all in English. So, I communicate with several Saudi nationals that are Arabic speakers learn

when we're in a room, but it seems like they're all online WhatsApp messages are clear English”.

61

Yardley, on the other hand, said that there is a tendency for extensive use of collaborative

writing using technology in his workplace; however, technology is mostly used for professional

communication among NES workers more than NNES colleagues. Face to face communication

is the preferable means of communication with NNES professionals. He reported that native

English-speaking colleagues uses technology extensively for collaborative work and writing like

Google Drive whereas a very little interaction with NNES colleagues using such kind of

technology. However, with his Saudi colleagues, he tries to avoid emailing: “it depends on who

the colleagues are. Some of them prefer to use WhatsApp over sending e-mails. And like I said,

with my Saudi colleagues the extent to which I'm communicating with them digitally is much

less than with my English-speaking colleagues, and then I would say that is split between using

e-mail and WhatsApp”.

Based on participants’ answers about using digital technology in professional

communication, it could be concluded that business corporations in multicultural professional

context increasingly rely on technology for informal, collaborative professional communication

like using social media applications for faster engaging in conversation and for ease of use and

delivering information. However, some reported that face to face communication with NNES

professionals is preferable due to their lack of proficiency in using technology for professional

communication, which could also be easier to communicate directly/face to face to avoid any

language barriers. This indicates that educational institutions should pay attention to the

necessity of preparing students using technology and social media application for professional

communication and collaborative writing. business corporations as well as educational

institutions should focus on the necessity to prepare students for using technology for

professional intercultural communication.

Recommendations and Suggestions

In Chapter 6, I discuss in extensive detail my own and my participants’ recommendations

for how to better prepare and support NES and NNES professionals for writing in multilingual

workplaces. But here, based on the analyzed data and interviewees’ answers, I close the chapter

with some brief recommendations for NES and NNES professionals in business organizations

and educational institutions.

The data collected from surveyed’ professionals and interviewees’ answers show that:

• Although the first language of the Gulf States countries is Arabic, it appears that English is

the first language of the professional written communication. It is intensely used in the

private sector with the exception of Arabic writing to address governmental agencies and the

public sector as needed. Clearly, NNES professionals write a lot in English, which means

that business corporations should provide new NNES employees training and workshops to

teach them specific workplace conventions and practices required in written communication

in English.

• NNES participants who got their academic degrees from native English-speaking countries

feel worry about their writing in English for business purposes as much as those who got

their degrees from non-native English countries, specifically in terms of knowing the specific

technical vocabulary they need on a daily basis in the workplace. It indicates that teaching

NNES students writing in educational institutions must be focused extensively on preparing

L2 students not only for academic but for occupational professional writing they need in the

62

future, including helping to build vocabulary and offering strategies about how to continue to

learn and develop business writing skills while on the job.

• The most common types of genres used in the Gulf States ELF context are emails, memos,

letters, reports and proposals, to be addressed to various NNES and NES audiences in the

global workplace. These genres are mostly written in an American, Western style of written

English, which again means that corporations and educational institutions must provide both

NNES and NES professionals and students training in intercultural, multilingual style of

written communication in terms of English proficiency level and for selectivity of word

choice and style of writing to be used professionally for the target audiences.

• Clarity and communicability are prioritized in business writing more than mechanical and

structural issues of language which NNES should be trained for in educational institutions

and professional contexts. This could be provided by having clear writing template for NNES

employees to use, which proves its value, based on some interviewees’ answers, in enabling

clear and consistent L2 written communication, and in enabling them to learn writing

conventions faster.

• Translation between English and Arabic is present in the ELF workplace context. It is,

however, a sensitive writing practice due to difficulty in transferring rhetorical differences

accurately across languages. Some participants revealed that they do not use any specific

technology for translation but online translating engines to get a general translated text and

then they make rhetorical adjustments to it. This shows that students/employees need to be

trained for professional and technical translation for multilingual workplaces which is crucial

for business marketing to communicate effectively with local audiences and customers using

their own languages.

• Business corporations in multicultural context increasingly rely on technology for informal,

collaborative communication among employees. This includes using technological programs

like Google Drive or social media applications like WhatsApp for fast of use and sense of

community. However, some NES prefer to communicate face to face with their NNES

colleagues to avoid any misunderstanding of using English by NNES and due to lack of

proficiency in using technology for professional communication. Thus, training programs in

business corporations as well as in educational institutions need to prepare workers/students

using professional English in digital media for collaborative communication and writing.

From a specific focus on language usage in writing and speaking, I next turn to examine cultural

diversity and its impact on ELF professional communication more fully in Chapter 5.

63

Chapter 5: " The First Thing I Always Tell Them Is: Know the Culture":

Culture and Language in Multilingual Professional Communication

As businesses expand globally, multicultural diversity continues to grow as well. Supporting a

diverse workplace is critical for organizations’ development; it opens doors for different minds,

various experiences, visions, and perspectives which results in innovative ideas and more

success. Diversity also encourages professionals to build on each other’s skills and knowledges.

However, despite the many benefits of diversity in global workplaces, working with people from

different cultural, national, ethnic, racial, and lingual backgrounds also creates complications,

especially in terms of communication. When communicating in intercultural contexts,

professionals need to be aware and self-aware of intercultural differences and how those

differences shape language usage.

There have been numerous studies investigating the impact of highly diversified

workplace context on professional communication. Culture creates differences in the style of

communication between sender and receiver (e.g., Freeman & Brown, 2004; Loosemore & Lee,

2002). It shapes how a language rhetorically and stylistically is used to create a message, how the

speaker uses the medium to deliver it, and how it is interpreted. Thus, multiculturalism in the

workplace, while certainly a positive, also brings some potential problems as well because

communication across cultures can ambiguate the intended meaning and make communication a

challenging task. Linda Beamer (1992) explained that communication problems happen when

one tries to interpret the message based on one’s cultural norms and values, which could be

understood differently from the intended message. Accordingly, scholars such as Beamer (1992);

Marcus and Lin (1999); and Torbiörn (1982) emphasized that understanding cultural norms and

differences is a step to overcome communicative challenges. In professional contexts, global

business, as Susanne Gargiulo (2011) stated, “requires more local knowledge, better cultural

understanding, a significant technical infrastructure, and the ability to build effective global

teams.” Therefore, mastering multicultural communicative competence is crucial to maintain

self-awareness to cultural differences which is a key point for effective, fruitful communication.

Although multicultural communication studies extensively focus on exploring cultural

differences to support professional communication in diverse context, less attention has been

given to studying cultural competence in multilingual professional context through the lenses of

English for specific purposes (ESP) and English as a lingua franca (ELF).

To understand the interplay between language and culture, the impact of professionals’

cultural backgrounds and styles of communication, the power of building social connections

through curiosity and cultural engagement, and the significance of awareness to cultural

variation in professional communication, I surveyed both non-native English speaking (NNES)

and native-English speaking (NES) professionals to learn more of their experiences in

multilingual workplaces.

Table 5.1 exhibits NNES professionals’ answers about difficulties they experience when

communicating in ELF context and to which reasons they attribute these difficulties. The highest

number of respondents 37.27% attributed difficulties to cultural differences between them and

the person/people they’re communicating with, 30.00% attributed it to other person’s/people's

language proficiency, 29.09% to their own language proficiency, and few said due to the

speaking subject and accent.

64

Table 5.1: Difficulties That NNES Experience in Communicating in ELF Context: When I

Experience Difficulties in Communicating with NES And NNES Professionals, I Attribute It

To The Following

Answer Count %

My language proficiency 29.09%

(n=32)

Other person’s/people's language proficiency 30.00%

(n=33)

Cultural differences between me and the person/people I'm communicating with 37.27%

(n=41)

Other 3.64% Speaking subject

Accent

Total 100%

(n=100)

On the other hand, Table 5.2 presents the answers of NES professionals; the highest number

53.85% attributed difficulties in communicating with NNES to language proficiency, 38.46% to

cultural differences between them and the person/people they are communicating with, and

7.69% said other reasons like “my ability to use words and phrases that are part of a second

language users vocabulary”. The results generally reflect that NNES professionals consider

cultural differences as the first hurdle in their ELF workplace communication in contrast to NES

professionals who consider language barrier as the main challenge in multilingual, multicultural

workplace context.

Table 5.2: Difficulties That NES Experience in Communicating in ELF Context: When I

Experience Difficulties in Communicating with NNES Professionals, I Attribute It to The

Following:

Answer Count %

Their language proficiency 53.85%

(n=7)

Cultural differences between me and the

person/people I'm communicating with

38.46%

(n=5)

Other 7.69%

(n=1)

My ability to use words and phrases that are part of a second

Language users vocabulary

Total 100%

(n=13)

While analyzing the data in Tables 5.1 and 5.2, I find the difference in perception of the role of

culture between NNES and the NES professionals important to consider, perhaps pointing to

differing understandings, particularly for NES professionals, of their own cultural role in the

communicative process. But before going in more depth on conclusions from the data, I will first

continue with discussion results so as to get a full a picture as possible from participants’

perspectives from surveys and interviews.

65

Interplay Between Culture and Language: How Multiculturalism Creates Linguistic

Barriers in Professional Communication

Many multilingual corporations that use English as a lingua franca (ELF) hold meetings

in which diverse people work together. To understand how professional meetings in ELF Gulf

States context are run, I surveyed both NNES and NES professionals about their experiences in

multicultural meetings, asking them how they communicate in the presence of cultural and

linguistic variations. When asking NNES, as shown in Table 5.3, if they feel unnoticed and

unappreciated in their workplace/meetings because of having difficulty in conveying their

thoughts in English, the majority strongly disagree 35.80%, disagreed 35.80%, and somewhat

disagreed 6.17% that they feel unappreciated but with few percentages who said neutral 7.41%,

somewhat agreed 8.64%, agreed 3.70%, and strongly agreed 2.47%, which highlight their

feelings of being unnoticed in their workplace. Similarly, most NNES participants strongly

disagreed 44.44%, disagreed 34.57%, and somewhat disagreed 6.17% that they are less engaged

and have limited contributions as team players because of their inability to get a message across

in English while some other said neutral 3.70%, somewhat agreed 4.94%, agreed 4.94%, and

strongly agreed 1.23% that they less engaged in team work due to lack of language proficiency.

When looking to the overall responses, it could be concluded that NNES professionals,

generally, are able to communicate in professional meetings; however, it is not without some

difficulties such as the inability to communicate their ideas clearly in English, which could

hinder their professional communication.

Table 5.3: NNES Communication in Multicultural and Multilinguistic Variation in

Professional Meetings

Answers Strongly

Agree

Agree Somewhat

Agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

Disagree

Total

I feel unnoticed and unappreciated in the

workplace/meetings because I have difficulty in

conveying what I want to say in English.

2.47%

(n=2)

3.70%

(n=3)

8.64%

(n=7)

7.41%

(n=6)

6.17%

(n=5)

35.80%

(n=29)

35.80%

(n=29)

81

I am less engaged and have limited

contributions as a team player because of my

inability to get a message across in English

1.23%

(n=1)

4.94%

(n=4)

4.94%

(n=4)

3.70%

(n=3)

6.17%

(n=5)

34.57%

(n=28)

44.44%

(n=36)

81

Table 5.4 presents the answers of NES professionals who regard themselves, in general, as

capable to communicate with NNES professionals in EFL context with regard to challenges

related to cultural and linguistic differences. When surveying them about any difficulties they

face in communicating with NNES professionals when attending presentations and meetings in

English, the highest number said sometime 45.45% they face difficulties, 27.27% said most of

the time and rarely, equally. NES professionals also said they always 36.36% and most of the

time 45.45% communicate effectively with their NNES colleagues. Only 18.18% of the NES

participants said they rarely have effective communication with NNES professionals. Most of

NNES professionals also reported that they have noticed a connection between effective oral

communication and a positive impact on written communication for NNES professionals. The

66

highest percentage 45.45% said most of the time, 36.36% sometime, and 18.18% said they

always notice a positive correlation between successful oral communication and written

communication of NNES colleagues.

Table 5.4: NES Communication in Multicultural and Multilinguistic Variation in

Professional Oral Communication

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time

Always Total

When attending presentations and meetings in English, there are

difficulties in communicating with non-native English

professionals

0.00% 27.27%

(n=3)

45.45%

(n=5)

27.27%

(n=3)

0.00% 11

My non-native English-speaking colleagues can communicate

effectively with me.

0.00% 18.18%

(n=2)

0.00% 45.45%

(n=5)

36.36%

(n=4)

11

I have noticed a connection between effective oral communication

and a positive impact on written communication for non-native

English speakers.

0.00% 0.00% 36.36%

(n=4)

45.45%

(n=5)

18.18%

(n=2)

11

Like NNES respondents, NES participants also reported that communication in the multicultural

Gulf States’ workplace is possible; however, they do face some challenges arise as a result of

diversity. Being able to communicate and understand diverse professionals is also subjected to

the professionals’ beliefs and personal perceptions about their abilities to communicate

effectively in English in multicultural context, thing that does not necessarily reflect the real

image of what they want to communicate. This issue is obviously reflected in the interviewees’

answers and examples provided about their cultural communication in diversity presented in the

following sections.

Communication Competencies Needed in Multicultural Workplace Context

The importance of knowing professionals’ cultural backgrounds and understanding their

styles of communication: Perspectives from NNES and NES professionals.

Having a general knowledge of employees’ cultural background is crucial to ease professional

engagement. Meina Liu (2016) clarified that understanding cultural patterns of communication

allows us to revise and evaluate professional frameworks differently, which is a step toward

effective understanding of our relationships with others; this is what S.G, a Saudi manager

working in a Saudi petrochemical company whom I interviewed, emphasized: that knowing

cultures of foreign professionals is vital. He added that in his workplace, employees get a general

communication training to understand different cultures’ norms of communication:

Maybe we are trained for the [targeted] country, to be qualified in communication skills,

we do not need to go deeply to the people’ cultures but at least to respect all

nationalities...and deal with them in a very professional [way].... from my personal

perspective, we need to understand the culture in order to facilitate [communication] with

them.

Both NES and NNES professionals face challenges in handling cultural and linguistic differences

including challenges in understanding NES professionals’ cultures. Lack of cultural and

emotional intelligence are among main issues professionals encounter in diverse workplace

environment. Margo Paz (2015) said that when working in diverse workplace, people often

forget that people of other cultures have different understandings and perspectives, so it is

important to have cultural intelligence to know how other people think and to build effective

67

communication with them; besides “bridging cultural differences can make or break your

business”.

As discussed in Chapter 3, accents also cause challenges in communication and it’s

important to recognize that accents are related to culture, including professional cultures. A.H, a

manager at a Saudi construction company who went to a graduate school in the United States and

has worked in Saudi Arabia for many years so he is a highly proficient NNES speaker, explained

that cultural differences in oral communication are reflected in the fast pacing and heavy accents

of some Americans which makes their English difficult to understand. He provided an example

about how cultural differences impacts using ELF effectively in professional communication,

which could impact their professional progress. Referring back to the significance of having

cultural intelligence, he reported that his American boss’ fast pace and lack of empathy and

understanding complicate communication with him:

With Americans, my main problem is with southern states accents. For example, I have a

dinner meeting today in another company, they [professional Americans from southern

states] speak so fast. Fast [pacing] is one of the problems with Americans. My workplace

manage is American from Texas. The main problem in communicating with him is he

talks so fast… He does not, for example, consider persons older than him, respect I mean,

[as in Arabic culture] what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong…for him, there is

no place for emotions.

Alias, on the other hand, expressed some challenges in the socializing language with NES

professionals in the workplace. Although he personally has not encountered any challenges in his

workplace since business language is the common ground among professionals, he still see such

challenges among other expats:

When you try to express some thoughts or some ideas that are related to the culture where

you come from or let's say the American or English culture, then, yes, there are

difficulties. An example you know a joke...an American joke may not sound appealing to

someone who is Indian or Chinese and vice versa. But when it comes to business, the

business language is common.

Needless to say, that knowing the culture of professional speakers facilitates communicating

with them. Armando Bartolome (2017) said that peoples’ styles of communication are different

across cultures; in some cultures, they are loud, or they are quiet and soft speakers, they might be

transparent and direct or indirect, they may talk after the speaker finishes or they may interrupt

others. Regardless differences, it is important to adjust our style of communication to create

effective multicultural communication.

When interviewing NNES professionals about communicative difficulties they face with

other NNES colleagues in the workplace, they scored cultural differences as the number one

challenge that complicates mutual understanding. A.H provided an example of how cultural

differences in oral communication obscures delivering intended meanings. He said some Asian

co-workers communicate with him using high voice volume in oral communication, which is

considered offensive and disrespect in the Arabic culture. He said:

The problem in communicating with Philipinos is they seem to consider shouting a

normal voice volume while talking. There is a Pilipino co-worker [in my workplace]. I

asked him [one day] to find out some documents for me to sign. He gave me the

documents done with a mistake. I went to him and told him politely and respectfully,

“there is a mistake,” but he shouted, “A mistake! How is that!” He, later, came to my

office to apologize and said, “I did not mean to shout.” I told him, “go, do not apologize”;

68

he said, “I am thinking to leave my job”, “why?”, I replied, “because you are upset with

me”.…Then he came again to apologize. I hugged him and told him, “I told you not to

apologize because I do not want to you to shout again.” You see, they consider shouting a

normal voice volume, but [ in our culture], never to raise your voice while talking to a

person older than you. I always see Philipinos shouting while talking with each other.

[Translated from Arabic]

In this example, we see how co-workers from different backgrounds, by explaining and directly

talking about different communication expectations in different cultures, are able to negotiate

their differences.

Sometimes the intersections of language and culture occur not just in vocal tone and

volume but, possibly, in decisions to speak English at all as Sajjad Alqallaf, a Saudi instrument

and control engineer in SWCC (Saline Water Conversion Corporation), explained that in his

workplace, they work with Chinese professionals who refuse to speak English as a medium

language to communicate with them because they consider their language—Chinese--as a

representative of their identity:

Alqallaf: There’s a lot of Chinese, and Chinese do not speak English and they don't want

any English actually, they even do not try to understand.

Researcher: Do you mean they have an attitude toward English?

Alqallaf: Yes, yes, toward English especially with Chinese people. So...if we need

something, we… show them some pictures… so they understand, and sometimes they

don't understand very well.

Of course, there are wide variations of individual communication styles, but what we can see in

the comments of these business professionals is the impact culture is having on their style of

communication. Because of my focus in this study on native Arabic and native English speakers’

experiences, I have not interviewed native-Chinese speaking professionals working in the Gulf

states. At some point, I would like to expand this study to do so, but for now, what seems clear is

that some Arab professionals perceive that Chinese professionals would rather not speak or learn

English.

Ahmed Alrashed, a Saudi acting executive manager at Al Rajhi Bank, also explained

difficulties he encounters with his NNES colleagues due to lack of the language proficiency

along with cultural differences. He said:

I do not have any problem with NES professionals. But with NNES, yes, I do face

difficulty sometimes; the difference could be in the language proficiency and in cultural

differences… Some [NNES professionals] do not understand what is needed from them

in letters. I face difficulty in understanding terminologies used by [NNES professionals]

who do not speak good English, and this is applies with both experienced and new

employees. If [the NNES professional] does not speak or did not learn English, it is a

problem…Our style of communication might differ from their ways of communication.

[translated from Arabic]

Challenges in understanding cultural styles of communication could happen even among

employees who have prior experiences in intercultural communication and who work for big

companies like Saudi Aramco. An example of that is Alias, a senior planning/process

optimization Engineer at Saudi Aramco who got his bachelor’s degree from the UK, so he is

experienced in multicultural communication, also explained when he first started working in

Aramco, he encountered communicative difficulties related to using English as a lingua franca in

workplace and to the engagement in diversity since Aramco is a multicultural corporation which

69

adopts English as the official language; however, these difficulties, as he said, have been

diminished over time by practicing, but he still sees it in some NNES co-workers’ style of

communication:

I did [have difficulties] at the beginning of my career, of course, but not anymore…the

choice of words and express ideas so that sort of things gets better over time as you deal

with different people from different cultures and backgrounds. Maybe I've not faced

difficulty, but I've seen it. I still see [difficulties in communication] in the workplace

among young engineers, and sometimes senior engineers too who are expats and who

were recently joined the company and had never worked in the Middle East before.

In a similar way, Maitham Aljishi, a Co-Founder & CEO Partner & Consultant, shared what he

noticed about the differences in the style of socializing between Chinese and American

professionals. Punctuality, he noted, is one obvious difference in professional meetings. He said

when having business meetings with Americans, they start talking about the subject directly or

within few minutes in contrast to Chinese who consider initial socialization vital since they

prefer to know their business partners before starting business conversation:

Sometimes with Chinese because here in the US, if the business meeting starts at 5:00

pm, we start talking about the subject within like five minutes or less. But with Chinese,

it is rude to start talking about the meeting [directly] because it is a sign that you do not

want to be with them [but] for business. [So], you have to talk about anything. But here in

the US, everybody wants to get the job done and leave. Even Indians, [they] like to

socialize after meetings.

Likewise, Talal Al-Allaf, a Syrian founder and director of Isle of Innovation in the UK, and a

former account manager at Elm Company in Saudi Arabia, also shared what he perceived about

cultural style of communication. He pointed out that cultural differences in communicative style

are strongly emerge in professional meetings; most differences are in the way of delivering ideas.

Arabs, as he said, prefer stretched oral style and detailed thoughts and ideas in contrast to the

westerners who prefer conciseness and directness:

The culture I think would be reflected clearly in meetings. Whenever you meet people

speaking English, the cultural [differences] on how to deliver your ideas, maybe to

negotiate or to communicate. It's sometimes important that in our language, Arabic, we

may put like sixteen sentences to our ideas, but in English you need to say it in one

sentence or two sentences and briefly, and don't waste time on that. So, this is the cultural

problem.

In the previous examples, we can see how workers from different backgrounds perceive

communicative styles of diverse colleagues and partners differently, by explaining and talking

about different communication styles and expectations in different cultures.

While NNES interviewees shared what they perceive in cultural styles of communication,

NES professionals, on the other hand, referred to the significance of having self-awareness to

different styles of communication when working globally like in Gulf States workplace. Joe

Stanley, an American programs operations manager at ManTech International Corporation,

MENA in Saudi Arabia, said that multicultural variation in UAE workplace context makes

professional communication a challenging task. He explained that he ran the new hire program in

previous workplaces and he always tells newly hired NNES and NES professionals who came to

work in the Gulf States to differentiate between cultural knowledge and cultural awareness and

being knowledgeable of some cultural differences does not mean that someone is aware of the

complexity of diversity and how to treat people based on their background. Stanley also

70

emphasized the importance of having cultural awareness and to know the culture ahead of time

to smooth communication when working in multicultural workplace context:

Because I run all the onboarding for new hires even when I was with Fidel Arabiya even

before in Riyadh and even in Abu Dhabi, but I ran the new hire programs. And what's

interesting is in Abu Dhabi in the UAE there we had 32 nationalities in that company,

which you can imagine is not only the host country language barriers, but the barriers

from people from Brazil or some eastern European countries coming to the Gulf region.

But the first thing I always tell them is know the culture. Just do some kind of cultural

awareness training. Even if it's online or from a briefing there's a difference between

awareness and knowledge, and then make sure that's an ongoing the whole time.

Douglas Hassell, A British CEO at Sunlark Power in the United Arab Emirates, stated that the

biggest issue he encounters in his professional communication in Dubai is the wide multicultural

variation of expats coming from different countries, which makes verbal business

communication with them very challenging. He clarified that the wide variety of expats could

complicates mutual understanding due to wide cultural differences in the style of using the

language: “I think the biggest challenge [in Dubai] … comes because of the high levels of

multicultural expats.”

Joshua Yardley, an American acting head of educational department at SESP (Saudi

Electric Services Polytechnic), described that cultural differences create a gap between him and

his Saudi colleagues which complicates mutual communication and makes it unproductive. He

stated that the American style of communication is more direct and clearer than the Saudi one.

Issues of perceived transparency and directness in providing information are the biggest issue

Yardley faces in the Saudi workplace:

Where I come from, people are often very direct. They say what they mean and what they

think. And here, I feel like I'm not always getting a straight answer from people, not that

they're directly lying, but they're not giving all of the information. It seems to me that my

colleagues, a lot of them, play their cards very close to their chest. . . . So, I feel like

there's sort of a lack of transparency in communication generally. So, I would say that

seems to be the biggest issue is that I approach every situation wanting to have full

transparency and open communication. And quite often I'm met with resistance or have a

difficult time getting the information that I require.

As we see, Yardley perceives the communicative style of Saudis as a lack of transparency, based

upon the direct American style of communication. However, the Arabic style of communication

prefers socializing and engagement away from the formality of the professional life.

Understanding the value of socialization in Middle Eastern societies is clearly reflected in

Boyd’s, a Facilities Planning Specialist at Saudi Aramco, style of communication with Saudis.

Boyd states, “Many [NES] expats tell me, “I've been here for 20 years and I've never been

invited to a Saudi's home, a wedding party, or anything else, and you're invited all the time. Why

is that?” And I respond, “It might have something to do with me taking an interest in the people,

the culture, and their religion. I've been open to discussing those sorts of things.” Thus, it’s not a

coincidence that I get invited”. To prevent professional conflicts that may emerge as a result of

the huge cultural variation in the Gulf States workplace, Stanley encouraged expats to socialize

and make friendship with local people to get to know norms and customs of the target country,

which is the best way to get knowledge about the local culture, as he stated:

you need to find somebody to be friend that's from that culture because that's the best

way you're going to learn about any customs and courtesies and how to behave. So that

71

would be for like saying in Riyadh, if I'm hiring a local Saudi person for a job, they

would have to be able to read and understand English fluently. And they would also

should know what the customs and the norms are for whoever they're working for. So,

you have to know the person you're communicating with a little bit, their background…

the big thing is to understand cultural differences of whoever you deal with.

Hassell also explained when communicating in professional context in India, he modified his

verbal professional style to suit the Indian professional communication. He used to simplify his

language to make more sense in the new context:

When I lived in India for three years, culture is one of the biggest barriers in terms of the

communication. I haven't got an understanding of the language, but I've got an

understanding of the culture. In some cases, it's about approaching a topic in a different

way you're not discussing it in a European style, discussing it in a sort of different style

that's more appropriate. Using some simple words to explain the same thing, and shorter

sentences. And the issue I'm sort of using my hands because that's kind of an Asian style,

So, I tend to sort of mimic that. In Arabic context, it tends to be a little bit more of hand

waving than gentle gesticulation.

While Stanely encourage NES expats to having local friends to learn more about the L2

culture and Hassell, attempted to modify his communicative style to suit the new culture,

Alkaltham, a Saudi citizen and a senior specialist anti-money laundering investigator at Al Rajhi

Bank, on the other hand, stressed the importance of learning some of the local language phrases,

so NES can socialize with locals. He criticized NES professionals who have spent years working

in the Gulf States about not having curiosity and interest in learning some of the local language,

“by learning simple phrases of the local language, they can engage socially” [translated from

Arabic], he said, emphasizing the significant aspect of socializing in the oriental, Gulf States

society. He advised NES professionals that “they should know our culture. It is a kind of respect,

first, and second, they could have problems in the L2 culture, so when seeking for help from

locals, they might not find anyone speak their language. So learning some of the local language

is for their benefit”. [translated from Arabic] Alkaltham again highlighted the significance of

socializing with locals and asked, wondering, “does it make sense that NES professionals spend

years in the Gulf States, but they are unable to ask a simple Arabic question like Oredu

Musa’adatek! [I need your help]” [translated from Arabic]. Alkaltham concluded by saying, “we,

Saudis, are friendly people, and we accept the other once they try to engage with us!”. [translated

from Arabic] What Alkaltham stated at the end encouraged me to delve deeply in the

conversation with the participants, trying to understand the positive side of curiosity and social

engagement on professional’s life in global workplace context.

The Power of Curiosity and the Importance of Building Social Connections

Duan-Ying Cai (2016) stated that cultural competence is a combination of various

characteristics: cultural awareness (recognizing and developing consciousness to values, norms,

beliefs, similarities and differences), cultural sensitivity (showing respect and appreciation to

cultural differences), and cultural knowledge (educational-based learning about various captures’

values, norms, beliefs to better understand them) Since improving cultural competence is crucial,

nowadays, to adapt with the fast growing of businesses and to decrease or prevent organizational

gridlock, when working overseas NES interviewees also emphasize the importance for newly

hired NES employees to know target cultures’ traditions, norms and values through which they

can socialize, engage, and maintain effective business relationships with other cultures’ peoples.

72

Brett Boys, an American facilities planning specialist at Saudi Aramco, said that as a NES

professional working overseas, he has always been conscious and sensitive to cultural

differences to maintain good relationship with colleagues in EFL context, and constantly remind

newly hired Americans in his workplace, Saudi Aramco, to consider cultural differences when

communicating with L2 colleagues. He revealed that the lack of cultural empathy and

understanding could cost NES employees their jobs:

I’ve always been very sensitive to culture wherever I go, and so that has not been a

problem for me personally. But sometimes, especially if it's an American and he's

showing no [sensitivity] cultural understanding or he's not properly behaving considering

the culture that he is in that, I don't hesitate to call it's always been him pulling him aside

and reaming him out for… not being sympathetic but understanding maybe the culture

that he's in.

Boyd clarified how risky it is to not have cultural awareness when working in an

intercultural environment, “[ without cultural awareness] someone can lose his or her job. Here,

if someone says the wrong thing to the wrong person, the next thing you know is that person is

gone.” He also shared stories about his experiences in intercultural engagement in global

professional contexts. He explained that professional success in international contexts is worth

devoting effort to learn initiating communication and maintaining cultural intelligence. This

could be positively reflected in professional relationships, as well as on one’s career. He blamed

American expats who work overseas for showing less interest in engaging with their NNES

colleagues. He described it as an American issue more than an issue with those of other

nationalities:

I've been invited to weddings of young Saudi co-workers, people whom I mentor. I get

invited to weddings and wedding parties, and I've been invited to a number of homes of

Saudis for dinner or just to visit, and pretty regularly. But I hear many [NES] expats say,

“I've been here for 20 years and I've never been invited to a Saudi's home or a wedding

party or anything else, and you're invited all the time. Why is that?” And I tell them, “It

might have something to do with me taking an interest in the people, the culture, their

religion, and I've been open to discussing those sorts of things.” Thus, it’s not a

coincidence that I get invited.

Having cultural intelligence and better understanding and engaging in other cultures,

which enables professionals to work successfully with diverse people, Boyd provided an

example about how the effort he put for cultural engagement was appreciated and considered by

his high employers when he was working in China, which made him the most privileged NES

employee among many other NES expats:

When I was in China, I was invited to a lot of things with the Chinese. For example, the

Chinese senior vice president of this large corporation who was also in the ruling

government party leadership, as well, invited me to his private dining facility. All of the

other expats were envious of me. Many of them said the same thing: they've been there

for years and years and years and you’re just coming back and forth, so why you get

invited? One young Chinese manager heard some expats saying something to that effect

to me, and he responded to them, saying, “When Brett comes to the office every morning,

he yells out to everyone [In Chinese language] “Good Morning!” Half the time Brett

goes to lunch, he goes with us Chinese to the Chinese dining hall, All the rest of you

always go to the Western dining hall. Brett is with us half of the time. I don't see any

other foreigners making the effort, but Brett does.” A little bit of effort goes a long way.

73

By sharing how effort spent with locals could be rewarded, Boyd referred to the

significance of having intercultural intelligence and cultural competency. He believes

professional communicators, as well as business and professional communication students at

schools, need to learn and master communicating efficiently and competently in every

international workplace context. What he stressed is that successful communication in different

cultures is recognized and rewarded. This must be taken into account when working

internationally:

As I see it, we are ambassadors of our country. Too many times I've heard Saudis and

Muslims say that I am very different from all the other Americans they know. I see that

as both good and bad. I am glad that they recognize my efforts. However, I'm also

ashamed that my fellow Americans don't reach out more to bridge the cultural divide.

Culture and Language Usage in Professional Meetings

While some Saudis and Arabs face difficulties communicating with NES professionals, NES also

have communicative issues with NNES professionals in meetings. Boyd clarified that the

biggest cultural issue he encounters in his workplace in Saudi Aramco is sometimes in

professional meetings with NNES colleagues. If the attendees are all Arabs except for Boyd, the

others tend to speak Arabic without considering his presence as a non-native Arabic speaker

(NNAS). This complicates his communication:

As far as me personally, the biggest frustration I have at Saudi Aramco, is that it is

supposed to be an English-only company. However, often in meetings, if I am the only

non-Arab speaking person, the rest will start speaking Arabic. I get the general idea of

what they're talking about. After an Arabic discussion in a meeting, someone will

invariably ask, “What do you think Brett”., I would respond, “I’d probably think a little

more if you guys had spoken in English for the last five minutes”. , After pointing this

out, they would respond that they are sorry that they forget that there’s a non-Arab in the

meeting. I'm very understanding about that common occurrence, especially having

traveled all over the world and running into this situation many times. If I thought they

were intentionally speaking Arabic, when they are perfectly capable of speaking English,

then I wouldn’t be so understanding. However, I’m certain that it is rarely done

intentionally.

Similarly, Joe Stanley, an American programs operations manager at ManTech International

Corporation, MENA in Saudi Arabia, also criticized the same issue that Saudis or Arabs do

speak their native language in professional meetings without considering the presence of NNAS

colleagues. Like Boyd, he said if most attendees in professional meetings are Saudis, they speak

Arabic, which makes the meetings for him less effective. To avoid any potential

miscommunication, he clarified that he prepares for meetings ahead of time to make the most of

the meetings by having someone who can translate the local language to keep him engaged:

When I go to a meeting and there's like ten Arabic speakers and maybe me and one other

English speaker, they're all talking Arabic, we're going to sit there and be quiet, so

somehow you have to overcome all that, so that can really bother meeting and make it

kind of non-productive. Because maybe you've got a very strong point that they have to

be considered and you don't even know if they're doing so. We [NES] don't clearly

communicate or articulate their ideas, and it could be very much just based on they're not

comfortable with the English language or the business meetings in English,

74

Boyd and Stanley’s comments about NNES lack of cultural awareness in professional

communication is a significant sign that locals also need self-awareness. They should have

cultural intelligence when working with multinational professionals. This also indicates that

successful communication is a mutual effort which all NNES and NES professionals need to

work to reap the benefits. To solve the NNES/Arab issue of speaking Arabic in formal

professional meetings, Stanely explained he often prepares in advance. Prior to professional

meetings with Arabs, he gets someone to agree to translate for him, in order to keep him

engaged:

You have to be prepared to make sure that the communication is clear for both all the

languages...in meeting, we’ve got to read the body language little bit. You can tell who

those guys are, then you try to engage directly, but again make sure you have somebody

that's kind of translating for you. So that way they feel more part of the meeting. And that

just the reverse.

Preparing and attempting cultural adaptation is a dynamic and changeable social form, which

makes adaptation and engagement a complex process. However, adaptation is a necessity, which

one must be prepared when living in a multicultural society or working professionally in

different countries. A lack of aptitude for coexisting and adapting in a multicultural environment

could cause professionals to lose opportunities. Thus, Boyd emphasized the significance of

preparing for cultural engagement and adaptation. He has been taught by his mother from an

early age to be accepting, sympathetic and understanding, when communicating with people of

different backgrounds. He shared how his childhood upbringing prepared him well for

professional success later in his life:

It started when I was very young. My mother always told me, “When in Rome do as the

Romans, but don’t give up your moral values.” What she meant by that was to be

sympathetic toward an understanding of culture, religion, language and customs. She

was always fascinated by the different places I've been. She always read about all

different places including Saudi Arabia and Middle East, Asia, and all kinds of exotic

places. When I graduated from the University of Florida in 1983 in chemical engineering,

I had an opportunity to work in Kuwait. I've had projects all over the world. I've had

many opportunities to move elsewhere in the world. It was fun for me to see my mother

live vicariously through my world travels, as she was always fascinated by my life

experiences.

Being professionally engaged with the Saudi culture, Boyd also explained that accepting and

welcoming diversity bridges the gap between cultures. Considering himself an ambassador of

his country, it helps him change stereotypes and negative perceptions about his country. It also

helps foster cultural exchange, inclusion, diplomacy and rapprochement:

Making an effort to bridge the gap between cultures and religions, definitely helps,

including helping in the local community. I always feel that I'm an ambassador for the

U.S. as a Christian. It's pretty obvious that I’m American, and that I must represent the

U.S. However, since I’m also a Christian, in a Muslim country, I am also an ambassador

for Christianity, as well. And it's always nice when an Arab, Muslim or Saudi, in

particular, says you've positively and significantly changed my general perception of

Americans.

In a similar way, Maitham Aljishi, a Saudi Co-Founder & CEO Partner & Consultant,

emphasized that adaptation and engagement in professional life are important competencies

75

needed once a person thinks to build his own business interculturally; cultural sensitivity, he

said, is very crucial for business relationship:

It's important for me before talking to anyone there about business deals is to read about

the part of China that the professional came from because we usually see China as one

unity, but every region of China has different culture. Sometimes if you present your

business cards using one hand, it is considered an insult in some regions in China,

because they present it with two hands. Body language plays an important role [in this

situation].

To understand cultural differences, Carl Tresler, an American English language instructor at

SESP (Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic) emphasized the significance of being aware toward

sensitive issues across cultures. He said when communicating with people from different

countries, it is crucial to respect and/or avoid discussing culturally sensitive topics in ELF

workplace contexts. As an NES educator, he avoids bringing up sensitive topics like discussing

political or religious topics while teaching students and when communicating with his NNES

colleagues:

I try to be respectful when I dance around themes. I always ask what's acceptable to you.

For example, in Saudi Arabia I know it's not that good to talk about religion or politics

into the lesson. So, you just kind of keep it all general. And you could also never talk

about the communist regime in China, or the Chinese talk about Buddhist. When I have

brought things up, I usually do it in a respectful way and ask them: do you want to talk

about that? or they bring it up. I'm really careful about bringing up those topics.

Yardley described his professional participation in meetings in his Saudi EFL workplace context

as reserved; he tends to adjust his interaction in professional meetings with his Saudi colleagues

to avoid saying anything inappropriate for Arabic culture:

I have attended several meetings with the senior staff members… I think I sort of adjust

my interaction patterns somewhat in these types of settings. I tend to become more of a

bystander and less of a participant. And that's because I don't feel 100% aware of all of

the local cultural norms and because I'm in the minority. I don't want to step on anybody's

toes or say something that would be culturally inappropriate not anything that would be

considered like vulgar, but just something that isn't a norm to say in an Arab context. So,

I do tend to become more of a bystander and limit my participation and only speak when

spoken to them or when somebody asks my opinion. But even then, I tend to be a bit

more reserved and try to provide say information that I know, would be approved by, say,

my supervisor.

Recommendations and Suggestions Focused on Understanding Cultural Diversity for NES

And NNES Professionals and Business Corporations

It can be concluded, then, that working in multicultural business contexts is worth

devoting time and effort to get experience and knowledge from people of different cultures.

However, it does not go without diversity challenges that could become serious issues if not

considered and prepared for. Based on the analysis of the collected data, I list below main points

that NNES and NES professionals need to consider when working in multicultural workplace.

These points should also be considered by decision makers and employers in business

corporations when providing professional workshops or courses for business communication.

76

Understanding Professionals’ Cultural Backgrounds and Styles of Communication

Because workplaces nowadays are very globalized and widely diversified, it is necessary

for professionals to gain at least basic understanding of other’s communicative norms and habits

to make professional interaction run on smoothly and effectively. Having knowledge about

others’ cultural backgrounds helps in anticipating others’ ways of thinking and emotional

reaction and, consequently, minimizing potential conflicts. Knowing others’ way and preference

of communication is crucial for global business success. for example, in some cultures, people

tend to speak loudly, or in fast pacing as A.H, the Saudi participant, noticed. Some others prefer

initial socialization before professional communication, like Saudis, whereas some others prefer

directness and conciseness like the American style of communication. Thus, understanding

different culture’s style of communication is the first step toward minimizing communicative

conflicts and increasing harmony among employees.

Building Social Connections Through Curiosity and Cultural Engagement

Curiosity or the strong desire to learn something intrigues people to engage socially to

learn about each other. Being a curious professional in a multicultural workplace who likes to

learn more about the other helps in bridging the cultural gap by knowing norms and traditions of

others, and so to engage with people, specifically with professionals who come from

collectivistic societies. Thus, business corporations need to create a curious learning

environment in their workplaces to encourage employees learning and engagement which could

boost their productivity. The power of curiosity and social engagement in the workplace is

stressed by Thomas Reio Jr and Jamie Callahan’ study (2004) who examined the impact of

curiosity and socialization on working performances. They found that higher level of curiosity

could enhance socialization-related learning and job performance and decrease level of anger and

anxiety among employees.

By keeping employees engaged in the workplace, curiosity could deepen the sense of

seeking information and discovering ideas from various sources. Corporations in this sense

could provide employees informal opportunities to engage in corporate culture. This increases

employees’ self-awareness toward cultural differences and toward cultural competencies they

need to succeed in the workplace. A good example of how curiosity improves self-awareness

toward cultural intelligence is what Boyd shared about his social engagement in the Saudi and

Chinese workplaces, which was highly appreciated. Corporations should encourage employees

to get to know each other and discover commonalities and differences across cultures, which is

really worth the effort. Boyd says that all of us should focus on our similarities, rather than our

differences. He believes that would make the world a better place.

Awareness to Cultural Variation in Professional Communication Specifically

Cultural awareness of professional communication in relation to cultural aspects like

punctuality and time management, directness and indirectness in communicating information,

and individualism and collectivism in socializing and decision making is also crucial to be

considered. We need to consider something like a Culture for Specific Purposes, where

professionals prepare not just generally for the cultures they are entering, but also for the specific

professional interactions that arise—meetings, workplace reviews, client proposals, etc.

Miscommunication could happen among employees, customers, clients…etc., and it could

happen in doing work inaccurately or in wrong ways due to lack of cultural awareness toward

differences in communication in different specific contexts, which could damage professional

77

relationships and cost businesses time, money and effort. Training employees for corporate

cultures is a must to prepare them for professional communication.

What that corporate training and educational curriculum and pedagogy should look like

in more detail is what I turn to now in Chapter 6, discussing conclusions and recommendations

for corporate training programs and for educational institutions in both native and non-native

English-speaking countries.

78

Chapter 6: Building Better Support and Networks for Multilingual

Professional Communication: Reflections and Recommendations

I designed my dissertation to investigate intercultural, multilingual professional communication

in the Gulf States area, more specifically in the Saudi workplace context, using English for

Specific Purposes (ESP) and multiculturalism as lenses to analyze collected data. My research

sought mainly to answer the following questions: how do NNES and NES professionals in the

Gulf States communicate using English as a lingua franca (ELF)? what linguistic and cultural

challenges do they often encounter as a result of highly diversified context? and how what

strategies and suggestions do they have for successful professional communication in

multlingual contexts?

The perspectives from NES and NNES professionals shared in surveys and interviews

generally reveal that English is the official language of written and spoken communication in the

Gulf States professional context, specifically in the private sector. In oral communication,

professionals often switch between English and the local language, Arabic, depending on their

native languages, but in written communication, English is always adopted professionally unless

there is a need to communicate with public sector and governmental agencies, then the local

language is used. Both NNES and NES professionals are generally able to communicate using

ELF for business purposes; however, it is not without challenges resulting from multilingual,

multicultural diversity.

As discussed in the previous chapters, in ELF contexts, NNES professionals particularly

could face challenges due to new and emerging technical and business terminologies which are

constantly generated to produce new materials and products. This creates a challenge for NNES

professionals in learning, understanding and using these new words and phrases effectively

which might complicate their writing communication. On the other hand, NNES professionals

who got academic degrees from western schools (US, UK, etc..) complained about the quality of

English language education provided to ESL students which mainly focuses on English for

general purposes for daily life routines whereas they overlook teaching English for the future

purposes in the workplace. Not being prepared appropriately for the workplace language skills,

NNES complained about some difficulties in communicating in English when speaking with and

writing to NES professionals. Sometimes communicating in English using specific terminologies

to deliver intended meaning accurately is needed, or sometimes NES professionals speak or write

in English using terminologies that NNES employees do not understand, which makes NNES

employees pretend understanding while they try to figure out intended meanings from context.

NNES professionals also reported communicative difficulties they face with other NES

and NNES colleagues in the workplace; they scored cultural differences as number one challenge

that complicates mutual understanding. NES Professionals also reported that communication in

the multicultural Gulf States’ workplace is possible but not without challenges arise as a result of

cultural diversity. Challenges such as understanding cultural styles of communication could

happen even among employees who have prior experiences in diversified workplace, which

reveals that being able to communicate and understand diverse professionals is subjected to

professionals’ beliefs, cultural norms and traditions, and personal perceptions about their abilities

to communicate effectively in multicultural context.

As I develop brief recommendations for professionals and business corporations at the

end of chapters 3, 4, and 5, which mostly focus on what professionals can do to communicate

more effectively in the multilingual workplace. In this chapter I focus on offering

recommendations for business corporations’ training and teaching pedagogy, and for educational

79

institutions in native and non-native English-speaking countries based on the suggestions of the

surveyed and interviewed NNES and NES professionals.

The demand to mastering English in the Gulf States continues to grow which stems from

using ELF in the diverse Gulf states workplace context, specifically in the private sector and

from being included in the educational institutions in which English is enforced to be taught as a

second language to prepare students for the job market needs. The rapid changes in economic

growth in the Gulf States area which is strongly influenced by globalization and economic

openness encourages the need to master English for professional purposes. The data collected in

the survey and interviews indicate that educational institutions as well as business corporations

need to take serious steps in developing English for multicultural, multilingual professional

purposes.

Recommendations for Educational Institutions

In the survey, I asked NNES professionals to rank the degree of school preparation for

workplace professional writing and communication in English. Table 2 shows that 17.78% of

NNES professionals strongly agreed, 32.22% agreed, and 21.11% somewhat agreed that they

learned to write business genres in English at school. However, 11.11% and 10.00% of them

somewhat disagreed and disagreed of being prepared previously for business writing at school.

Likewise, 14.44% strongly agreed, 35.56% agreed, and 20.00% somewhat agreed that they feel

school prepared them well for English business communication. But 4.44% strongly disagreed,

14.44% disagreed, and 4.44% somewhat disagreed that they have been prepared well by the

school for business communication in English.

Table 6.1: NNES Background of Preparedness for Communication in English In Educational

Institutions

On the basis of the survey results, it is noticeable that a considerable number of NNES

professionals has been prepared by schools for business written communication; however, there

are some who have not received any school preparation. Reflecting on the developmental role of

educational institutions and business corporations, both NNES and NES interviewees provided

comments and suggestions about teaching professional communication in educational

institutions in non-native (e.g., Gulf States, Saudi Arabia) and native English-speaking countries

(e.g., USA, UK).

Based on the survey and interviews data collected, there are recommendations directed to

Saudi and English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) schools in non-native English-speaking countries

and recommendations directed to English-as-a-second-language (ESL) and academic schools in

native-English speaking countries.

Question Strongly

agree

Agree Somewhat

agree

Neutral Somewhat

disagree

Disagree Strongly

disagree

Total

I learned to write

business genres in

English at school

17.78%

(n=16)

32.22%

(n=29)

21.11%

(n=19)

5.56%

(n=5)

11.11%

(n=10)

10.00%

(n=9)

2.22%

(n=2)

90

I feel my schooling

prepared me well to

communicate in

English in the

workplace

14.44%

(n=13)

35.56%

(n=32)

20.00%

(n=18)

6.67%

(n=6)

4.44%

(n=4)

14.44%

(n=13)

4.44%

(n=4)

90

80

Recommendations for EFL Programs and Academic Schools in Non-Native English-Speaking

Countries Teaching NNES Students

Saudi schools (and, most likely, schools in other NNES countries, but I focus on Saudi

schools because my data most directly informs that) need to focus on improving the quality of

English language pedagogy taught in high schools and academic levels; it must be intensively

focused on teaching English for specific purposes to prepare students for the workplace language

and communication skills. Using a foreign language for formal professional communication

could be a challenging practice for NNES workers specifically those who have not got enough

training before being engaged in the job market. Ali Aljawad, a Saudi co-Founder of two

businesses, freelancer and deals manager in PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Saudi Arabia,

explained that there is an obvious gap in professional English skills between two groups of

employees in his Saudi workplace:

[In my workplace], there are two types of newly hired: one group graduated from foreign

schools, and the other graduated from local schools. I noticed a huge gap in their

communicative competence. [The first group] can communicate, conduct meetings,

interpret, ask questions, check for clarification…etc. But those who graduated locally

lack these skills. They speak good English but cannot communicate [effectively] in

business terms like in professional meetings.

If academic English programs focused advanced level courses on highly professional ESP

classes in which students learn specified professional and technical terminologies for workplace

communication, then all new professionals—those from foreign schools and those from local

schools—would be well-prepared. In addition, students need to learn other oral and written

communication skills like professional presentation and written text like emails, memos and

reports. All the Saudi participants commented that Saudi educational institutions need to take a

new, serious direction in developing English pedagogy to serve professional purposes to bridge

the gap between schools’ outcomes and the job market needs. Aljawad noted that “local

institutions need to focus more on business communication…students need real workplace

examples like going to corporations for training.” Similarly, Alias said, “There should be focus

on English for professional communication because... once a person starts working in a business

context, there would be differences in the way of communication than everyday English.”

Alkaltham noted that Saudi education often focus on teaching grammar and structural English,

“they do not pay attention to students’ needs like business English and professional

communication” (translated from Arabic). He recommended Saudi schools to focus on ESP

pedagogy starting broadly in high schools, then gradually, moving to more detailed curricula in

academic ESP programs, so students could be exposed to professional English at an early age.

Alkaltham called for “the four English language skills should be taught collectively, starting

from basic professional words and information to be taught in elementary school, then gradually

in intermediate and high schools by providing detailed themes about the workplace

communication like business, medicine, engineering, IT, or aviation” (translated from Arabic).

Alkaltham’s call for an integrated curriculum that includes both what he calls “basic

English” with more professional communication is similar to an important point AlQahtani made

in his interview as well: “Saudi academic schools need to adopt English for general and

professional purposes in preparatory year because some students graduated knowing highly

specified English for specific disciplines whereas their general, communicative English is weak,

which may not help them in the workplace.” Working professionals need both English for

81

general and English for specific purposes. Often, however, it is the English for specific purposes

that is not taught, leaving NNES professionals to work extra hard to keep up in written and oral

conversations in the multilingual workplace where English is the lingua franca. Ensuring that at

some point NNES students learn ESP will help them succeed and help companies by requiring

less workplace education and training.

In addition, the Gulf States job market is a multicultural, multilingual context in which

employees are coming from different nationalities and cultures to work in; thus, NNES students

(and NES, as I discuss below) must be prepared for professional communication with people

from different cultural backgrounds and who speak various levels of English proficiency. Ahmed

Alias, a senior planning/process engineer in Saudi Aramco Company who got his bachelor’s

degree from a UK school, recommended integrating cultural studies in L2 pedagogy. He said,

“understanding peoples’ cultures plays a big role in acquiring the language; to teach how people

from other parts of the world [speak different] accents, dialogues, choice of words… I think

there is a need to focus on differentiating between general English and professional English”.

Likewise, Maitham Aljishi, a Saudi Co-Founder and CEO Partner and Consultant, recommended

teaching historical background of global business and cultural communication to prepare

students for working in global job market; he said, “I recommend teaching some historical

background about business world in public schools to prepare [students]. For example, before

communicating with Chinese professionals, it's important to read and get information about

which part of China they came from.” Cultural awareness in oral communication is important

too. Thus, EFL academic programs need to focus on training students to communicate in English

orally using professional style of communication.

Working in a diverse professional context like the Gulf States job market requires

mastering oral skills like cultural intelligence and self-awareness to different styles of spoken

English. Thus, students should be prepared for public speaking and oral communication to gain

confidence in using English as a lingua franca for formal contexts. On-site/co-op (cooperation)

training program is one way to help students gain in-depth knowledge and experience of how

professionals in industrial fields run their work. It could help in revealing areas that students

need to be improved in, so then to improve ESP programs. Both S.G, an asset engineering

manager works in a Saudi chemicals industrial company, and Khaled Aljuhani, a Saudi manager

who got his bachelor’s degree from a Saudi school and his master’s degree from a British school,

emphasized the need to increase practicing English in real context to simplify engaging students

in the workplace. S.G stated that it would be more helpful if schools focus on teaching English

practically through providing training workshops and engaging students with professionals in

real context. They could also provide professional training programs in English for industrial

purposes. Aljuhani likewise explained that after he completed his graduate degree in the UK and

came back to Saudi Arabia, he encountered some difficulties in coping with the professional

language and demands of the job market, “at that time, my English was average; however, when

I started working for an international company, my life was tougher than ever in writing emails,

doing presentations...so, the experience I got in English [in the workplace] is more than what I

leaned in Bachelor and master’s degrees...”. Therefore, both recommended educational

institutions to provide students on-site/co-op training for real workplace communication.

Aljuhani said, “I recommend more interactive workshops for business students...more interactive

business relationship environment in which students can discuss and negotiate for business ideas,

do presentations, and communicate, and write collaboratively with other students.”

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Aljuhani’s emphasis on both writing and speaking is key. NNES (and NES)

professionals need to be able to both speak and write professionally. Based on the data collected

about written communication in the Gulf States workplace context, there are many types of

professional written genres used to communicate in writing including formal and informal

emails, memos, letters, documentation, and many types of reports (to name but a few genres)

which some professionals complained about their colleagues not being able to write in a

persuasive and understandable English. A.H, a Saudi professional who got his master’s degree

from a US school and works as a manager in a construction company in Saudi Arabia, noticed

weaknesses in the writing skill in English of his some Saudi colleagues who completed their

academic degrees in the US schools. These weaknesses could be resulted from different reasons

like writers’ inability to rhetorically and stylistically (re)contextualize L2 writing for professional

purposes, being unskillful in writing professional genres, lack of content knowledge, and or

limitation in knowing professional terminologies. A.H suggested providing technical and

professional communication courses in Saudi higher education to prepare students for the job

market:

I noticed some Saudi colleagues who graduated from American schools are unable to

structure professional emails in an understandable way. Some could communicate

professionally in writing, but with unclear content. They are confident in using English

but cannot communicate their thoughts in an understandable way. I suggest for

educational institutions to teach technical communication for engineering and other

disciplines…like writing professional documents, reports, business letters, emails, etc.

[Translated from Arabic]

In a similar way, Mohammad AlKhabbaz, a Saudi co-owner of SAM IT and Business Service

and a co-founder of Hydrogen Atom, explained the difficulties he had in understanding and

using English in an academic context, and provided recommendations for L2 academic

pedagogy. Although he took very intensive English language courses in the preparatory

academic year, he encountered lots of challenges in understanding academic courses while

studying at the university. He suggested teaching English terminologies for professional

purposes related to certain industrial and professional fields, in addition to providing

opportunities to practice the language in real context:

The medical industry, for example, use vocabularies different from IT industry. So, some

sort of intensive vocabulary needed to be taught based on students’ academic major. I

also recommend providing students English training courses to use English practically.

This is definitely the case in Saudi universities which do not provide chances for heavy

soft skills practicing...

Meanwhile, many NNES and NES professionals reported that translation is used to certain extant

in the Gulf States workplace. Talal Al-Allaf, a Syrian founder and director of Isle of Innovation

in the UK and an authorized partner with Wiley in the UK, and former account manager at Elm

Company in Saudi Arabia, recommended including professional and technical writing translation

in ESP programs, in professional communication and L2 pedagogy, which he considers

necessary for the workplace writing. Therefore, students need to learn professional and technical

translation so to prepare them for the professional level of bilingual written communication.

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Recommendations for ESL Programs and Academic Schools in Native-English Speaking

Countries Teaching NNES And NES Students

Just as educational institutions in EFL countries need to improve language pedagogy to

meet the job market requirements, academic programs for both NNES and NES students in the

native English-speaking countries (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, etc.) also need to improve

business communication and L2 teaching and learning pedagogy. In interviews and surveys, my

research participants provided comments and recommendations, in this aspect, about L2 and

professional communication pedagogy in native-English speaking countries. Hassan Alfaraj, a

Saudi cost control specialist in McDermott International who got his bachelor’s degree from a

US school, stated that ESL educational programs need to focus on preparing students for the job

market language and needs. He detailed that ESL programs in the US mostly focus on teaching

general English or general academic English which benefits students in daily life communication

in in school communication but not in the job market. He recommended providing NNES

students professional English, teaching vocabulary related to various fields of industry that helps

employees engage fully and effectively in the workplace:

When it comes to studying English in the US, I've been into two different academic

schools. They work perfectly for me [in some ways]… Probably I have picked up an

accent from the US schools, vocabulary, grammar... but when it comes to vocabulary

related to work, I was 100% struggling. Instead of ...[providing] classes focusing on the

vocabulary of restaurants, for example, what kind of vocabulary would you use in

restaurants …which is important; however, I found that learning vocabulary related to

work environment is more important. I wish I had the chance to be exposed more to

vocabulary that I would be using in daily basis [at work].

As with EFL classrooms, so too do ESL classrooms need to focus on English for specific

purposes. NES students have much to learn too to prepare them for working in global,

multilingual contexts. Alkaltham, commented on NES professionals who work in international

context. As a professional living in a Saudi, collectivistic society, which prioritizes social

interaction, he criticized NES professionals, particularly those living for years and even decades

in Saudi Arabia, about neglecting to learn a host cultures’ languages and for remaining

monolingual which, as he said, could complicate their social life with local people. He argued

that in professional communication, it is better to speak English, but when socializing, non-

native Arabic speakers (NNAS) should know how to communicate socially using the local

language. He said, “I do not mean to impose our culture on others, but why don’t they learn our

language to communicate with us in daily social communication?” Alkaltham further said that a

lot of NES professionals like Americans and British who have spent many years working in the

Gulf States and then returned back home did not learn even simple Arabic words and phrases. He

said, “if a non-native Arabic speaker’s (NNAS) car is broken down, and he needs help, does it

make sense that he cannot say: oredu musa’adetek (I need your help)! NNAS learning some of

the local language is necessary to learn to coexist with locals” (translated from Arabic).

Alkaltham argued that learning some of the local language is a kind of respect for the local

people and culture, and it could help NNAS socialize with locals.

Alkaltham, on the other hand, criticized the quality of ESL pedagogy being provided for

international students in western schools (e.g. British and American ESL schools), and he

described the western ESL schools as being unproductive and profit-hungry institutions. He felt

they are targeting international students’ money without providing in return what students need

which has negative impacts well beyond the academic world:

84

I would say about 95% or more of western ESL schools are seeking profits more than

focusing on improving the quality of their outcomes. In the last decade, international

students have intensively poured to the US and western schools which resulted in the

accumulation of a large number of students. However, most host schools have not

resolved the problem of ESL students’ accumulation in their programs. While western

schools have made huge profits from ESL students, specifically in the last ten to fifteen

years, they have not provided as much as they are anticipated.

Additionally, he provided suggestions to resolve the ESL students’ accumulation problem in

western schools and focused on the importance of engaging international students academically

and culturally through enforcing and motivating them to involve in various developmental

programs.

Conversation partner should be enforced. Academic schools need to adopt best practices

of ESL pedagogy. I had experiences with many ESL schools in the UK; they are

shamefully bad. I feel bad that our money is spent on such low-quality schools without

getting any benefits. (translated from Arabic).

Recommendations for Business and Professional Communication Pedagogy

Working in global, multicultural workplaces need mastering specific professional skills

like multicultural communicative competency, having cultural and linguistic intelligence, and

ethical communication in a multicultural workplace, which must be integrated in business

communication pedagogy in western schools. In an open-ended comment, NES professionals

reflected on their experience about the challenges both NES and NNES professionals encounter

in ELF context:

● Differing levels of proficiency among non-native speakers of English means you need to

constantly be aware of whether or not, and to what extent you need to grade your

language and speed at which you talk.

● I think the biggest challenge is working through differing work ethic related issues and

communicating that while trying to come to concrete results, and how what is

communicated between the two parties is carried out in concrete action.

● Lack of mutual empathy for the other parties and lack of cultural intelligence

● Misunderstanding, time-efficiency issues, division amount departments

● Most of my colleagues are quite fluent. The only exception would be the Managing

Director, whose limited proficiency impacts my ability to understand his directions. But

the greatest issue I face is actually what I consider to be a lack of communication. I often

get information too late or from what I would consider being unofficial channels. There

are too many backroom discussions and not enough meetings and memos, etc.

● Significant issues are cultural differences and poor pronunciation. Usually, this is not

with locals.

● This varies from company to company, but in my experience, intercultural

communication is the biggest issue. For example, some cultures prefer polite requests

while others tend to give more direct commands. There is also a difference between high

and low context cultures.

NES professionals also provided recommendations for western educational institutions who seek

to prepare students for professional communicating in global workplaces:

85

● Enroll in a very solid English language program which challenges the student to

communicate in creative ways, and in a variety of ways within the cultural environment

the student will most likely work in.

● For the student, I believe to give them a chance for a visit to workplace and try the

experience

● Orientation that accurately prepares students for cultural differences, to avoid

misunderstandings, or causing unintended offense

● Raise awareness of cultural norms and values which may differ from their own

● Spend more time confirming pronunciation.

● Teach them how to be aware of issues that arise from intercultural communication, along

with strategies for dealing with these issues.

● Use real-life scenarios and case studies - do not dumb down the language as it is

counterproductive in the long term

Because intercultural communication could be complicated due to cultural diversity, based on

the analyzed data collected, I would suggest providing intercultural communication courses for

students of technical and professional majors. Learning to communicate with diverse people has

become a necessity to thrive successfully in global job market. Some NES professionals shared

their experiences and recommendations for working interculturally. For example, Brett Boyd, an

American Facilities Planning Specialist, works at Saudi Aramco Company, stated that to succeed

in working overseas, a professional needs self-awareness and sensitivity toward cultural

differences. He stated, “Don't even think about taking a job in a different culture, if you don’t

have the attitude of being very sensitive and aware, as well as to have a solid advanced

knowledge and understanding of the different culture”. Similarly, Douglas Hassell, a British

CEO of Sunlark Power in Dubai, UAE, clarified that there is an issue in understanding different

English accents in an intercultural business context. He further recommended for professional

communication pedagogy to focus on teaching and improving pronunciation of different

Englishes, “I think there was not enough attention spent on pronunciation. I think the

pronunciation aspect is really important”.

On the other hand, being knowledgeable and aware of the new culture audience and their

communicative style is necessary for intercultural communication which should be considered in

professional communication pedagogy. This is what Joe Stanley, an American programs

operations manager at ManTech International Corporation, MENA emphasized when consulting

NES employees, “you need to know your audience. You need to know even their writing style or

their customs and their culture of whatever country it is. So, there's a difference between being

aware and knowing. So, it's [important] to know their writing style and what it's like”.

Yardley also recommended American educational institutions to provide guidelines and

more detailed information about business communication in specific international countries. He

said:

It would be beneficial to have clear guidelines for corporate communication, such as the

expectations for meetings, e-mails or memos. Since English is the official language of the

institute, some of these standards would be based on linguistic norms. However, local

cultural or organizational conventions would also be employed.

He suggested providing students and employees training on how to recognize problems resulted

from intercultural differences and how to solve such problems:

Training on how to recognize when there are issues that are caused by intercultural

communication would certainly be beneficial, as well as strategies for dealing with those

86

issues. It's possible there are two employees who are not getting along. That frustration

comes not from a difference of opinion but a miscommunication. They need to be able to

recognize and then deal with that.

Yardley commented that the biggest intercultural communication issue he has ever had in Saudi

Arabi is the issue of transparency and punctuality in providing information which is different

from the American culture in which directness is the norm of communication:

Quite often there are issues concerning transparency and making sure that all information

is being communicated in a timely manner. This is one of the biggest challenges that I

have faced in Saudi Arabia. I think that this could be categorized as an issue of

intercultural communication.

Accordingly, he recommended providing training programs in business corporations and

educational institutions to prepare students and employees for solving cultural issues once it

happens:

If I were to go back to the United States and provide some training on relocating to Saudi

Arabia for work…part of the training would be on how to deal with limited information.

We’d also talk about how to actively seek the information that you need because it’s not

always going to be provided when you need.

On the other hand, Hussain Alsadah, a Saudi senior HSES training specialist McDermott Arabia

Co. Ltd, emphasized the importance of visula commnication in multilingual, multicultral

business communication; it helps professionals pass the information easily uisng pictures,

images, postures, graphics,…etc, since huma’s mind process images easily and it minimizes the

challenges of using ELF when communicating with NNES. Alsadah said, “most of the time to

overcome the language barrier ,we need to use pictures/photos/drawings and diagram. That helps

in passing the idea to the audience. Yes, it requires more effort and skills, but it is very efficient

when done in a nice way”. Alsadah highlited that professionals respond to visual images faster

than written content, which also refers to the significance of adding visual communication to

business communication pedagogy and prcatices for both students and professionals in the

workplaces.

Participants Recommendations for Workplace Training and Teaching

When surveying NNES professionals about workplace training (see Table 2), 8.89% of

the respondents strongly agreed, 30.00% agreed, and 16.67% somewhat agreed that they learned

professional writing in the workplace whereas significant numbers of participants strongly

disagreed 7.78%, disagreed 17.78%, and somewhat disagreed 8.89% that they learned writing

business genres in the workplace with specific training in English writing. However, 18.89%

strongly agreed, 30.00% agreed, and 27.78% somewhat agreed that they learned business writing

in the workplace through observation and mentoring from colleagues. Few numbers, though,

strongly disagreed 4.44%, disagreed 10.00%, and 2.22% and somewhat disagreed of being

trained through observation and colleagues mentoring. Similarly, the largest numbers of NNES

respondents strongly agreed 21.11%, agreed 38.89%, and somewhat agreed 22.22% that they

learned to write business genres in the workplace on their own by studying others’ writings in

contrast to few numbers who strongly disagreed 2.22%, disagree 1.11%, and somewhat

disagreed 3.33% of learning business genres through studying others’ writings.

87

Table 6.2: NNES Background of Preparedness for Communication in English In the

Workplace

In an open-ended comment where survey NNES respondents explained some challenges

they often experience in bilingual professional communication, answers included comments

about:

● Professional training:

o [Providing] early workplace interactions with NES especially with superiors

o Understanding [others’] ideas and explaining my ideas.

o Conveying message effectively within a very short time

o It is difficult to communicate with New hired in English

Some professionals’ provided comments about corporations’ lack of providing enough

professional communication to employees. Al-Allaf, once more clarified that the Saudi business

corporations he worked at did not focus on professional development, which caused

communicative obstacles and delays of achievements:

Unfortunately, most companies don't do any kind of professional development. For

example, when I was working in Saudi Arabia, and that was in 2000, and just to make

myself qualified for working in international companies, I spent money on improving my

English. I studied English in the British counsel in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and I took all

needed courses. But I was paying from my pocket!

Similarly, Ahmed Al-Rashed, a Saudi acting executive manager of operational risk CRO CORP

in Al Rajhi Bank, emphasized the significance of corporations’ role in developing employees’

professional communicative competence in English since employees, as he said, represent their

corporations’ reputation:

Do local corporations provide any professional development for employees in English, or

do they have any effective role in developing their oral and written business

communication, specifically for lower than managerial level positions? They mostly

focus on developing soft skills only. I think corporations need to prepare employees for

Questions Strongly

Agree

Agree Somewhat

Agree

Neutral Somewhat

Disagree

Disagree Strongly

Disagree

Total

I learned to write

business genres in

the workplace

with specific

training in

English writing.

8.89%

(n=8)

30.00%

(n=27)

16.67%

(n=15)

10.00%

(n=9)

8.89%

(n=8)

17.78%

(n=16)

7.78%

(n=7)

90

I learned to write

business genres in

the workplace

through

observation of

and mentoring

from colleagues.

18.89%

(n=17)

30.00%

(n=27)

27.78%

(n=25)

6.67%

(n=6)

2.22%

(n=2)

10.00%

(n=9)

4.44%

(n=4)

90

I learned to write

business genres in

the workplace on

my own by

studying others’

writing.

21.11%

(n=19)

38.89%

(n=35)

22.22%

(n=20)

11.11%

(n=10)

3.33%

(n=3)

1.11%

(n=1)

2.22%

(n=2)

90

88

professional communication to engage employees effectively in the job market since they

are the face and voice of their companies, and they hold their corporations’ reputation;

therefore, they should communicate proficiently and effectively in English.

For workforce training, it is noticeable that most professionals have been prepared for the

workplace professional communication and writing by their own through direct engagement and

studying others’ written communication, and some others have been mentored by colleagues.

Reflecting on the developmental role of educational institutions and business corporations, both

NNES and NES interviewees provided suggestions about providing teaching and training for

professional communication in multicultural, multilingual business corporations.

Given these challenges, Business corporations’ policy makers in global and multicultural,

multilingual context should provide employees training in using English as a lingua franca (ELF)

effectively. So, to help employees engage productively in multicultural work society. English for

Occupational Purposes (EOP) training sessions and workshops should be provided right after

new employees being hired. Survey participants suggested.

● NNES professionals’ suggestions for corporations:

o [Providing] workshops and written manuals for business writing

o Providing training, especially for those who have not studied English in English

speaking countries

o Best practices for communication in the organization should be taught during the

orientation of new hires.

o Providing writing sessions and workshops, virtual business meeting sessions, virtual

telephonic meetings, email writing training… etc.

Surveyed NES professionals also provided suggestions for professional corporations on how

English as a lingua franca in the workplace can be used effectively:

● Increased mentoring and workshops supported by cultural awareness

● Perhaps a more overt definition of communication standards and practices should be outlined

— for example, guidelines on how to communicate with international colleagues, as well as

training workshop program and practice

Interview participants also provided suggestions for business corporations for developing

employees’ communicative competence. Joshua Yardley, an American acting head of

educational department in Saudi Electric Services Polytechnic (SESP), suggested to train NNES

employees for corporations’ professional communication conventions:

Staff should be given either training on things like e-mail writing, presentations, or the

language of meetings. They should also be given resources that they can use, such as

templates that they can follow or reference material they could use to guide their

communications. This would also make them feel more confident since they know their

messages are clear.

Similarly, Alkaltham stated that most workplace corporations have high expectations from newly

hired employees, but they do not focus on providing preparatory communication workshops or

courses about corporations’ conventions and expectations which might create misunderstanding

and delay productivity. He, therefore, recommended corporations and human resources to

provide English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) workshops and courses for professional

development:

In business world, every corporation has its own style of professional communication.

Most corporations do not inform newly hired employees about their expectations

regarding using English professionally. Therefore, they should provide professional

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communication training sessions immediately after being hired to teach them

corporation’s specific style of communication. Some managers say, “it is learning by

doing and learning by using”, which is true; however, there are some necessary

communication keys that employees need to learn like corporation’s style of conducting

and writing research. [Translated from Arabic]

Based on the collected data in the survey and interviews, it could be concluded that business

corporations need to focus on developing employees’ communicative competence in

multicultural workplace context to raise self-awareness in using language and considering

cultural diversity. Thus, EOP and cultural training courses and workshops to improve

professionals’ awareness toward using English in multicultural context. The research findings

could also be considered and adopted by business corporations and educational institutions’ in

native and non-native English-speaking countries, more specifically for ESP programs (e.g.,

business communication, technical communication…etc.) and L2 programs decision makers.

Intercultural Business Communication Learning Recommendations

Based on the data collected, it could be concluded that professionals need to learn

intercultural communication including considering:

• different peoples’ and cultures’ style of using a language which is highly affected by

central, cultural belief system of norms and traditions, reflecting all cultural phenomena,

as Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd (1997), an Islamic theologist and philosopher described.

• adapting English as a lingua franca appropriately for diverse contexts. NES professionals

and students need to learn using effective English when communicating with NNES

professionals using understandable style of oral and written English structure,

pronunciation, and terminologies.

• in the age of globalization, it is necessary for professionals to keep in mind the impact of

ethnocentrism and imperial vision in classifying peoples and workforces to majorities and

minorities; which could impact workplace professionalism.

• conscious or subconscious ethnocentric behaviors, impacted by political and economic

structure and progress of NNES countries in relations with the West, which could be

highly present in multicultural contexts between NES and NNES workers. This could be

reflected in many ways including, but not limited to:

o NES professionals’ lack of interest in learning other culture’s languages while

working overseas, presupposing that NNES workers are the ones who need to

adapt their style of communication to NES professionals, and that they need to

understand whatever English accents NES bring to the workplace. NES ignorance

of the other’s mother tongue could result in compromising the culture of the

language, which is a neglecting to the other’s identity, as Abu Zayd said (1997),

and it raises the issue of NES racial, ethnocentric, hierarchical behavior with

diverse peoples.

o NES professionals lack of social engagement with NNES colleagues, specifically

with those who come from high-context cultures.

Thus, when teaching intercultural business communication for business corporations and

academic programs, employees and students should learn to share and discuss how their cultural

backgrounds affect their style of communication in social and professional communication. To

do so, several kinds of activities could be applied to help professionals/students recognize and be

aware of cultural diversity and its influence on the workplace relationships. The following are

90

some suggested activities that could be adopted for intercultural business communication

learning and teaching programs.

Activity 1:

• In group discussion, students/employees could be provided identification activity in

which they define different aspects of their cultural background like native language,

geographical location of home/work, nationality, religion, ethnicity, social structure of

the native culture (individualistic/collectivistic), social class and status, education,

political affiliation, professional position and workplace organization, gender, age,…etc.

• Then, to compare to each other’s identities and discuss how their cultural backgrounds

impact/control how they think, behave, and communicate with others, and to evaluate

their self-awareness to their own and each other’s’ cultural differences, cultural

competence and need for cultural intelligence.

• Students/employees could also make connection between their cultural background and

their style of communication and analyze/provide examples about how they have been

personally impacted by the power of culture while communicating with other

students/colleagues like how they use the language, pronounce words, understand body

language, feelings, style of acting and reacting…etc.

• To what extent they find some/all these aspects helpful/unhelpful to communicate with

people from different backgrounds like having previous presumptions or stereotyping

specific ethnicity/people.

• Which cultural aspects do they wish to keep/change/improve while working in

multicultural/multilingual workplace to help them communicate professionally and

socially?

Activity 2:

For workplace employees, they could be provided real scenarios from their workplace to

analyze and discuss how a situation has been handled and understood by different employees

based on their cultural backgrounds. They need self-awareness toward written communication,

that is how it is complicated compared to the oral one due to lack of face-to-face communication,

absence of body language, tone, and facial expressions, thing that makes professional interaction

sensitive and needs to be handled carefully.

Example:

• A professional email sent by a NES employee to a NNES employee asking for detailed

information about equipment needed to be delivered at a specific time. The NES uses

slang/highly cultural phrases and technical words to communicate and to describe the

function of the equipment. The NNES ended up delivering the information completely

wrong due to misinterpretation of the NES email.

• A NNES sent an email to a NES describing what is needed to be done for workplace

duties. NES misunderstood the message due to different style of communicating

thoughts/feelings, like style of forming sentences, using appropriate words to describe

things, directness/indirectness in asking what is needed…etc.

• Employees could discuss what is the cultural aspect that causes the misinterpretation

between the NES and NNES employees and how to handle it appropriately in the future.

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Activity 3:

To develop intercultural awareness and critical thinking, professionals/students could be

provided case studies, watch a movie/acted scenario or read real workplace stories from business

journals about conflicts that often happen among employees in intercultural workplace context.

They may discuss various workplace issues like misinterpretations of oral/written language,

intercultural body language, attitudes and prejudice resulted from ethnocentrisms or adoption of

specific language in the workplace, cultural differences in socialization, the role of hierarchy,

time, gender, age, etc.

Professionals/students could describe their initial judgmental, stereotypical reaction

toward the presented issue, (e.g., a Muslim woman refuses to shake hand on a job interview or in

the workplace with her males’ employers/colleagues), and then to describe their second reaction

after analyzing the issues and reflect on what causes them, and how it could be understood,

avoided or solved effectively. This could help in understanding how culture could (re)form

businesses and organizational behaviors in different ways.

Recommendations for Further Research

The results of my study provide an important and needed general overview based on

participants’ perspectives of how English as a lingua franca is used in the Gulf States

multilingual, multicultural workplace context, specifically in the Saudi job market. However,

there are some limitations to this study. First, although the study covers the Gulf States region, a

large portion of the survey and interview participants are Saudi citizens, including few or no

participants from other Gulf Sates countries like citizens of Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab

Emirates, Oman, and Qatar. Second, it does not include any participants working in the Saudi

Arabia or other Gulf States countries’ educational institutions; there could be differences in the

quality of teaching English from one country to another, what works in Saudi schools does not

necessarily work in other Gulf countries’ educational contexts.

Nor does the study include participants working in academic schools or any other

educational institutions like ministries of education to understand their policy of the English

language pedagogy provided, and whether there are any obstacles or restrictions influence any

decision making. Third, even though the study includes few numbers of executive professionals

(CEOs, CIOs, CCOs, etc.) who work in Saudi and Emirati workplaces, it does not survey and ask

them about their policy of training employees in their businesses and whether there is any kind of

restrictions related to their corporations’ professional development. Fourth, the study fails to

cover answers of equal numbers of males and females’ professionals; there is a huge gap in the

number of males’ participants (109 surveyed, 27 interviewed) and females’ participants (11

surveyed, 0 interviewed), this difference draws attention to the necessity to fill in this gap, so to

find if there is any gender issues in the job mark that may influence practicing ELF in

professional context. Fifth, the study also covers abroad proportion of participants who got their

academic degrees from local and global educational institutions, which could create some

differences in the answers based on their educational background of English. In order to better

understand the use of ELF in multilingual contexts, in the Gulf States and elsewhere, more

studies are needed that address some of the issues above.

This study has confirmed the importance of using English as a lingua franca for

professional communication in the Gulf States workplace. EFL and ESL educational institutions

and business corporations’ training programs must be sure to tailor their curriculum and

pedagogy so as to consider the actual types of oral, written and cultural communication being

92

practiced in the multilingual, multicultural workplace. This means to prepare them to be aware of

the interrelation between using English as a lingua franca in oral and written communication and

cultural behaviors of people who speak it in the multilingual, multicultural workplace

environment. Adopting such an ESP approach could help in closing the gap between educational

outcomes and workplace needs and, more importantly, could develop even more productive

business communications in the global marketplace, fostering the connections and relationships

that form the foundation of success for individuals and for organizations. The world is more

networked and more connected and business professionals need to be prepared for multilingual,

multicultural communications.

93

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Appendix A: Recruiting Email and Consent Form

Dear…

This is Shatha Alali, a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at Miami University. I wish

to invite you to participate in a study I am conducting focusing on bilingual professional

communication. Specifically, I look at how business professionals—both native English speakers

and non-native English speakers--communicate in English. The goals for this study are to create

better curriculum to prepare students for working in global, multilingual environments.

The study has two parts, and I invite you to participate in one or both parts.

Survey:

I would be grateful if you could take the following survey which focuses on your experience with

workplace communications. Survey link:

https://miamioh.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2hnwSwCIprBR8cl

Interview:

I would also appreciate the opportunity to interview you to learn in more detail from your

experience as a professional working in a bilingual environment. The interview would be in the

language you prefer to use (in Arabic or English), and in approximately 20-30 minutes at the date

and time of your convenience, and would be conducted via Skype, phone, or any other secure

system you prefer to use.

As I mentioned, you may participate in the survey and/or the interview. If you so choose to be

interviewed, or if you have any question or need any additional information to help you make a

decision about your participation, please contact me by email ([email protected]) or phone (+1

513-593-8090).

I am very much looking forward to having a conversation with you and thank you for considering

my invitation.

Shatha Alali

Ph.D. Candidate in Rhetoric and Composition

Department of English, Miami University

المكرم/ه....

السالم عليكم ورحمة هللا وبركاته

انا شذى العلي ،طالبة دكتوراه في قسم اللغة اإلنجليزية بجامعة ميامي االمريكية. أدعوك للمشاركة في بحث دكتوراه اكاديمي و

اللغة وعلى وجه التحديد حول كيفية التواصل الذي يركزعلى التواصل المهني و الكتابي باللغة االنجليزية في بيئة العمل ثنائية

المهني بين رجال األعمال والموظفين باللغة اإلنجليزية. يهدف البحث لخدمة الشركات و المؤسسات التجارية بهدف تطوير

دمة سوق التواصل المهني باللغة االنجليزية, كما يهدف أيضا لتطوير المناهج الدراسية في الجامعات والمؤسسات التعليمية لخ

.العمل بشكل افضل

101

:تتكون الدراسة من جزأين ، وأدعوك للمشاركة في إحدى او كال الجزئين

إستبيان

:

:يركز االستبيان التالي حول تجربتك في التواصل في مكان العمل. رابط االستبيان في االسفل

https://miamioh.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2hnwSwCIprBR8cl

:مقابلة

و سأكون شاكرة لك اذا اتحت لي الفرصة لمقابلتك لمعرفة المزيد من التفاصيل عن تجربتك في بيئة عمل ثنائية اللغة. ستكون

دقيقة تقريبا في التاريخ والوقت المناسب لك ، 30المقابلة باللغة التي تفضل استخدامها )العربية أو اإلنجليزية( ، وفي غضون

.وسيتم إجراء المقابلة عن طريق الهاتف او برنامج سكايب او اي برنامج آخر آمن تفضل إستخدامه

كما ذكرت ، يمكنك المشاركة في االستبيان و المقابلة او احداهما. إذا اخترت إجراء مقابلة و لديك أي سؤال أو تحتاج إلى

افية لمساعدتك في اتخاذ قرار المشاركة ، يرجى التواصل معي عن طريق البريد اإللكتروني او عن طريق الهاتف معلومات إض

:المدون ادناه

[email protected]

+1 (513)593-8090

هذا مشاركتك في هذا البحث ستساهم بشكل كبير في تطوير قطاع التعليم والتدريب وربطهم بسوق العمل. آمل مشاركتك في

البحث لإلستفادة من خبرتك وتجاربك القيمة, كما اشكرك مقدما على حسن تعاونك و تفضلك باالطالع على هذه المشاركة

شذى العلي

قسم اللغة اإلنجليزية ، جامعة ميامي االمريكي

Business communication in Global Contexts: Studying the Experiences of Native English

speaking (NES) and Non-Native English-Speaking Professionals in Multilingual,

Multicultural Organizations

Consent to Participate in an Interview Study

Shatha Alali, Ph.D. Candidate in Composition and Rhetoric, Miami University

[email protected], +1 513-593-8090

You are being asked to participate in a study of business communication in a bilingual

environment in the Gulf states. You are selected because you are a professional experienced in

working in a bilingual environment. Your perspective will contribute to the development of

curriculum and best practices for second language business communication.

If you consent, I would interview you for 30-40 minutes about your business communication

practices working in a bilingual environment. The interview could be conducted in English or

Arabic, depending on your preferences. With your permission, the interview will be audio-

recorded which I will transcribe and then delete. If you choose to share writing samples with me,

we will discuss them during the interview, and you can let me know then if I may quote from the

shared writing or not.

102

Before I publish my findings, you will have the opportunity to review rough drafts to correct,

change, or request deletion of any material. You will also have the opportunity to choose

whether you wish to be named or not in the research. If you prefer to not be named, a pseudonym

for you and for any identifying information such as company name that you provide.

During the interview, you may decline to answer any question or even withdraw from this study

at any time without penalty. If you choose to withdraw from this study, all data you provide will

be deleted.

This research will be published in my doctoral dissertation, in conference presentations such as

Association of Business Communicators and in journals, such as English for Specific Purposes

or Business Communication Quarterly.

If you have any question about this study, or if you need any additional information to help you

make a decision about your participation, please contact me via phone or email provided above.

For more information about your rights as a research participant, please contact Miami

University’s Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship at

[email protected] or 513-529-3600.

By completing the form below, you indicate that you are at least 18 years of age and give your

agreement to participate in this study

Participant’s name___________________________________ Date: __________

I prefer to be identified by name for me and for my company ______

I prefer to participate anonymously by pseudonym ______

I understand my participation is completely voluntary. I agree to be recorded during the

interview, and I understand that I have the right to review the transcribed information for any

possible changes or clarification.

لدكتوراة في قسم اللغة االنجليزية، جامعة ميامي األمريكيةشذى العلي، طالبة مرشحة لدرجة ا

[email protected], +1 513-593-8090

أنت مدعو للمشاركة في بحث دراسي حول التواصل المهني التجاري باللغة االنجليزية في بيئة العمل ثنائية اللغة في دول

في بيئة ثنائية اللغة .تساهم وجهة نظرك في تطوير التواصل التجاري الخليج العربي. تم اختيارك للمشاركة لخبرتك في العمل

.باللغة اإلنجليزية في الشركات والمؤسسات, كما ستساهم في تطوير المناهج الدراسية في المؤسسات التعليمية

اللغة. يمكنك اختيار إجراء دقيقة حول التواصل المهني في بيئة عمل ثنائية 45-30عند موافقتك بالمشاركة، ستتم مقابلتك لمدة

المقابلة باللغة المفضلة لديك )اللغة اإلنجليزية أو العربية(. كما نرجو موافقتك بتسجيل المقابلة الصوتية لتسهيل جمع البيانات،

لمقابلة والتي ستدون و من ثم تحذف بشكل نهائي. في حال تقديمك بعض االمثلة لوثائق عمل مكتوبة, سيتم مناقشتها معك اثناء ا

.و سيتم اخذ موافقتك باقتباس بعض األمثلة منها

قبل نشر نتائج البحث ، ستعطى فرصة لمراجعة كافة المعلومات التي قدمتها وتم تدوينها و ذلك لتصحيح أو تغيير أو حذف أي

تفضل عدم الكشف معلومة ال ترغب بنشرها.كما يمكنك االختيار بعدم الكشف عن اسمك الشخصي إن رغبت في ذلك. إذا كنت

.عن هويتك، سيتم استخدام اسم مستعار لك وألي اسم آخر متعلق بهويتك مثل إسم الشركة التي تعمل لديها

اثناء المقابلة، يمكنك عدم اإلجابة على أي سؤال أو حتى االنسحاب من هذه الدراسة في أي وقت دون أي حدوث نتائج سلبية

نسحاب من هذه الدراسة، سيتم حذف جميع البيانات التي قدمتها أثناء المقابلةمترتبة على ذلك . في حال اخترت اال .

:سيتم نشر نتائج هذه الدراسة في أطروحة الدكتوراه و في المؤتمرات والمجالت العلمية مثل :

103

Association of Business Communicators, English for Specific Purposes or Business

Communication Quarterly.

إذا كان لديكم أي سؤال او استفسار عن هذه الدراسة، أو للمزيد من المعلومات لمساعدتك في اتخاذ قرار المشاركة, يرجى

البريد اإللكتروني أو عن طريق الهاتف المذكور أعاله. و للمزيد من المعلومات حول حقوقك التواصل مع الباحثة عن طريق

جامعة ميامي األمريكية للبحوث و المنح الدراسيةهذا البحث، يرجى التواصل مع مكتب كمشترك في :

[email protected], +1 513-529-3600

سنة 18المشترك ال يقل عن تعبئة النموذج أدناه يعني الموافقة على المشاركة في هذه الدراسة و ان عمر

التاريخ--------------------------------------------اسم المشترك: :-------------------------------------

نعمالرجاء كتابة كلمة :بجانب الخيار المناسب

-------------أفضل أن يتم ذكر اسمي الشخصي و اسم الشركة في البحث

مستعار أفضل المشاركة بإسم ----------------

--------------افضل اجراء المقابلة باللغة العربية

المقابلة باللغة االنجليزيةافضل إجراء ----------------

اطلعت على جميع البيانات أعاله، و انا على علم بأن مشاركتي في هذا البحث تطوعية و أوافق على تسجيلها أثناء المقابلة، و

لدي الحق في مراجعة المعلومات التي قدمتها إلجراء اي تغييرات أو توضيحات للمعلومات المقدمةأعلم أن

104

Appendix B: Survey Questions for NNES and NES Professionals

Dear participant,

My name is Shatha Alali, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English at Miami University

with the help of Dr. Heidi McKee, an associate professor of English at Miami University.

You are invited to take a 15 minutes survey as part of research study of Business Communication

and Second Language Writing: Studying the Experiences of L1 and L2 Business Professionals in

Multinational and Bilingual Organizations in an attempt to improve teaching professional

communication in bilingual environments. The overarching goal for the research is to develop

knowledge that will be helpful for improving English in business/ professional environments,

and for improving the curricula for teaching and preparing both L2 and L1 students for working

in global contexts.

Your participation is voluntary, and you may withdraw from the session at any time or decline to

answer any questions that make you uncomfortable. You will not be asked to do anything that

exposes you to risks beyond those of everyday life. The survey software will be communicating

with your computer and recording data that could identify the computer through the IP

address. This survey is confidential, stored in a secure location for the duration of the project. At

the end of the study, I, the researcher, will make the general results available to you upon your

request, by doing so, you may learn how you compare to others. The generalized results may be

presented at professional conferences or published in articles describing the results of the

research.

If you have further questions about the study, please email me, Shatha Alali, at

[email protected]. You can also contact my advisor Dr. Heidi McKee at

[email protected]. If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, please

call the Office of Advancement of Research and Scholarship at (513) 529-3600 or email:

[email protected].

Thank you for your participation. I am grateful for your help and hope that this will be an

interesting session for you.

I agree to participate in the study of discussing business professionals’ experiences in English in

Multinational and Bilingual Organizations. I understand my participation is voluntary and that

my name will not be associated with my responses.

By completing this survey, you agree that you are at least 18 years of age and give your consent

to participate in this study

Background questions:

What is your gender?

• Male

• Female

105

What is your age?

• 18-25

• 26-35

• 36-45

• 46-55

• 56-65

• +65

Which country are you from?

• Algeria

• Australia

• Bahrain

• Canada

• Egypt

• Iraq

• Jordan

• Kuwait

• Lebanon

• Libya

• Morocco

• New Zealand

• Oman

• Palestine

• Qatar

• Saudi Arabia

• Sudan

• Syria

• Tunisia

• United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• UK

• USA

• Yemen

• A country not included in this list

What is the highest level of education you completed?

• No schooling completed

• High school

• 2 years degree diploma/college

• Bachelor’s

• Master’s

• Advanced graduate work or Ph.D.

• Other professional degree

106

What is your native language?

• Arabic

• English

• Other

Questions for Non-Native English-Speaking Professionals (NNES)

English language background: Did you complete your academic/professional degree(s) in:

• English

• Arabic

• English and Arabic

• Other

Have you studied in an English-speaking country like the USA, Britain, Canada…etc.?

• Yes

• No

How long have you studied English?

• 1 year or less

• 2-3 years

• 4-6 years

• 7-10 years

• 11-15 years

• 15+ years

How do you evaluate your spoken English?

• Excellent

• Very good

• Good

• Average

• Poor

How do you evaluate your English writing?

• Excellent

• Very good

• Good

• Average

• Poor

What field or area of profession do you work in?

• Architecture and Construction

• Arts and Finance

• Business Management and Trading

• Computer Sciences- IT (Information Technology)

• Education and Training

107

• Engineering, Science, and Mathematics

• Government and Public Administration

• Health Care

• Hospitality and Tourism

• Human Services

• Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security

• Manufacturing

• Marketing, Sales and Service

• Oil and Gas company

• Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics

• Other

In general, how would you describe your position in your current company/ business?

• Customer Service Agent

• Engineer

• Executive (CEO, CIO, CFO, CCO,...etc.)

• Human Resource Administration

• Manager

• Marketer

• Programmer

• Sales Representative

• Small Business Owner

• Other

How long have you been working in your current position/company?

• Less than 1 year

• 2-4 years

• 5-10 years

• 11-15 years

• 15-20

• 20+ years

Would you say English is the lingua franca (the common language) for your company?

• Yes

• Sometime (it depends)

• No

To what extent do you agree with the following statements:

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

Time at work you speak in

English

Time at work you speak in

Arabic

108

Time at work you write in

English

Time at work you write in

Arabic

Written Communication:

Select among the following answers:

In a typical month, what are the most common type(s) of documents you write in the

workplace:

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

Emails, memos, letters in

English

Reports and proposals in

English

Social media/ blogging / texting

for business purposes in

English

Other

How frequently do you co-write with others (cooperate with colleagues) to produce a co-

authored written document?

• Never

• Rarely

• Sometime

• Most of the time

• Always

• Other

Bilingual writing:

Select among the following answers:

When I must write a document in English:

• I write it in Arabic first then translate it to English

• I write in English through the whole process

• I talk in Arabic with colleagues about the writing and then write in English

• I talk in English with colleagues about the writing

• I also produce an Arabic translation of the same document for Arabic-speaking audiences

• Other

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

I write it in Arabic first then translate it to

English

I write in English through the whole

process

109

I talk in Arabic with colleagues about the

writing and then write in English

I talk in English with colleagues about

the writing

I also produce an Arabic translation of

the same document for Arabic-speaking

audiences

Other

When you read written documents of non-native English colleagues, what do you think are

the difficulties they face in writing in English? Note: you may choose more than one answer

• Making their meaning clear; clearly explaining their ideas

• Using appropriate English words

• Punctuation and grammar

• Organization and writing in appropriate formats

• Other

To what extent do you agree with the following statements:

Question Strongly

agree Agree

Somewhat

agree Neutral

Somewhat

disagree Disagree

Strongly

disagree

I learned to

write business

genres in

English at

school/

university.

I feel my

schooling

prepared me

well to

communicate

in English in

the workplace

I learned to

write business

genres in the

workplace

with specific

training in

English

writing.

I learned to

write business

genres in the

workplace

through

110

observation of

and mentoring

from

colleagues.

I learned to

write business

genres in the

workplace on

my own by

studying

others’

writing.

When writing documents in English, I face difficulties in: [check all that apply]

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

Communicating my intended

meaning in English

Understanding business

genres/formatting

Organizing writing effectively

Using appropriate and accurate

English words

Business English style of writing

Paying attention to reader’s needs

Using correct grammar and

punctuation

To what extent do you agree with the following statement:

Question Strongly

agree Agree

Somewhat

agree Neutral

Somewhat

disagree Disagree

Strongly

disagree

When I write

in Arabic, I

worry about

the quality of

my writing

When I write

in English, I

worry about

the quality of

my writing

In workplace,

I write

collaboratively

111

in teamwork

projects

I revise and

edit written

documents

with

colleagues

before

handing in

documents

Reflecting on your own experiences, what do you think would be the most useful for

helping Arab business professionals write in English in the workplace? Note: you may

choose more than one answer

• Company-sponsored workshops

• Mentoring programs

• Repository/collection of sample documents

• Guidebook/handbook with writing tips

• Editing/final proofreading service

• Other

Oral Communication:

When speaking with my immediate colleagues I speak in:

• English

• Arabic

• Both English and Arabic

• It depends

When speaking with my superiors I speak in:

• English

• Arabic

• Both English and Arabic

• It depends

When speaking with clients/customers, I speak in:

• English

• Arabic

• Both English and Arabic

• It depends

Please mark your agreement with the following:

Question Strongly

agree Agree

Somewhat

agree Neutral

Somewhat

disagree Disagree

Strongly

disagree

I find it more

difficult to

112

speak in

English

When

communicating

in English, I

face difficulty

in

understanding

others (e.g.,

native English

speakers, non-

native English

who speak

English as a

lingua franca

like Indians

and

Europeans)

When

attending

business

presentations

and meetings

conducted in

English, I face

difficulty

understanding

the main

purposes of the

meeting

I understand

oral

communication

in English

I can

communicate

effectively in E

with

colleagues

Effective oral

communication

impacts

positively my

written English

113

Cultural communication:

To what extent you agree with the following statements:

Question Strongly

agree Agree

Somewhat

agree Neutral

Somewhat

disagree Disagree

Strongly

disagree

Generally, my

business

communication

in English with

non-native

Arabic speakers

(Americans,

British,

Indians…etc.) is

easy

As a second

language

business

professional, I

find working in a

bilingual

business

environment

challenging

When I experience difficulties in communicating with someone, I attribute it to the

following (check all that apply)

• my language proficiency

• other person/people's language proficiency

• cultural differences between me and the person/people I'm communicating with

• Other

Evaluate the following statements:

Question Strongl

y agree

Agre

e

Somewha

t agree

Neutra

l

Somewha

t disagree

Disagre

e

Strongl

y

disagree

I feel comfortable

in communicating

in English in

professional

meetings

I face difficulty in

understanding

different

professionals’

accents and fluency

in English

114

I feel unnoticed

and unappreciated

in the

workplace/meeting

s because I have

difficulty in

conveying what I

want to say in

English.

I am less engaged

and have limited

contributions as a

team player

because of my

inability to get a

message across in

English

Would you like to explain more/add some examples of your experience in attending

professional meetings in English?

Virtual and technological communication:

Evaluate the following statements:

Question Strongly

agree Agree

Somewhat

agree Neutral

Somewhat

disagree Disagree

Strongly

disagree

In workplace,

technology is

used to facilitate

bilingual

communication

(example: using

electronic

translator)

Virtual

communication

(computer-based

communication

and

collaboration

programs like

Webinar

WebEx, Skype)

is part of my

workplace

communication

115

Online writing,

virtual

teamwork,

social

enterprise-based

interaction

facilitates my

professional

communication

among

international

participants

Open-ended questions:

• What are some challenges you have experienced in bilingual professional

communication? (you can share examples if you wish)

• Do you have suggestions about how English as a medium language (lingua franca)

could be used effectively in the workplace environment?

• Do you have any recommendations/advice for educational institutions to prepare

students for communicating in global, multi-lingual workplace environments?

116

Appendix C: Questions for Native English-Speaking Professionals (NES)

What field or area of profession do you work in?

• Agriculture and Construction

• Arts and Communications

• Banking and Finance

• Business Management and Trading company

• Computer Sciences - IT (Information Technology)

• Education and Training

• Government and Public Administration

• Health Care

• Hospitality and Tourism

• Human Services

• Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security

• Manufacturing

• Marketing, Sales and Services

• Oil and Gas company

• Sciences, Engineering, and Mathematics

• Transportation, Distribution and Logistics

• Other

In general, how would you describe your position in your current company/ business?

• Engineer

• Executive (CEO, CIO, CFO, COO...etc.)

• Customer Service Agent

• Human Resource

• Manager

• Marketer

• Programmer

• Sales Representative

• Small Business Owner

• Other

How long have you been working in your current position/company?

• Less than 1 year

• 2-4 years

• 5-10 years

• 11-15 years

• 15-20 years

• 20+ years

Would you say English is the lingua franca (the common language) for your company?

117

• Yes

• Sometime (it depends)

• No

Do you know how to write or speak in Arabic to workplace proficiency?

• Yes

• Somewhat

• No

To what extent do you agree with the following statements?

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of the

time Always

Time at work you speak in

English

Time at work you speak in

Arabic

Time at work you write in

English

Time at work you write in

Arabic

Witten Communication:

Select among the following answers:

In a typical month, what are the most common type(s) of writing you do in the workplace

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

E-mails, memos, letters in English

Reports and proposals in English

Social media/ blogging/ texting for

business purposes in English

Other

Select among the following answers:

In a typical month, what are the most common type(s) of writing you do in the workplace

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

E-mails, memos, letters in Arabic

Reports and proposals in Arabic

Social media/ blogging/ texting

for business purposes in Arabic

Other

To what extent do you agree with the following statements: When I must produce a

document in English:

118

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

I write it in Arabic first and translate

I write in English through the whole

process

I talk in Arabic with colleagues about the

writing and then write in English

I talk in English with colleagues about the

writing

I also produce an Arabic translation of the

same document for Arabic-speaking

audiences

When reading written documents of non-native English colleagues, I think the difficulties

they face in writing in English are: Note: you might choose more than one answer

• Making their meaning clear; clearly explaining their ideas

• Using appropriate English words

• Punctuation and grammar

• Organization and writing in western formats

• Other

Reflecting on your own experiences, what do you think would be most helpful for helping Arab

business professionals write in English in the workplace? Note: you might choose more than one

answer

• Company-sponsored workshops

• Mentoring programs

• Slightly professional

• Repository/collection of sample documents

• Guidebook/handbook with writing tips

• Editing/final proofreading service

• Other

Oral Communication:

To what extent do you agree with the following statements:

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

When communicating in daily bases/

team projects with non-native English

colleagues/professionals, I speak English

When communicating in English, I face

difficulty in understanding non-native

English speakers’ English

When attending presentations and

meetings in English, there are difficulties

119

in communicating with non-native

English professionals

My non-native English-speaking

colleagues can communicate effectively

with me.

I have noticed a connection between

effective oral communication and a

positive impact on written communication

for non-native English speakers.

Cultural Communication:

To what extent do you agree with the following statements:

Question Never Rarely Sometime Most of

the time Always

Generally, my business communication

in English with non-native English

speakers is easy,

As a native-English business

professional, I find working in a

bilingual business environment

challenging

When I experience difficulties in communicating with non-native English professionals, I

attribute it to the following (check all that apply)

• their language proficiency

• cultural differences between me and the person/people I'm communicating with

• Other

Evaluate the following statements:

Question Strongl

y Agree Agree

Somewhat

agree Neutral

Somewhat

disagree Disagree

Strongly

disagree

I feel comfortable

in communicating

with non-native

English speakers

in professional

meetings

I face difficulty in

understanding

different non-

native English

professionals’

accents and

fluency in English

120

I have had

interpersonal

conflict with

colleagues/busine

ss partners, and I

feel frustration

due to non-native

English speakers'

difficulties in

English and

cultural

misunderstanding

Virtual/technological communication:

To what extent do you agree with the following statement:

Question Strongly

agree Agree

Somewhat

agree Neutral

Somewhat

disagree Disagree

Strongly

disagree

In workplace,

technology is

used to

facilitate

bilingual

communication

(e,g, using

electronic

translator,…etc)

Virtual

communication

(computer-

based

communication

and

collaboration

programs like

Webinar,

WebEx, Skype)

is part of my

workplace

communication

Online writing,

virtual

teamwork,

social

enterprise-

based

121

interaction

facilitates my

professional

communication

among

international

participants

Open-ended questions:

• Reflecting on your experience, what do you think are the challenges native English

speakers and non-native English speakers face in a bilingual workplace where

English is used as the lingua franca (common language)?

• What suggestions do you have for how English as a lingua franca (as an

international language) in the workplace can be made more effective?

• Do you have any recommendations/ advice for educational institutions who seek to

prepare students for communicating in global, multilingual environments?

• Any other information/comment you would like to add?

122

Appendix D: Interview Questions for NNES Professionals in English and

Arabic

Questions for NNES in English (note: all questions were changeable depending on

participants’ positions and their workplaces diversity)

Background Questions

• What is the primary function of the company you’re working in/your business? What is

your position/job title and your responsibility at this company? And How long have you

been working in this position/company?

• How long have you studied English?

Business Communication in Workplace:

• Would you say English is the common language in your workplace/for your company?

• Because of rapid changes in technological development and cultural openness compared to

many years ago, from your perspective as a business professional, what are essential

professional communication skills newly hired L2 employees need to have? Which English

language skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) and communicative competence

components do you emphasize to have?

• What are common types of oral communications you have with NNES and NES

colleagues? Do you speak in English or Arabic? Do you communicate with

customers/business partners from native English-speaking countries like professionals from

the US, UK, Canada.…etc. or non-native English countries like China, India, …etc.?

• Generally, how would you describe your business communication in English with non-

native Arabic speakers (NNAS) in terms of easiness and difficulty? how do you find

working in a bilingual business environment? What are some challenges newly hired

employees encounter while communicating with people from different cultures, for

example difficulties in understanding native speakers, delivering accurate meaning to

English speakers, understanding different cultural communication, writing/processing

documents in English using different genres?

• Have you had any challenges in meeting expectations of clients/business partners from

different cultures due to cultural misunderstanding? Example

Written Communication

• What kind of format/genres and style of writing do you use like emails, memos, letters,

reports, proposals…etc. Do you use Arabic/English style of writing? Do you adopt

translation between Arabic and English languages in your business?

• What about using digital technology/programs in your company. Do you use any specific

digital technology to facilitate translation or written communication between the two

languages?

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• Have you attended any business meetings in English with people from different cultures? If

so, how do you find professional communication in English with English-speaking

professionals in meeting? Are there any kind of challenges emerge in such kind of

communication? Could you provide examples...Like understanding main purposes of

meetings in English, being able to communicate effectively in English, doing professional

presentation in English, enhancing cultural awareness and understanding…

• During processing workplace written genres? What processes do you use to insure clarity

of documents written by L2 professionals/employees?

• What about virtual communication, have you had any virtual meetings before like using

Skype, Webinar for virtual meetings, and how do you find professional meetings using

technology?

• When working in team projects, do you and tour team members use English, Arabic or

both? In which kind of communication (oral, written) do you use each language?

Conclusion Questions

• From your personal experience in working in bilingual/multilingual workplace, what are

things needed to be considered when communicating in diverse environment with

multilingual/multicultural people? What are your recommendations and advices for

educational institutions in the Gulf States and in the US, UK… to improve professional

communication in multilingual workplace contexts?

• Do you want to share any additional information/stories from your experience?

اسألة المقابلة مع الموظفين العرب باللغة العربية

الخلفيه المهنية

كة االساسي كة؟ مناالساسيه وظيفتك ماهي ؟ ماهي مهنتك الحالية و طبيعة عمل الشر ي الشر تعملمتى وأنت ذ ومسؤوليتك ف

ي هذا المنصب ي هذهف

كة؟ و ف الشر

ي بيئة العمل

طريقة التوصل ف

ية او تمارس اللغه وأنت تدرس سنةكم ي مجال العمل اإلنكلي ية هي اللغة األساسية لعملك؟متى ؟ف هل اللغة اإلنجلي

تستخدمها، هل طوال اليوم او مع فئه معينه من الموظفي ؟

يه مثل امريكاو برطانيا او من دول غي عربيه او ارباب هل تتواصل مع عمالء او زمالء عمل من دول لغتها االم اللغة االنجلي ؟ يه مثل الهند و الصي وغي انجلي

يه هل تحدثا و كتابتا او تحدث او كتابه فقط العربية؟ تستخدم اللغه؟ هل ماهي طريقة التواصل باللغه االنجلي

ي عام ، كيف بشكلية مع تقيم تواصلك المهت ي صعوبة؟ هل هناك أي اختالفات السهولة و المن ناحية غي العرب باإلنجلي

ف

ية كلغة ية ، واألشخاص الذين يستخدمون اللغة اإلنجلي ثانيه؟ التواصل مع الناطقي باللغة اإلنجلي

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ي

التواصل الثقاف

ي التواصل هل تواجه اي صعوبات يةف ي مع أشخاص من ثقافات مختلفة باللغة االنجلي

ية و ف تقديم معت دقيق باللغة اإلنجلي

ي ، انواع التواصلوفهم مختلف ي سوق العمل بالشكل المطلوب؟ الثقاف

يه تخدمك ف هل اللغه االنجلي

، هل تشعر بالراحه التامه و يطانيي ي فهم اثناء التواصل مع مثل االمريكان او الير ية ف الثقة اثناء التواصل معهم باللغة االنجلي

؟ ي التواصل الثقاف

ي التواصل الكتاب

ي مختلف األنواع تدوين كيف تتم ية ف ونية و الرسميه ،التقارير ،المذكرات الوثائق باللغة اإلنجلي و ماهي ؟مثل الرسائل االكيى

ي استخدام اللغه او اسلوب صياغة المحت وى؟نوع الصعوبات ،هل ف

يةالرسائل ،االيميالت ،التقارير ،هل تعتمد اللغه عند كتابة ي / فقط ام مع العربيه اإلنجلي ؟ هل تتبت أسلوب الكتابة الغربري عملك؟ ة؟ هل تستخدم أي تقنية

ية ف جمة بي اللغتي العربية واإلنجلي ؟ هل تعتمد اليى ي جمة أو او برامج العربر لتسهيل اليى

جمة بي اللغتي مثال؟ اليى

ي؟ ية يسهل عملية الكتابه باالنجلي هل تعتقد ان التواصل الشفهي باللغة االنجلي

امج التكنولوجية التواصل باستخدام الب

ي امج التكنولوجية؟ هل واجهة اي تحديات ف ي بيئة العمل متعددت الثقافت و اللغات باستخدام الير

كيف تصف التواصل ف

يه باست امج التواصل باللغه االنجلي امج الحديثه مثل برامج المحادثات او المقابالت المهنية باستخدام الير خدام بعض اليركة؟ ي الشر

ي مثال يوضح طريقة التوصل ف

التكنولوجية مثل سكايب ، ويبينار؟ هل ممكن تعطيت اسألة الخاتمة

ية هل لديك اي نصيحه توجهها للجامعات و المؤسسات التعليميه السعوديه او االمريكيه بخصوص استخدام اللغة االنجلي ي بيئة العمل؟

ي ف

بغرض التوصل المهت المقابله؟ نهايةسؤال قبل معلومات تود اضافتها او اي اي لديكهل

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Appendix E: Interview Questions for NES Professionals in English

(note: all questions were changeable depending on the participants’ positions and their

workplaces diversity)

Background Questions

• What is your position/job title and your responsibility at this company? How long have you

been working in this position/company? And how many years have you been working in an

international workplaces/overseas?

• When working in a non-native English culture, in which language do you communicate in

daily bases with colleagues/business partners/customers? And which language do you use

to write and process documentation? Do use English/Arabic or both? In which situation

you use Arabic language?

• From your perspective as a…working in multilingual context, what are the essential

professional communication skills newly hired employees need to have? Which language

skills and communicative competence components do you emphasize to have?

Cultural Communication

• How can understanding cultural dimensions helps you as a NES professional to work cross-

culturally? what are some challenges you have faced with NNES professionals in business

communication in English? How do cultural/language differences play a role in

facilitating/complicating mutual understanding?

Written Communication

• In your workplace, what kind of format/genre and style of writing do you use? Do you

adapt Western style of writing/genre, or do you use second culture style of formatting to

communicate with foreign clients/business partners?

• Do you adopt translation between Arabic and English languages in your workplace? How

do you find translating formal documents?

• Have you faced any misunderstanding/ confusion while processing workplace written

genre in multilingual/multicultural workplace? What processes do you use to insure clarity

of documents written by NNES professionals?

• Do you adopt collaborative writing in team work? And to what extent does it help NNES

writers in solving problems, finding solutions, transferring skills and understanding others?

Digital Technology

• Do you use any kind of digital technology to facilitate your communication or for

translating between the two languages? What are some digital competencies/skills

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(information Literacy, communication and collaboration, content creation…) are required

from professionals to have?

• How do you find professional communication with NNES professionals in

multicultural/multinational business meetings? What are some challenges arise in such kind

of communication? Could you provide any examples of successful or challenging

multinational communication in meetings?

• How does online writing, virtual teamwork, social enterprise-based interaction facilitate or

hinder your professional communication with L2 professionals?

Conclusion Questions

• From your personal experience in working in multilingual environment, what are things

needed to be considered when communicating professionally in diverse environment with

multilingual/multicultural people? What are your recommendations and advises for

educational institutions in the US, UK, Western schools and in international context like in

the Gulf States to develop professional communication in bilingual workplace context?

• Would you like to share any additional information from your experience that we have not

discussed yet?