Learning English for different purposes (academic, occupational, tourist, etc.) is now an important issue on everybody’s agenda. With the “threat” of globalisation, in an era of mergers and acquisitions, of global alliances, when traditional borders no longer exist, it is therefore essential for educators and learners alike to re-think language policies and curricula.
The command of business lexis in the case of business people is a constant preoccupation of employers, employees and of course, educators. Business English is traditionally categorised as a sub-division of ESP (English for Specific Purposes), which may be said to go as far back as the Greek and Roman Empires (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998: 1). Nevertheless, although people have always felt the need for specialist knowledge of a foreign language, in order to be able to function in a certain number of settings and carry out specific tasks (telephone conversations, meeting