The primary focus of this article is the investigation of how current applied linguistic
research into the nature of call centre communication breakdown in business processing
outsourcing (BPO) sites such as India and the Philippines, can impact English communications
training program content and design for this industry. It is argued that a researchbased
approach to English for specific purpose (ESP) syllabus design and content will yield
improved outcomes. It is the interface between the research and the design and content,
rather than the implementation and the evaluation of the program, that is the focus of this
article.
A case study of an ESP curriculum development project commissioned by a large multinational
company operating global call centres and back offices in Asia is used for this
investigation. There has been concern within this company about the level of English communication
skills where their customers are native speakers of English, but their customer
services representatives (CSRs) are second language speakers of English. The article outlines
the theoretical principles upon which this ESP syllabus was developed and then traces
the steps in integrating the findings and tailoring the program to the needs of this multinational
worksite.