Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2019, English

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 intelligenc (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Heidi Mckee (Committee Chair) Subjects: Business Education; Curriculum Development; English As A Second Language; Language; Management; Rhetoric