AdoptingtheApproachofAwarenessRaisinginaBECVantage Classroom

ShuJunting

【Abstract】Cambridge English：Business Vantage （BEC Vantage） is the second level of business qualifications provided by Cambridge Assessment English. Many universities open up the course of BEC Vantage in an effort to increase students competitiveness in the job market， but students still feel less confident to communicate in real international business settings. By integrating the approach of awareness raising in the BEC Vantage classroom， students can be guided to notice the gap between genuine English and their own usage in an international business settings independently， which will improve their language awareness and confidence.

【Key words】BEC Vantage； language awareness； awareness raising

1. BEC Vantage

Cambridge English：Business Vantage （BEC Vantage） is the second level of business qualifications provided by Cambridge Assessment English. According to its official website， BEC Vantage is designed to help candidates develop practical English language skills to communicate confidently and successfully in international business environments. Using real-work related tasks and activities， BEC Vantage tests all four language skills， i.e. listening， reading， writing and speaking， in order to provide an overall assessment on candidates English proficiency in business settings. With this qualification， professionals are supposed to have better chances when applying for new jobs， getting promotions or developing a career. Because BEC Vantage is globally accepted by international companies （e.g. HSBC）， the course of BEC Vantage is extensively adopted by English majors， especially Business English majors of universities in mainland China trying to increase students employment opportunities. Although it simply requires candidates to know general business topics and mainly tests English proficiency， EFL （Learning English as a Second Language） students still have difficulties to either anticipate reactions and responses or apply the most appropriate usage in real English-speaking business context. Shortage of authentic materials and limitations of course length might be the possible reasons for students inefficiency， but students unawareness of language usage in business settings is a barrier when entering an international business environment.

2. Language awareness

According to Bolitho et al （2003）， language awareness （LA） refers to “mental attribute which develops through paying motivated attention to language in use， and which enables language learners to gradually gain insights into how languages work” （p. 251）. It means that through noticing and recognizing language usage， language awareness can be developed by learner themselves step by step. The objective of language awareness is to allow students to notice the gap between genuine English and their own usage independently and to learn English beyond the classroom. Bolitho et al. （2003） also suggests that the ideal result of LA approach is to raise learners ability of critical thinking about the target language and the culture by exploring the language independently instead of passively accepting fixed rules. Being aware of language is beneficial to both students and teachers. Students learning outcomes can be enhanced by noticing the authentic language forms on their own， which in return actives their interests to learn more （Mahaputri & Taslim， 2014）. Teachers who bears LA in mind are more likely to strike a balance between learner-centeredness and illustration on language structure （Bolitho et al， 2003）. They can provide more productive instructions and attend to students needs. It can be seen that teachers plays a crucial role in the approach. Svalberg （2007） points out that teachers who apply LA in their classrooms need not only a higher level of language proficiency， but the awareness of learners needs， pedagogic concerns， cross-cultural issues， and impromptu interactions etc. He also notes that teachers LA can be promoted by emphasizing the role of user， analyst and teacher in teacher education.

3. The approach of awareness raising

According to Thornbury （2005） awareness contains three procedures， attention， noticing and understanding. At the first stage， learners need to be alert themselves to pay attention to the features of the target skill. But paying attention is not equal to noticing. Noticing is “the conscious registering of the occurrence of some event or entity” （Thornbury， 2005， p. 41）， which means to notice the features that need to be paid attention to. Noticing the presence of previously learned knowledge and noticing the absence of essential knowledge—noticing the gap， is the primary task of noticing stage. All the preparations are made for the final procedure—understanding， which refers to “the recognition of a general rule or principle or pattern” （Thornbury， 2005， p. 42）. Once understanding the rule or the feature， it will be much easier to use in the reality.

In addition， Svalberg （2007） summarizes five main features of an LA approach proposed by Borg and reformulates them as：“description （not prescription）， exploration， languaging， engagement and reflection” （p. 292）. He also mentions some methods and techniques can be adopted in a LA classroom as：“input enhancement；discovery-type， inductive tasks；dictogloss and text reconstruction；and open-ended discussion tasks on authentic or adapted texts” （Svalberg， 2007， p. 292）. Unlike other methods using exercises for practicing， tasks in a LA classroom draws learners attention on specific features and how it makes difference. For example， Kindelán （1997） carried out a research on adopting the strategy of awareness raising in English class in a Spanish university. He mentioned some important steps applied by teachers such as：

i. Introduce the topic to students.

a. students discuss what they already know about the topic.

b. students make assumptions about the lecture.

ii. Present key words and phrases and ask students to make notes.

iii. Ask students to use newly learned usage to answer questions orally.

iv. Ask students to do listening and reading exercises， presenting the answers on the board and ask students to compare responses and notice the differences.

He suggests that by using these activities， teachers might lead learners to notice the shortage of their own learning strategies. By examining their approach on learning， students may be aware of the target language features which in return beneficial to autonomous learning.

One point needs to be note is that teachers should always bear in mind that the subject of the approach is learner. Only when leaners are at their best and fully engaged， can they really notice and learn certain language features （Bolitho et al， 2003）. In terms of BEC Vantage， it seems that students less competence cannot attribute to poor language proficiency， but unawareness of language features used in certain circumstances— international business settings. Therefore， integrating the approach of awareness raising in a BEC Vantage classroom seems to be a rational solution.

4. Adopting awareness raising in a BEC Vantage classroom

In order to illustrate how to integrate awareness raising in a BEC Vantage classroom， the textbook called Success with BEC Students Book Vantage written by Hughes （2008） is used here. Recommended by Cambridge ESOL Examinations， it is a coursebook designed particularly for candidates who are preparing for BEC Vantage. The book is divided into twelve modules on different topics， and each module contains three parts. In terms of Business Topic， it mainly deals with vocabulary and grammar that will occur in the particular business context （e.g. 1.1 Ways of working）. In the part of Business Skills， high-frequency techniques （e.g. 1.2 Making contacts） that used in a business situation will be discussed. With regard to Exam Spotlight， each part of the BEC Vantage exam （e.g. 1.3 Speaking Test：Part One） will be presented. The first two parts consists of reading and listening materials that are all real-work related， which aims to offer students an authentic context for business use.

The author takes Module 2.1 Company Benefits （p. 16） as an example to show how to integrate awareness raising in a BEC Vantage classroom.

i. Vocabulary：（before opening the book） the lecturer begins by asking students to think of factors they believe to have important influences when looking for a job.

a. Write answers on the blackboard and ask students to divide them into different categories （e.g. salary-related， holiday-related）.

b. （open the book） Let students see the professional collocations and ask students to compare them with those of their own.

c. Tell students all the factors they have mentioned can be called company benefits and incentives， and ask them to rank the factors and give reasons for the ranking.

ii. Listening：after discussing the importance of each element in groups， ask students to listen to advantages of each factor given by business professionals. Ask students to pay attention to the differences of answers given by their own and the recording.

iii. Reading：read a passage about benefits and incentives offered by a company called Xerox and ask students to answer the following questions orally.

a. Find out what kind of benefits and incentives Xerox offered its employees.

b. Circle the idiomatic usage when referring to company policies.

c. Why staff in Xerox is so loyal to the company？

iv. Speaking：present a speaking topic on company benefits that occurred in part two of the BEC Vantage exam：

What is important when…？

Trying to attract new staff

Competitive wages

Company reputation

（This point requires students own opinion）

a. Ask students to give a presentation on the topic based on the content they have learned today.

b. Play a recording of a sample response to this topic in the real exam context.

c. Ask students to work in pairs to discuss advantages and drawbacks of the sample answer.

v. Sum up key points

The activities presented above are in an attempt to allow students to notice the language features and idiomatic usage on the business topic of company benefits by themselves. By comparing their answers with those of professionals， learners could detect the differences and pay attention to answer more appropriately next time.

5. Conclusion

Developing language awareness is to raise learners critical thinking skills， instead of passively accepting fixed rules， students are guided to notice and recognize the target language and culture independently. By integrating the approach of awareness raising in BEC Vantage classrooms， students can be led to notice the gap between genuine English and their own usage in international business settings， which to a certain degree will improve their language proficiency and confidence.

References：

[1]Bolitho，R.，& Carter，R.，& Hughes，R.et al.Ten questions about language awareness.ELT Journal，2003，57（3）：251-259.

[2]Hughes，J.Success with BEC Students Book Vantage.Beijing：Economic Science Press，2008.

[3]Kindelán，MaPaz.Raising learning awareness in the EST classroom：Practical application in a lesson.Revista Alicantina de Estudio Ingleses，1997，10：109-137.

[4]Mahaputri，D.S.，& Taslim，F(xiàn).Awareness-Raising technique in teaching English to ESP students.SELT，2014，June（11-12）：107-111.

[5]Svalberg，A.Language awareness and language learning.Language Teaching，2007，40（4）：287-308.

[6]Thornbury，S.How to Teach Speaking.Harlow：Pearson Education Limited，2005.